Windows OS for older PC?

[ponder]

Specs: AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 2GB RAM, nVidia 6600 GPU

PC had some HDD issues and the existing XP install was already feeling like molasses so I need to either reinstall XP or go the Win7 route.

I have a existing 270MB nLite WinXP .iso I created with a lot of crap stripped out and SP3 slipstreamed and it works well after a fresh install.

I'm now thinking of maybe doing the same with Win7 and stripping it down with vLite and then installing that on the machine as Win7 seems to last a bit longer before slowing down. Just not sure if I should go 32-bit or 64-bit? Time is not an issue creating a new image and installing it.

Does anyone forsee the pc taking a knock speed wise or can I expect Win7 to be snappy (or snappier than XP) on this old hog? Would like to bring it into the 21st century and I would not have to install things like a third party firewall etc.

Your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

 

[killadoob]

Try windows 7 or reload windows xp. Windows xp gets damn slow over time so a reinstall should freshen it up and make it run pretty well.

Give windows 7 a bash though. I install on our work computer that is a celeron and 2 gb ram and it runs better than xp.

I have not noticed it slow down like it did on windows xp. It's insane how slow xp becomes.

 

[koeksGHT]

I would say W7 doesn't slow down as much over time as xp, usually re installed xp 2 times a year to keep it fast. Only ever re installed windows 7 twice because of a blown motherboard. I would say just use a lite w7 version

 

[Loopin]

Windows 7 64bit needs around 4GB of ram to be effective, so rather go for 32bit.

 

[Tpex]

Win7 should run decently on there.

 

[psivius]

With those specs Windows 7 will run super snappy. Just get the latest Windows 7 drivers for the GFX card. Also the only other driver which may give you a problem is the sound driver. It may or may not be included with Windows 7. If it does not pick up your sound card after installation and there is no specific Windows 7 driver for your sound card, just use the XP driver. Remember to set the compatability to Windows XP for the setup file before executing it.

You may as well go 64bit now and save yourself the hassle of having to reinstall at a later stage in case you decide to install more RAM.

 

[Deep78]

go win 7 should be fine on that machine just make sure u got all your
drivers updated ... but if it feels sluggish again go back to XP 64 sp3

 

[Mean_Monster]

Agree on Win7 64bit but would spend an extra couple of Rand and get another 2GB of RAM. Will make a big difference.

 

[ponder]

Agree on Win7 64bit but would spend an extra couple of Rand and get another 2GB of RAM. Will make a big difference.

The PC only get light usage, ms word, skype, browser, picasa and multitasking is a foreign concept so i think they will be OK
Any ways think ddr1 ram is not so cheap any more.

Busy playing around with vLite on Win7 64-bit.

 

[Synaesthesia]

Windows 7 is fine on 2gb RAM. Really holds up well.

 

[ponder]

When it rains it pours...

I installed from USB but the lcd went into powersave mode during install, so I though I made a dodge vlite usb. So I just booted from the DVD, same thing. Ok no problem got another 2 lcd's to try, try another and same thing, by now i'm swearing like a sailor. Go into spare room and get old 17" crt out closet and crap falls on my head.
Connect up crt but now pc no longer wants to post, must be gpu seating from fiddling with all the monitors, try reseating gpu a few time but no go. remove gpu from my pc and install it, ok we got action and I do the win7 install again, install nvidia drivers etc and everything works pretty well on this old hog.

So let me put the gpu back into my pc. fark, no display on screen!? switch 2 lcd cables around and now I get a image on the other display, swicth them back and I get a image but now none of my hdds are picked up, nada, zilch. fiddle with sata & power cables, still nothing, now i wanna break schit! Ok let me try the bios and see what gives, hmm can't access bios, express recovery or boot options via Del/F keys via usb keyboard which always works. Sigh, go and get ps/2 keyboard from closet ducking more crap, plug ps/2 keyboard in and hit reset switch, without doing anything everything works 100%.

Now I need to figure out what to do with the old gpu that stops the pc from posting, any ideas?

I feel like going for a drink now but I'm to schit scared to drive the 2km to the pub in case a bus or something takes me out, the probability of something going wrong is pretty high right now I reckon...