Windows 7 vs. Windows XP vs...

I have a slightly old system running a 32-bit Pentium 4 CPU (3.06 Ghz) with 4GB RAM.

Which Windows OS would you recommend? Thanks in advance!

 

Badman, 4 GIG is the minimum for win 7 and some low resource apps (browser, email, etc) . Also 7 will have better support from M$ going forward. What are your primary usage patterns?
I would not load Vista or XP on any macihine that connects to the internet.

 

Hi, thank you for your prompt response. I actually don't have 4 gigs RAM, I have only 1 gig but I am planning to upgrade it to 4 gigs before installing the OS. Would you suggest getting more than 4 gigs RAM? I thought it would be unnecessary.

Usage patterns very basic. Internet, watching movies, MS Office, running random software like Rosetta Stone. No audio/video editing or anything of that sort.

 

4GB is definitely not the minimum for Windows 7. Technically the minimum is 1GB but I would suggest you have at least 2GB if you run it.

4GB is overkill but if you play games/ multitask it's a very good idea to get it.

Based on your usage habits I would say 4GB is where you should be - no need for 8.

That said, the difference in price between 4GB and 8GB is tiny so you should consider that - it's a very cheap upgrade.

With a weak CPU though just stick with 4 actually...

I suggest Windows 7. If you get the RAM on it it will work very well.

 

Ok. Based on my spec., is there any specific version of Windows 7 that would work better than the others i.e. Home vs. Ultimate. Does the latter require more system resources or anything like that?

 

Nope, just get Home.

 

I respectfully disagree. No amount of ram is "overkill". Today's apps and moving forward are very system demanding and ram hungry. I just updated my computer to 16GB. How could a larger amount of ram be overkill especially 8GB on a laptop.

 

The more RAM you get on a PC or laptop the best it is but sometimes you must be realist also as if you will use you Pc or Laptop for basic usage like internet, email, MS Office, some music, films and some little apps a 2GB is the minimum and will work fine but recommended 4GB no need to get an 8 GB RAM PC to work with that.

 

Well, it kind of doesn't matter anyway. His system won't support more than 4GB anyway. That being said most consumers are going to only really make use of 4GB of RAM right now. 8GB is overkill unless you're into some fairly heavy computing (most aren't).

 

For the average user's workflow in Windows 7, anything over 4GB of RAM (or even 3GB, I would venture to say) is overkill. The performance gains are minimal, and the money is better spent elsewhere. This is especially true for computers using DDR or DDR2 RAM (as is likely the case here), since larger memory modules for those computers are not going to be cheap.

Besides, the "bottleneck" for the OP's system will most likely be the CPU in most cases, rather than the amount of RAM (provided he upgrades to 2GB or more).

As for the OS, I would say it depends on what you have at hand. If you have XP already, then it won't hurt to use XP (although obviously, it is an older OS with relatively poor security). Otherwise, Windows 7 is a good option.

Alternatively, you can give some free Linux distros a try (Xubuntu will be an easy one to try out that will be light on system resources) as well.

 

Stick with what you already have. If you're running Windows XP, stick with it. I wouldn't waste money on a Windows 7 license, not this late in the Window 7 lifecycle, and given the age of your system, you might be better off saving your money for its eventual replacement.

 

I'm running Win 7 Home Premium 64bit on a computer equipped with a Intel Pentium D940 (3.20 Ghz), 2GB ram, 7200rpm HDD and it is running fine.

 

It's a p4... it's not like he's going to be using it for anything too demanding. Even if it could support more than 4GB there's no reason to get it.

 

I wouldn't pay a high price for obsolete RAM. DDR3 RAM is still relatively cheap, but you're paying a high price for DDR2, for instance.

In any case, you're probably not going to be able to address a full 4GB of RAM with 32-bit Windows.

Like I said, once you consider the costs of a Windows 7 license, then the obsolete RAM, you've got a good start on buying a new system.

 

^^^ good point, Badman do you want to spend about $500.00 for a new laptop or ~ 100 for the OS and about $50 for the RAM.
What system do you have now and has it be used extensively?

 

P4s are about the speed of an atom? if so, your cpu actually might bottleneck before your HDD would.

 

Hi, you actually bring up a good point. I just went to the store to buy RAM today and realized that the max. is 2GB for DDR2. The cost in USD works out to around $25 - $30 per 2GB. Was more expensive than I thought. I bought 2 x 2GB DDR2 RAM which set me back about $50 - $60.

I thought that was ridiculous. I could probably get at least 8GB of DDR3 RAM for that much money, if not more!

It's actually a desktop, not a laptop. Also, I don't have to pay for the OS, my dad's company has extra licenses that I can use. Since it doesn't see much heavy usage, it'll probably last another couple of years like this.

 

according to your hardware configuration window XP suits it better.
whereas window 7 has more friendly graphical user interface but takes a lot space in terms of hardware configuration and also have major issues like disappearance of features and hang up problem.
so rather then go with 7 i would like to suggest you to go with XP.

 

while win7 runs great on that kind of systems (used quite some of them, all with 1gb of ram, so 4gb is definitely more than enough), i would suggest with sticking what you have and invest in something new, then.

 

Do the Win 7!

Windows lifecycle fact sheet - Microsoft Windows

 

Will you still be using this system in 2 years?

Windows XP support ends in April 2014, so if you intend to still use the computer in May 2014 and beyond, then yes, it would be worth it to upgrade. On the other hand, if you're going to be getting a new computer between now and then, just stick with you have right now.

 

wth....

it has additional features?

it's awfully well-known as easy picking by malware authors....