**The test systems
**
I’ve used two desktop systems as the test machines:
An AMD Phenom 9700 2.4GHz system fitted with an ATI Radeon 3850 and 4GB of RAM
An Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200 2.2GHz fitted with an NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS and 1GB of RAM
**The results
**
Here are the results of the tests for the two systems:
**Conclusion
**
The bottom line is that the more I use Windows 7 the more I like it. Sure, we’re looking at a beta build here and not the final code, so things could change between now and release (although realistically final code ends up being faster than beta code). Also I still have some nagging issues relating to the interface, and some concerns that the UAC changes will break applications and other code, especially installers, but overall Windows 7 beta 1 is a robust, solid bit of code.
Sure, Windows 7 is not XP, and never will be (thankfully). And if you’re put off by things such as activation and DRM, then Windows isn’t the OS for you (good news is there are others to choose from). But if you’re looking for a solid OS then Windows 7 seems ready to deliver just that - a fast, reliable, relatively easy to use platform for your hardware and software.
**hmmm thats a good question. At this point, since its in beta, officially we don’t know what the optimal system requirements are but from my personal experience, Core2 is ideal. Also, if you like the fancy “Aero”, a better graphics card would be required. * Oh and give VirtualBox a try * :rotato: **
**Alright, while reading an article on Windows 7 Kernel I came across this info which seems to answer your question in an odd way.
Chris Flores, Windows Client Communications Team, say: "one of our design goals for Windows 7 is that it will run on the recommended hardware we specified for Windows Vista and that the applications and devices that work with Windows Vista will be compatible with Windows 7."**
I found that pretty neat about Win7 too, you go to upgrade advisor, and it's actually Vista advisor they're leading you to. So, it's safe to say if your hardware worked on Vista, it will work well on Windows 7.
Looked pretty neat on Virtual PC. Will try it on the 2ndary HDD later.
I shall give it a go.