Topic: Windows 7 release date announced

[Nemesis]

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Windows 7, the next major release of the world's most popular operating system, will be officially available to the public on 22 October.

Mr Guggenheimer said that Microsoft will make an upgrade option available, so PC makers and retail partners can offer customers the ability to purchase a Windows Vista-based PC and install Windows 7 when it is released.

[Javora]

Cool, I was thinking about buying a new laptop this summer but didn't want Vista.  I can wait until the end of October.  Good find Nemesis.

[Ravok]

 Good I can finally buy a new PC.

 I didn't want Vista as well.

[Dracho]

Hrm.. if the XP mode is native to Windows 7, I wonder if that means you'll be able to play a DirectX 10 game in XP inside W7?

[Rod ONeal]

Hrm.. if the XP mode is native to Windows 7, I wonder if that means you'll be able to play a DirectX 10 game in XP inside W7?

That's an interesting thought. If so, would that mean that it's possible to get DX10 to work in XP?

[Pestalence_XC]

No.

You can not get DX 10 to work in XP.. and even in the VM XP (Windows 7 XP mode) is still uses ONLY the DirectX 9 portion of the Direct X encoding..

And for further information.

Windows 7 is DirectX 9, 10 and 11..

Windows Vista is DirectX 9 and 10

XP is DirectX 6, 7, 8, and 9

the problem with putting DirectX 10 or 11 on to Windows XP is because #1, missing API structure from the DirectX 10 archives, #2 a completly different registry structure concerning DirectX.

The only thing that you can do is use the DirectX 10 hack that will allow XP to play a DirectX 10 only game on XP, but play it rendered in DirectX 9 Visual and Sound.. DirectX 10 features would not work. And the DirectX 10 hack would only work for the OS.. however some games, like Age of Conan have Hardware sniffers and OS sniffers in them.. if the Vid card is not DirectX 10 rated or the OS is not designed for DirectX 10, the DirectX 10 features would be disabled.. and with programs like that which are designed for DirectX 10 only, the game wouldn't even launch.

Now there are a few problems with XP mode for Windows 7.. you are still using a Virtual Machine.. and as such, even with all tools enabled, you only have 16 MB video memory Max. and as such, games are not advised for the XP mode.. it is more designed for your older corporate / office software that may be incompatible with Vista / Windows 7.

The only Viable option to gaming with XP and Windows 7 and Old software is to Dual boot your system and install the old software to XP and use Windows 7 for newer software.

For office applications or specialized software that may have problems with Windows 7, XP mode may be powerful enough to work.

[Sirgod]

I find this to be good news indeed. With the Oct. 22nd date, I can easily spend about 200 bucks a month, to build a new system. (been wanting at least a quad core for sometime.)

That will leave me with the one I'm on, XP, another one to play with Linux, and a new one all with Win7.

Stephen

[Pestalence_XC]

Sirgod..

If you are going to build a new system.. build an i7 system, not a core 2..

for the same speed.. say 2.5 Ghx, the i7 Dual core is almost 2x faster than the Core 2 Quad at 2.5 Ghz.. plus the system is not FBS limited like Core 2 is..

Plus the i7 systems are designed for DDR3 memory, where most Core 2 systems are designed for DDR2 memory.. DDR 3 is almost 2x as fast as DDR2.

Just some hints on building a new rig with current tech..

as for Video.. go with the NVidia GTX 2XX series cards.. for optimal performance a NVidia GTX 285 with 1.5 GB memory.. it is fairly priced.. the top line cards : NVidia GTX 295 : is still a bit high on price.. the OC 2's with 1.5 GB memroy are running $495.99.. I think the 285's are running $310, but well worth it.. if you can swing for the 295 .. then you would be set for a Video card for at least 2 to 3 years.

[Rod ONeal]

Sirgod..

If you are going to build a new system.. build an i7 system, not a core 2..

for the same speed.. say 2.5 Ghx, the i7 Dual core is almost 2x faster than the Core 2 Quad at 2.5 Ghz.. plus the system is not FBS limited like Core 2 is..

Plus the i7 systems are designed for DDR3 memory, where most Core 2 systems are designed for DDR2 memory.. DDR 3 is almost 2x as fast as DDR2.

Just some hints on building a new rig with current tech..

as for Video.. go with the NVidia GTX 2XX series cards.. for optimal performance a NVidia GTX 285 with 1.5 GB memory.. it is fairly priced.. the top line cards : NVidia GTX 295 : is still a bit high on price.. the OC 2's with 1.5 GB memroy are running $495.99.. I think the 285's are running $310, but well worth it.. if you can swing for the 295 .. then you would be set for a Video card for at least 2 to 3 years.

All good advise, assuming you have the budget for i7, mobo, and ddr3 memory. At this point in time everything, except for the 920 cpu, will cost you quite a bit more relative to the core 2 quad peripherals. Definitely worth it though if it's all in your budget.

I would hold off as long as possible though before deciding on a video card. They get outdated the fastest of any hardware. If you want to go Windows 7 wait until DX11 capable cards are released. It looks like ATI might beat Nvidea to the punch on releasing DX11 cards, which is a good thing. Even if you prefer Nvidea, ATI will drive the price down. No arguing about the quality of Nvidea cards and their support, but they'll rape you on the prices. 

[Sirgod]

Good advice, and once again, thanks Pesty. To be honest, I have wanted to try the new I7 anyways.

Chances are, I'll start by grabbing the MB in July, the proc. in August. maybe take a month or two to save up for the memory and video card.

I think the last video card I bought was an ATI1600 pro. I remember it cost $500 bucks at the time. OF course that has been more then a few years ago. So to this day, I still have not used a PCI-express card at all. Should be fun. IF I go the I7, I'll want at least 6 gig, and maybe 8-12 of ram.

Stephen

[Pestalence_XC]

4 GB and the system will do what ever you want .. excluding the most intensive Video Editing / sond mixing software (think LOTR movie editing) and your most graphically / memory intensive games.. (to date, the only games that put a real strain on a PC is Crysis and Age of Conan).

Preferrably, nothing on the market will use more than 4 GB system memory currently, but memory is the cheapest it has been in years now, so for an extra smooth system and plenty of overhead for multi-tasking / intensive game play, on a Windows 7 machine.. I would recommend 64 bit OS Ultimate edition ( 64 Ultimate supports system memory of over 128 GB, 32 bit only supports a max of 4 GB).. and on that 64 bit OS I would run 8GB DDR3 system memory and also get a USB memory stick in the 16 GB range to run the system Cache and paging file (on Windows 7 it is called Ready Boost) now the system probably won't use more than 4 GB of that stick, however the paging file is dynamic and changes size as you use the system.. in the event some of the paging information can not be dumped from the file, you will at least have enough space on the USB stick to prevent the system from dumping back to the Hard Drive.

the USB Ready Boost does work great.. your system is approx 1.75 times faster than not using ready boost. you also have less wear and tear on the HDD since Read and Write access is lowered quite a bit, and with the read/write lowered, you get faster HDD access times on your other software.

Ready Boost also holds Indexing of your system files and prefetch info for your software.. and unlike XP where you disable it to get faster performance, Ready boost makes all the difference.. you leave Prefetch and Indexing tuened on in Windows 7 / Vista and have Ready boost enabled on a USB stick.. the system is much faster and smoother and less HDD access.. I like it alot.

Your system would have no problems with anything that is currently on the market what so ever (but remember to keep XP for Dual Boot purposes on old software like Starfleet Command, Game works great on Windows 7 in all modes except Dynaverse.. Dynaverse Play, you would need XP in Dual boot, the XP mode for Windows 7 / Vista does not allow for enough Video memory to play SFC.. 16 MB hard cap. After all they are using Virtual Machine to emulate XP in the Windoes 7 environment.. and VM tested in the past and I tested with the current Beta .. SFC will not work due to hardware limitations in a Virtual environment.. As such, Dual boot Windows 7 / XP for your older games that you know will not work properly or completely on Windows 7

[Sirgod]

Once again, thanks.

I plan on keeping my current machine straight up XP, but doing a dual boot is no problem on the new one.

One reason for so much Ram, is that I am that one guy that everyone hates on WoW. I run 3 accounts on one PC, and getting ready to run the 4th on another.

This is with just 2 gig of memory, (amd 3200+ 939 mb) so My thought process is, With the new procc. and MB, I should be able to pull off 5 instances with ease , on just one system.

I'll have to do that USB thing. I have one small pen drive (like 1 gig IIRC) , and I use it all the time. Have numerous drivers I keep on it. a 16gig is pretty cheap right now, and shoot even on the HD front, Newegg has them all the time really cheap. I think a 1 TB was around 140 bucks last I checked.

But hey, I digress, If, you have more suggestions pesty, and others, I would love to hear them.

Sigh, if only the dyna would allow us sat users to play online, I would be so happy.

Stephen

[Nemesis]

Link to full article

Microsoft plans to remove Internet Explorer from the versions of Windows 7 that it ships in Europe, CNET News has learned.

Reacting to antitrust concerns expressed by European regulators, Microsoft plans to offer a version in Europe that has the browser removed. Computer makers would then have the option to add the browser back in, ship another browser or ship multiple browsers, according to a confidential memo that was sent to PC makers and seen by CNET News.

"To ensure that Microsoft is in compliance with European law, Microsoft will be releasing a separate version of Windows 7 for distribution in Europe that will not include Windows Internet Explorer," the software maker said in the memo. "Microsoft will offer IE8 separately and free of charge and will make it easy and convenient for PC manufacturers to preinstall IE 8 on Windows 7 machines in Europe if they so choose. PC manufacturers may choose to install an alternative browser instead of IE 8, and has always been the case, they may install multiple browsers if they wish."

Microsoft confirmed the authenticity of the document but declined to comment further.

Now to remove a lot of the other components that should be optional so people can configure the system only with what they want AND make it worldwide that way.  Including removing the DRM.

[Dracho]

USB memory is a tad slow comparatively.  I wonder if you couldn't do that faster with a platterless solid-state drive?

[Pestalence_XC]

USB memory is a tad slow comparatively.  I wonder if you couldn't do that faster with a platterless solid-state drive?

Depends on the system.. If you are running the old Core 2 chips, you are limited by FSB speed.. with the new i7 chipset, there is no FSB so your transfer rate is as fast as your memory / cpu. Speeds for USB transfer get pretty sick with DDR3 and a 3.2 Ghz i78 CPU with a 980 Chipset. but then again that is a top rate system.. however your mid range i7 cpu and 9xx series chipset is almost double your fastest Core 2 Motherboard.

[Dracho]

USB memory is a tad slow comparatively.  I wonder if you couldn't do that faster with a platterless solid-state drive?

Depends on the system.. If you are running the old Core 2 chips, you are limited by FSB speed.. with the new i7 chipset, there is no FSB so your transfer rate is as fast as your memory / cpu. Speeds for USB transfer get pretty sick with DDR3 and a 3.2 Ghz i78 CPU with a 980 Chipset. but then again that is a top rate system.. however your mid range i7 cpu and 9xx series chipset is almost double your fastest Core 2 Motherboard.

Crap.. now I have to build a new box.. my AMD 9880 Quad-core with DDR1066 officially sucks again.

[Age]

I guess that means I will still be getting another HDD with Win. 7 on it and leave my current one for XP.This is for older programs and games.

[Nemesis]

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One of the recently leaked builds of Windows 7 has more juice in it than just a new default wallpaper. In the Windows 7 Home Premium edition—as noticed by Kristan Kenney—, the Microsoft Software License Terms has an additional clause that mentions a Family Pack licensing plan that would cover up to three computers in a household. This is no accident: other editions like Professional and Ultimate do not contain the Family Pack wording.

b. Family Pack. If you are a "Qualified Family Pack User," you may install one copy of the software marked as "Family Pack" on three computers in your household for use by people who reside there. Those computers are the "licensed computers" and are subject to these license terms. If you do not know whether you are a Qualified Family Pack User, visit go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?Linkid=141399 or contact the Microsoft affiliate serving your country.

I think they need to remove the "by people who reside there" portion.  Who is realistically going to tell a visitor "Sorry I have the family pack and can't let you use my computer"? 

They also need to allow for mobile use as a lot of people with multiple computers include laptops which should be covered.