Windows XP to Windows 7

[vetran]

p4 dual thread 3gb machine running win7 and MCE plus extenders fine. Even plays HDTV.

I actually paid for an upgrade to win7. Normally I just take what comes with the PC.

[Sysman]

If it's an old PC, wait to get a new one with W7... or get a ultra-cheap desktop with no monitor, keyboard, etc for £250 with it installed.

If the PC is OK, then I'd upgrade, W7 is pretty good (although XP is good too). Can you upgrade to the 64-bit version though, or do you have to wipe the disk?

I recently got a cheap PC with W7 Home Premium thrown in. Looking at the full retail prices of Windows 7 in my local department store, I could spend as much on Windows itself as I paid for the complete box. The picture is somewhat different if I look at a discount outlet.

1. buying a system with Windows included can be a good deal
2. if going for an upgrade to Windows, watch out where you shop; consider going to 1

[VectraMan]

Using both now and I've got to say W7 is far better in every way, it just feels far more intuitive and less niggily than XP or Vista. If the intention was to make the whole experience slicker and more user friendly they've done a good job.

WHS. Once I got used to using the eval RC version, I didn't want to go back. I ended up buying copies to upgrade both my XP desktop and Vista laptop. And it really is faster, but more significantly multitasks much better. And it's more stable; I've never once had that OS still works but explorer and task manager won't respond debugging problem that I had twice today with XP at client co and twice had to hard boot.

Having said that, for a "normal" person (he's obviously not an IT geek or he wouldn't be asking), it makes more sense to buy it with a new PC/laptop.

[gingerjedi]

I stuck a 2nd drive and extra RAM in my old P4 2GHz XP machine and installed W7 on the new drive as a dual boot.

Using both now and I've got to say W7 is far better in every way, it just feels far more intuitive and less niggly than XP or Vista. If the intention was to make the whole experience slicker and more user friendly they've done a good job.

[lilelvis2000]

I don't think one can directly upgrade from XP to Win7. It is essentially a new install so you'll have to reinstall all your applications. I use both XP and Win7 and I much prefer Win7. Especially on my quad core

[Spacecadet]

Same effect as the Quicklaunch toolbar in XP.

not really - quick launch was just a handy shortcut area, the application would then appear on the task bar.
Hitting the quicklaunch shortcut again would just open a new instance of the application.

[gadgetman]

Same effect as the Quicklaunch toolbar in XP.

and pinning applications to the task bar is genius although it has meant I stopped using rocket dock.

[Spacecadet]

I made the transition last year, first with an evaluation copy of windows 7pro 64bit then I decided to actually buy it (OEM from amazon)
Glad I made the change, Win7 does feel like an upgrade. Office 2007 seems to run better on it and generally everything seems to feel a lot more stable.
Being able to type in the start menu and see the results appear instantly in real time is a massive plus for me. The libraries are useful as well.

Aero shake and peek have also proved to be more useful than I first thought, the system tray nicely organises itself and pinning applications to the task bar is genius although it has meant I stopped using rocket dock.

[doodab]

If it's an old PC, wait to get a new one with W7... or get a ultra-cheap desktop with no monitor, keyboard, etc for £250 with it installed.

If the PC is OK, then I'd upgrade, W7 is pretty good (although XP is good too). Can you upgrade to the 64-bit version though, or do you have to wipe the disk?

You have to do a clean install to go from XP to any version of win7. It's called an upgrade cos you can buy the upgrade instead of the full version to do it.

[d000hg]

If it's an old PC, wait to get a new one with W7... or get a ultra-cheap desktop with no monitor, keyboard, etc for £250 with it installed.

If the PC is OK, then I'd upgrade, W7 is pretty good (although XP is good too). Can you upgrade to the 64-bit version though, or do you have to wipe the disk?

[Not So Wise]

Also, unless you are running on really old/crappy hardware my personal experience is that Win7 is actually faster and more stable than XP (and even better if you turn of aero).

[doodab]

The 64 bit version of Win7 is much better supported in terms of drivers & 64 bit versions of applications so if you want to install lots of memory that's one reason.

It's also a bit more secure, supposedly, because privileged operations usually require elevation, and better optimised for multi-core hardware. The visual bells and whistles might persuade some people as well.

But then, if it ain't broke.....

[chef]

I was asked by my cousin if he should upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 and if so, why? what benefits are there?

So, what do the crowd think? what would you answer?

"buy a Mac" is not on his agenda, an OS upgrade is not the same as buying a new machine in terms of cost.