All the Windows users asking question, when they going to install Windows7
This article address the above question and helps you to get the answer that best suit you needs.
First of all I'm introducing the requirements for operating Windows 7
The minimum requirements to run Windows 7 are:
- 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32 - bit (x86) or 64 - bit (x64)
- 1 gigabyte ( GB ) RAM - 32 bit or 2 GB RAM - 64 bit
- 16 GB available hard disk space - 32 bit or 20 GB - 64 bit
- DirectX 9 graphics device with 1.0 or higher driver
- Internet access
- Depending on resolution, video playback may require additional memory and advanced graphics hardware
- For some Windows Media Center functionality a TV tuner and additional hardware may be required
- Windows Touch and Tablet PCs require specific hardware
- Home Group requires a network and PCs running Windows 7
- DVD/CD authoring requires a compactible optical drive
- BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
- BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive
- Windows XP mode requires an additional hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on
- Music and sound requires audio output
When deciding to move up to a 64 bit operating system, you should first consider what 64 bit gets you. Knowing what software runs on 64-bit should influence your decision; you will see no advantage if you are running 32-bit software on a 64-bit OS. You also lose the ability to run 16-bit software, which shouldn’t be a problem unless you rely on older software, such as old work software or home-made packages you haven’t yet updated.
What Does 64-Bit 7 Get Me?
More bits gets you access to more memory; the processor inside your PC communicates with your system memory (RAM) with numeric addressing. Thus, the maximum amount of memory a 32-bit processor can address is 4 gigabytes. Newer 64-bit processors—not to mention the 64-bit operating systems that run on them—can address 17,179,869,184 gigabytes (16 exabytes) of RAM. Windows NT, released in 1993, was Microsoft’s first fully 32-bit operating system; however, it took eight years before the platform, which had since evolved into Windows 2000 and then XP, became mainstream. (Yes, Windows 9x ran 32-bit applications, but it was a hybrid OS that ran on a 16-bit DOS foundation, which was one of the reasons it was so unstable.) 64-bit Windows became a reality in XP, and Vista was Microsoft’s first serious attempt to make 64-bit computing mainstream. I am sure more people will use Windows 7 64 bit because of the increasing demands for more RAM. The question is: how mainstream is 64 bit?
How Mainstream is 64 bit?
While 64-bit Windows 7 can run most 32-bit applications without a problem, it’s not compatible with 32-bit hardware drivers or 32-bit utilities like Windows Explorer extensions (e.g., context menu add-ons.) This means you need a native 64-bit driver for every device on your PC; finding support for all your hardware can be a bit of a challenge, at least on older computers.
Is there a Performance Increase?
Now, 64-bit software running on 64-bit Windows has been known to run as much as 10% faster, which illustrates the other reason—aside from memory addressing—that people find 64-bit 7 alluring. Just be prepared for lackluster industry support, at least for the next few years until
Microsoft releases a 64-bit-only OS.
How will I know if my Processor Supports the 64 Bit Edition?
Download and run GRC’s SecurAble processor testing application. The download is only about 100k, and like everything from GRC, doesn’t require an install. SecurAble will quickly tell you if your processor supports 64 Bit instructions, and if you will be able to use the coveted XP Mode found in Windows 7 professional. Just make sure it says Yes in the Hardware Virtualization field, and your good to go!
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