Intel Atom N450 1.66 GHZ 2GB RAM Netbook - Should I Install Windows XP or Windows 7? (Performance/Power Saving)

I recently got a Samsung N150 netbook with 1.66 GHZ Intel Atom N450 and 1GB RAM (will be upgraded to 2GB). It came with Windows 7 starter kit. I am thinking of either upgrading to Windows 7 Home Premium or installing Windows XP instead.

I would like to ask your opinions of: if Windows XP Professional or Windows 7 Home Premium will be better for the netbook in terms of performance. What about power-saving features? Are Windows XP and Windows 7 equal in terms of capability to lower down processor power usage depending on performance need?

Some performance-heavy stuff (relatively, for a notebook) that I do:
Browsing the web with lots of tabs open
Watching H264 Videos (with CoreAVC) around 480p resolution
Playing old games (Windows 98-era games up to early Windows XP-era games) and the occasional Flash game
Occasionally compressing stuff with 7-zip in Ultra Mode

The reason I would like better power-savings control is I tend to keep my computer open for long periods of time (usually to download files) so I prefer that my OS can optimally lower down processor power usage depending on performance need to save electricity.

My main concerns are better performance and power saving control capability. I don't really care about the new eye candy in Windows 7. Also, I don't really mind the compatibility "problems" in Windows 7 as I have been successful in running almost all of my previous Windows XP programs (including the old games) on a PC with Windows 7 64 bit with no problems.

 

Windows 7 has the Hardware Acceleration support for the video card, you can use Flash 10.1. I run a full version of Windows 7 on my N280 Netbook and love it...XP is old and worn out : )

 

I notice a huge difference when I used XP in terms of speed. XP works best on a netbook. You don't even have a dual core to fully utilize the features of 7 dude. Stay with XP

 

XP gives slightly more battery life if the drivers are optimized for it, and I doubt Flash 10.1 makes use of the Intel GMA to improve flash performance.

Windows 7 is extremely nice and has some very useful features. It is also a lot easier to use overall. Once you go Windows 7 you will not enjoy Windows XP.

However, Windows XP has been proven to give better battery life and runs slightly better on Netbook hardware.

My advice:

-You won't notice the difference between performance, so for features: Windows 7, for slightly better battery life, Windows XP.

 

I love windows 7, I find xp too archaic especially on a portable computer, th power management features and wireless are much better in win 7, with 2GB of ram, and maybe disabling aero it'll perform fine. go for Win 7, but not starter.

 

Most netbooks give you the option between Win7 Starter or WinXP Home. I would NOT pick Starter because of all its limitations, in that case I would pick WinXP Home. However if you have the option for Win7 Home Basic or higher then I would go for Win7.

 

Don't have a netbook, but do have an Acer Revo 3610 with an Atom 330 (2 cores) and nVidia Ion chipset. Win 7 Home Premium works pretty good on it. It has no trouble with 1080 video over HDMI.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I don't really mind Windows XP's age or "oldness".

My main concern is the performance of the programs that I'll be running and the OS processor power management and other power saving capability.

Also, if you know of any links to tests or benchmarks regarding program performance and power saving in both XP and 7 in netbooks, that'll be appreciated.

 

I would go with Windows 7, more up to date software, more optimized, and better overall in the long run.

(Or, you could always install Ubuntu )