Jump to content

Laptops with Windows XP?


wwwd

Recommended Posts

I have a lot of sympathy for you, this is one of the reasons why I'm forever sticking to mine IBM Thinkpads T43p and T61p.

 

Question (obviously) is - what is a decent spec ? Is escort a decent car ? Yes and no. Blu-ray ? HD ? Touchscreen ? SSD ? 3G ?

 

If you need anything developed after 2008, chances are you're going to struggle for drivers and support on XP. Eventually.

 

What about trying the less of the evils ? http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vis...vista-computer/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Windows 7 comes with a Windows XP virtual machine for retarded applications

 

In that case go more specific and tell him not to get Windows 7 Home Premium which most lowish spec laptops have, but Professional or Ultimate - those include the virtualized XP compatibility mode.

 

(or retarded users).

 

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8418/3434o.jpg

Edited by DaweV6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a lot of sympathy for you,

I dont!

 

Why on earth would you need an outdated OS on an updated PC?

I could understand with Vista back in the day but Windows 7 theres not many reasons not to have it.

I have to agree.

 

I'm slowly getting frustrated with XP based PCs and wouldn't recommend anything other than Windows 7 Home Premium, Pro or Ultimate for PCs with a Intel Core2Duo (or AMD equivalent), 2GB RAM and Nvidia 6series (or any ATI HD series) or better.

 

Below that, I'd either recommend XP or Windows 7 Starter

 

Especially when you can use virtual machines to run XP within Windows 7 for older software you must have (and even older devices if your clever with VMware).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a lot of sympathy for you,

I dont!

 

Why on earth would you need an outdated OS on an updated PC?

 

Because they like the way it works and looks? They know where eveything is so it's faster to use for them? They see zero benefit as they only use their PC for the web and having Windows 7 won't make broadband faster?

 

I'm slowly getting frustrated with XP based PCs and wouldn't recommend anything other than Windows 7 Home Premium, Pro or Ultimate for PCs with a Intel Core2Duo (or AMD equivalent), 2GB RAM and Nvidia 6series (or any ATI HD series) or better.

 

Below that, I'd either recommend XP or Windows 7 Starter

 

Why would you recommend that spec as the minimum you'd run Win7 HP/Pro/U on? Have you tested it on lower spec PC's?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Windows 7 won't make broadband faster?

Not 100% true... I cannot remember the full details but for internet speeds of 50Mb and 100Mb you'll experience noticeable faster browsing and downloading on Windows Vista and 7 over XP.

 

It's something XP is missing... but I just can't remember what.

 

Why would you recommend that spec as the minimum you'd run Win7 HP/Pro/U on? Have you tested it on lower spec PC's?

I'd recommend that spec as a minimum as it appears to provide the best use experience overall (visually and usability).

 

I have tested XP, Vista and 7 on many different PCs ranging from Pentium 3 to i5.

 

Believe it or not, Vista and 7 can run on a Pentium 3... albeit slowly.

 

The lowest Spec PC I've tried it on which I would have been happy to give to a customer as a ready-to-go PC was an Intel Core2Duo 1.6Ghz (Mobile processor on an MicroATX/ITX board) which provided all the visual effects and features you would see on an i7 PC but obviously not as quick and less support for games, video editing etc.

 

For PCs below a Core2Duo, the reason why I suggest 7 Starter is because by the time you've tweaked Windows 7 Home Premium or above for good everyday performance, your pretty much left with Starter. - Remember that Microsoft provides "Anytime Upgrade" to upgrade to Home Premium or above if you every upgrade your PCs hardware in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rob don't get me wrong, XP can still meet specific needs (I still have that dell I got from you running XP). On a laptop I find Windows 7 an exellent OS, better file management, better recovery if things do go wrong, better driver support, better power management, networking.

I do agree with your comments about the PC spec though.

I have ran 7 on various setups and it adjusts remarkably well.

Im running 7 on this machine here on a single core P4 with 40gig ide drive and only 512 ddr1 ram, runs just as well as XP performance wise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<3 W7.

 

Going back to supporting XP machines having mainly used W7 at home and Vista at work makes me realise how poor (IMO) by today's standard the OS is. It's no wonder, since it's so old.

 

You won't be able to avoid W7, so you should just embrace it now. Honestly, it'll be easier than you think :)

 

Buying a new PC with XP would be a very bad decision, IMO.

Edited by sidrick
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rob don't get me wrong, XP can still meet specific needs (I still have that dell I got from you running XP). On a laptop I find Windows 7 an exellent OS, better file management, better recovery if things do go wrong, better driver support, better power management, networking.

I do agree with your comments about the PC spec though.

I have ran 7 on various setups and it adjusts remarkably well.

Im running 7 on this machine here on a single core P4 with 40gig ide drive and only 512 ddr1 ram, runs just as well as XP performance wise.

 

Windows 7 has made it far easier for users to get to grips with. Your right that on a laptop & is awesome, Power management works well and the Networking part is good.

 

Exactly, the first thing I did when i got my hands on 7 was install it on the biggest pile of crap I could find. Boot times were as quick as XP and no drivers were needed to install Lan, video or sound.

 

Windows 7 won't make broadband faster?

Not 100% true... I cannot remember the full details but for internet speeds of 50Mb and 100Mb you'll experience noticeable faster browsing and downloading on Windows Vista and 7 over XP.

 

It's something XP is missing... but I just can't remember what.

 

Why would you recommend that spec as the minimum you'd run Win7 HP/Pro/U on? Have you tested it on lower spec PC's?

I'd recommend that spec as a minimum as it appears to provide the best use experience overall (visually and usability).

 

I have tested XP, Vista and 7 on many different PCs ranging from Pentium 3 to i5.

 

Believe it or not, Vista and 7 can run on a Pentium 3... albeit slowly.

 

The lowest Spec PC I've tried it on which I would have been happy to give to a customer as a ready-to-go PC was an Intel Core2Duo 1.6Ghz (Mobile processor on an MicroATX/ITX board) which provided all the visual effects and features you would see on an i7 PC but obviously not as quick and less support for games, video editing etc.

 

For PCs below a Core2Duo, the reason why I suggest 7 Starter is because by the time you've tweaked Windows 7 Home Premium or above for good everyday performance, your pretty much left with Starter. - Remember that Microsoft provides "Anytime Upgrade" to upgrade to Home Premium or above if you every upgrade your PCs hardware in the future.

 

Thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...