Comments | smoke: Windows 7, Mac OS X Leopard & Linux

smoke

Windows 7, Mac OS X Leopard & Linux

May 22, 2009 18:16

Recently I came across a video with a guy showing off how well Windows 7 runs on older hardware. He had a 1.3Ghz Celeron M notebook that has pretty much the same hardware inside as my notebook. He showed how it took a little less than half an hour to install. How it boots up pretty quickly. How each application it comes with starts up pretty fast ( Read more... )

Comments 5

hoodooyoudo May 23 2009, 11:48:49 UTC

I think really that Microsoft are targetting GPU machines for future + vista and win 7 systems - less legacy to support.

smoke May 24 2009, 00:06:55 UTC

Well, at least when it comes to them it's not Microsoft's sole position to provide the GPU drivers. In the case of the particular family of GPUs in question here intel in theory can step up to the plate and provide them for download on their site. To be perfectly honest Apple doesn't support the GPU in my notebook either. It's a GMA900 and Apple supports GMA950 at the oldest. I'm running hacked GMA950 drivers on it. It runs core image in hardware according to system profiler ( ... )

unxp May 23 2009, 18:23:20 UTC

Microsoft is researching pure-software implementation of directx, though. And one of the main reasons - to run things like aero on older hardware.
They are also slowly moving away from ancient software-only GDI to Direct2D. So I expect things to improve soon.

unxp May 23 2009, 18:26:02 UTC

The technology is called DirectX WARP. It is currently in beta.

smoke May 23 2009, 23:56:46 UTC

Somehow I don't think that running it all in software would help. At least in performance; especially on older hardware. I would be complaining asking, "Why is it in windows everything has to run in software on that type of computer when in other operating systems it can run in hardware?" =P I think they are targeting computers that have hefty CPUs but for one reason or another don't have proper GPUs. Those type of computers tend to be servers. I would think, "why would you want to run Aero there?"

Older computers that have faster CPUs tend to be towers and there you can slap in a newer GPU. Like in the PC I have upstairs I slapped in a GeForce 8 series GPU. They even have one for computers that only have PCI slots and it can run id tech 4 engine games at full detail.

I'm just responding to the notion that Windows 7 is the best for older notebooks such as the one I have. I'm saying perhaps it isn't all that it's cracked up to be there.