TwoCables

A Windows Experience Index of 5.9 is absolutely normal for 7200 RPM drives, RAID 0 or not. But besides, with a scale of 1.0 to 7.9, 5.9 is pretty damn high.
With all due respect, is this what you said when Windows 98 was released? Is this what you said when Windows XP was released?

Windows 98 was a refinement of Windows 95, and Windows XP was a refinement of Windows 2000 (with some obvious differences to the appearance).

So it's the same thing all over again: Windows 7 is a refinement of Vista. Vista was a completely new operating system that had absolutely nothing to do with the previous one.

I encourage you to take the time to carefully read the article. You will see that this is more than just a Service Pack type of upgrade from Vista. It's like going from 95 to 98, or from 2000 to XP. Therefore, if you don't want to upgrade, then don't! But if you want the refined, much-improved version, then upgrade!

Regardless, Windows 7 is better, and no matter how many jokes people make about it being Vista SP3, it's still a new version Windows. But again, it's just similar to the previous one just like XP was similar to 2000, and just like the wa 98 was similar to 95.
The only way this will degrade is if you don't take care of it. If you are using regular hard drives, then you have to defrag regularly (like at least once a week), and do other things very regularly in order to maintain the peak performance of the operating system.

An operating system is like your personal car: if you don't perform regular maintenance (or have it performed), then the car will degrade. Before you know it, you will be looking for a new car. And just like a car, the operating system has multiple things that require maintenance.

And by the way: you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on Windows 7. It's $119.99. Or, if you know what you're doing, then get the OEM for $99 or less. Oh wait, do you think that you would need Windows 7 Ultimate? Not this time! Unlike Vista, the Ultimate edition really isn't anything special as compared to Home Premium. Unlike Vista Home Premium, Windows 7 Home Premium has everything that we care about.

If you don't believe me, then study these comparison charts:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows...mparison_chart
• http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/0...n-the-editions
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...-editions.html

So yeah, there's no reason to spend $300 on Windows 7. If anyone does that without first looking at comparison charts like these, then they are a moron (or $300 to them is like $30 to us).
Windows 7 has "Windows Classic", but if somebody is looking for the old 95/98/2000 classic Start menu, then they're out of luck. It still functions the Vista/7 way. Otherwise, most of it does indeed look like 2000.

I'm not done setting Windows 7 up yet, nor am I done with my software environment, but here's a screenshot using the Windows Classic theme:



And here's one after clicking on All Programs:





If you're wondering about the Firefox theme, then it's a Firefox 3.7 Mock Up which is basically an all-glass Aero theme. It normally looks awesome. hehe

But when I am finished setting Windows up as well as my software environment, the entire taskbar will be covered with pinned items, and then the Quick Launch bar on the far right will have 4-6 more items.

Anyway, there it is.

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brandon6199

If you right click the taskbar and select properties, you can change the way programs appear in the taskbar to make it look like Classic Windows. Just check "use small icons" and use "Never Combine"

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TwoCables

Yep! I totally forgot to mention that. But the classic Start menu is gone.

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TwoCables

I finally fixed my screenshots.

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VulcanDragon

True dat. I "downgraded" from Vista Ultimate to Win7 Home Premium and have not looked back.

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Vulcan Dragon
Core i7 920 @ 3.7 GHz
Currently Playing: Galactic Civilizations II (PC); Call of Duty 4 (PC); Halo 3:ODST (X360); Rock Band: Metallica (X360); Dead Rising (X360); Mafia Wars (Facebook...DOH!!!!)
XBox Live Gamertag: Vulcan Draggon

darklink

Thanks two cables and vulcan. You just helped justify my decision to just get the home premium version. I dont typically run backups and use TeamViewer for remote access so I decided against Pro and Ultimate but was starting to wonder if maybe my decision was wrong.

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DRUM & BASS

!!~AMD Phenom II X3 700 Series OC Club~!!

fro_dave

@Twocables
I didn't realize exactly what the OEM edition entailed, just losing MS customer support doesnt sound like a bad idea, but I think there were more major upgrades in between the other version launches. I did read the article entirely untill the benchmarks where I was just reading the captions and looking at pictures. But the article says it self that the kernel is mostly unchanged, meaning the bulk of the system is exactly the same as vista, but honestly $99 for the OEM doesnt sound like a bad deal, I might just upgrade some time when theres fewer video games for me to spend money on.

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"If I'm so wonderful then why am I so misunderstood?" ~ Mindless Self Indulgence

TwoCables

Awesome! I'm really glad because you can spend that saved money on something for your rig.
Yeah, I admit that I don't yet know if there are any differences between Retail and OEM, but the impression I have is that they're exactly the same, except for the legal stuff.
lol I know. I just sat there scrolling going, "Yep. Mmmhmm. Uh huh. Yeah. That's nice. Oh wait, they typed something to explain the graphs!" hehe

Sorry, I had to comment.
If I remember correctly, the same was true when they made Windows 98 and Windows XP. But many people preferred 98 and XP over 95 and 2000 because they were better and more stable.
Yeah, I hear that.

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darklink

@twocables

The only difference between OEM and Retail AFAIK is the customer support backing the product. The OEM version is the same as far as the actual product, but essentially OEM is sold under the idea that it an OEM manufacturer purchasing the software. If there are any support issues with the OS, it is to be handled the manufacturer who built the machine it was installed on. For the retail version if there any OS issues you can contact MS directly and they will support it for you.

I always purchase OEM cuz I have never had a reason to contact MS. If you built it yourself best to fix it yourself

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DRUM & BASS

!!~AMD Phenom II X3 700 Series OC Club~!!

TwoCables

The only problem I have with OEM is that we're technically (or perhaps "legally") not able to do the following:

1. Activate it on a system.
2. Retire the system somewhere down the road.
3. Activate that same OEM on the new system.

Technically, that's supposed to only be allowed with the Retail copies. Like, once that system is retired, that Product Key is supposed to be retired too. But don't get me wrong: I know it can still be done, even with the help of a Microsoft call center representative.

For example: I had an OEM copy of XP installed on an old pre-built that had a 500MHz Pentium III, 384MB of memory, a Voodoo3 3000 AGP and some other stuff. Then my rig was born on 3/12/08, so I retired the Gateway and decided to try activating that OEM on my new system. I didn't expect it to work, but it did. All I had to do was call Microsoft, tell them exactly what it was I was doing, and then they proceeded to thank me for my honesty and activated it.

But the problem I have with OEM is that I am afraid that Microsoft may one day put their foot down and say "No more. From now on, if you receive a call from a customer who is switching the OEM from one system to another, then deny their activation and explain why!" According to everything I have read about OEM, that Microsoft rep should not have allowed me to do it. But she did, and thanks to her, I was then able to continue re-installing it on my rig.

But I eventually bought a Retail copy of XP just to have peace of mind.

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