Windows 7 - Which version, Home, Ultimate, 32bit, 64 bit??

Which version of Win7 are you using?


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sapper

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Hi all

There is some confusion as to which is the best version of Win7 to purchase.

There is the green Home user version, the blue professional version, or the black geeky ultimate version (I currently have the black geeky vista version).

Then there are the Vista upgrade versions, the full vesion etc etc...

I know that to some extent it is motherboard/processor related but what is the best version to go for?

TO help other, can you please answer:

What version are you using?

32 bit or 64 bit?

Retail, upgrade or OEM?

Any major problems with driver availability?


Stable or a curse?

Any other comments?



Thank you in advance

Adrian
 
For an HTPC only build, you're safer staying in 32bit territory. You won't need more than 4GB of memory (2 will be plenty tbh) so that rules out the main advantage of a 64bit os.

For Windows 7 itself, all the versions you mention come with 7MC. A (very) short summary of the other differences (and why you probably don't need anything more than Home): Professional adds remote desktop, connection to domains and some backup tools, and Ultimate has bitlocker drive encryption and more languages.
 
I belong to the "if it ain't broke" school of thought and probably justified judging by some of the issues I've been reading about.

That's not to say I won't upgrade to Windows 7 because I can get Ultimate for less than half price with Microsoft's Employer Purchase Progam though the company I work for, but I'll be leaving my HYPC alone for the forseeable future.
 
What version are you using? Ultimate

32 bit or 64 bit? 64bit

Retail, upgrade or OEM? OEM

Any major problems with driver availability? Does not work with my Linksys WMP300N wireless adapter. It's so bad that I've had to unplug the adapter and run Cat5 instead, because it continually freezes Windows, usually within about an hour or so.

Stable or a curse? Aside from the wireless card incompatibility (as much Linksys's fault as that of the OS) there have been a couple of other things. Reading of larger SATA drives has a few problems that I never used to have under XP (slow, has occasional 'not responding' issues.)

Any other comments? Overall it's actually a very good OS. It's the first one I can really stomach with all the cutesy graphics for idiot users, I switched all that nonsense off on XP but they've integrated it well enough this time around.
 
What version are you using?
Home Premium

32 bit or 64 bit?
64 bit

Retail, upgrade or OEM?
Retail - pre-ordered with Amazon

Any major problems with driver availability?
No , The only driver problem was with my Netgear wifi adapter .The drivers from Netgear wouldn't work properly .I uninstalled them and Windows update found the correct drivers for me .

Stable or a curse?
Very stable so far.

Any other comments?
Works perfectly for me , I was having some issues with XP , when shutting down - sometimes it would freeze , waiting for some background services to end . No such problems with Win 7 - It's been bug free for me so far .
 
What version are you using? Home premium x 3

32 bit or 64 bit? 64 Bit

Retail, upgrade or OEM? Retail

Any major problems with driver availability? No

Stable or a curse? Very stable
 
What version are you using? Home Premuim

32 bit or 64 bit? 64bit

Retail, upgrade or OEM? OEM

Any major problems with driver availability?
No :)

Stable or a curse? Super stable :thumbsup:

Any other comments? Nope. :D
 
What version are you using? Home Premuim

32 bit or 64 bit? 32 bit netbook & 64bit laptop

Retail, upgrade or OEM? Retail, pre-order from Amazon

Any major problems with driver availability? No

Stable or a curse? very stable

Any other comments? very happy so far.....

Surprised so far on percentage running Ultimate! Maybe they were hosting MS launch parties or got a student deal. Mind you this can all change as the poll continues....
 
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What version are you using? Home premium

32 bit or 64 bit? 64 Bit

Retail, upgrade or OEM? Retail

Any major problems with driver availability? No

Stable or a curse? Very stable
 
What version are you using? Home Premium (Netbook, Macbook Pro) and Professional (Desktop PC, Media Server)

32 bit or 64 bit? 32-bit (on my Netbook), 64bit (desktop PC, Macbook Pro, Media Server)

Retail, upgrade or OEM? Full retail

Any major problems with driver availability? No

Stable or a curse? stable

Any other comments? None.
 
Using Ultimate x64 Full Version on Acer 5920g and Ultimate Full Version x86 on Lenovo N100 3000.

Have a Pentium 4 PC that is running Home Premium Full Version x86 - no driver problems.

All running smooth and stable as anything - even the P4.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
What version are you using? Home Premuim

32 bit or 64 bit? 64bit

Retail, upgrade or OEM? Retail - Amazon Pre Order

Any major problems with driver availability? No. A few devices didn't have Win7 specific drivers, but the Vista driver works perfectly

Stable or a curse? Rock solid except about every 2 weeks or so my network adapter locks up and needs to be reset to get back on the internet - Asus P5-KC motherboard using onboard LAN port.

Any other comments? Was previously running Vista HP OEM 32bit and that was also stable on exactly the same hardware.

Mark.
 
What version are you using? Home Premium

32 bit or 64 bit? 32 bit

Retail, upgrade or OEM? Full Retail, pre-order from Amazon

Any major problems with driver availability? None

Stable or a curse? Stable

Any other comments? I've upgraded 2 Dell Desktops, Sony Vaio Desktop and 1 Sony Vaio laptop. No problems encountered at all. :thumbsup:
 
Seems like few people have problems with network drivers. This is what i suspect here too. My Win 7 Ultimate 64bit will occasionally not boot and display BSOD. I suspect it is my network driver (Asus p7p55d motherboard with onboard Realtek network card) which is 1.5 years old and no newer version can be found :thumbsdow I'm not sure what to do in that situation and thinking about buying a separate network card just to get rid of that old driver.
 
Seems like few people have problems with network drivers. This is what i suspect here too. My Win 7 Ultimate 64bit will occasionally not boot and display BSOD. I suspect it is my network driver (Asus p7p55d motherboard with onboard Realtek network card) which is 1.5 years old and no newer version can be found :thumbsdow I'm not sure what to do in that situation and thinking about buying a separate network card just to get rid of that old driver.
Asus Support shows that the latest version for you on-board LAN connection is "2009/08/28 update".

Check it out at http://support.asus.com/ :smashin:
 
Asus Support shows that the latest version for you on-board LAN connection is "2009/08/28 update".

Check it out at ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support- :smashin:

I actualy looked on their website before, but never noticed that update sign so I didn't download them :facepalm:

I have the same driver installed (by looking on the number), but it shows the date few months older, so will replace it with updated version.

Thanks
 
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What version are you using?
Ultimate

32 bit or 64 bit?
64bit

Retail, upgrade or OEM?
Retail (of sorts.... downloaded off the MS Partners website)

Any major problems with driver availability?
No drivers for my older Hauppauge WinTV analogue card. It's now redundant
No HP drivers on other XP machine for 64 bit PCL printer drivers for HP Laserjet 2200D attached to the XP PC. Had to load some postscript driver on XP for W7 64bit to work.
Software: Pinnacle Media Center software not available for 64 bit. Had to run in XP mode, which was OK but I've since implemented Oxylbox as a media server to my Showcenter 200

Stable or a curse?
Now stable, although a few BSOD initially. Funnily enough I updated my Intel ICH10R raid driver yesterday to the latest version from Gigabyte...... 4 BSOD' in one day! Needles to say I've restored to an older version.
Currently have issues with System Restore not behaving. In dialogue with Microsoft Partner team to resolve.

Any other comments?
Love it!
It's fast.
 

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