Windows 8 on x64 requirements

[shakirmoledina]

Hey guys,

I am deciding on upgrading my win 7 x64 pc with 2GB ram to win 8 x64. I have seen a lot of slowdowns on win 7 while my PC at home running at 2GB ram works much faster on win 8.

So a decision making here,

should I upgrade from win 7 x64 to win 8 or will it make things worse? Isn't windows 8 faster?

 

[Magsor]

Hey guys,

I am deciding on upgrading my win 7 x64 pc with 2GB ram to win 8 x64. I have seen a lot of slowdowns on win 7 while my PC at home running at 2GB ram works much faster on win 8.

So a decision making here,

should I upgrade from win 7 x64 to win 8 or will it make things worse? Isn't windows 8 faster?

Windows 8 is somewhat lighter but the difference is hardly noticeable. Its a better investment to buy new hardware instead of changing OS. (unless you are not paying for the OS- lol).
Buying new ram will definitely be on top of your list.

 

[Rydian]

What exactly are you doing?

 

[trumpet-205]

What is the specification on that very slow PC?

Jumping from Windows 7 to Windows 8 won't give you noticeable performance improvement.

 

[shakirmoledina]

i am trying to compensate for the deficiency in RAM by installing an OS that I have seen to make better use of the RAM (memory mgmt), So therefore I am trying to shift from w7 x64 to w8 x64.

Also its a p8600 core 2 duo w/ 2GB RAM. The problem is that its an office LAPTOP and hence to get an upgrade will probably eat away some weeks. A lot of my activities take time to load eg. SQL server, chrome and office apps. I am thinking I need a format to clear some stuff up but again, office PC.

Hoping that an upgrade will do SOMETHING to clear up the unnecessary stuff. Unless you have something I could do to speed it up otherwise?

Advise on your side?

 

[hisagishi]

I would just get windows xp for that machine. Or buy more ram, whichevers cheaper.

Wait you said programs take a while to load? Maybe an SSD down the line? Alteast with those you can reuse them in a future build.

 

[YayMii]

Everything about Windows 8 is optimized for low-resource usage, so on old PCs you'll notice an improvement in performance compared to Windows 7 (and perhaps even Windows XP). This optimization doesn't really do much for computers that are more than capable of running Windows 7 smoothly though (aside from boot time).

I know this from experience, I installed 8 on my mom's bloated Vista laptop (Pentium T4200 dualcore, 4GB RAM) and experienced a massive improvement in stability and performance. And then after my dad did something that caused it to become unbootable, he installed 7 on it, which resulted in complaints and her asking me to put 8 back on it again.

 

[FireGrey]

Everything about Windows 8 is optimized for low-resource usage, so on old PCs you'll notice an improvement in performance compared to Windows 7 (and perhaps even Windows XP). This optimization doesn't really do much for computers that are more than capable of running Windows 7 smoothly though (aside from boot time).

I know this from experience, I installed 8 on my mom's bloated Vista laptop (Pentium T4200 dualcore, 4GB RAM) and experienced a massive improvement in stability and performance. And then after my dad did something that caused it to become unbootable, he installed 7 on it, which resulted in complaints and her asking me to put 8 back on it again.

I found a noticeable improvement when upgrading on my High-end PC.

 

[YayMii]

I found a noticeable improvement when upgrading on my High-end PC.

Well then. I stand corrected.
I haven't tried Windows 8 on a high-end PC (my bro's sticking with 7 on his 980x), so I wouldn't know. And my last switch was from an ultrabook to a C2Q desktop, so if anything I've noticed a decrease in performance switching from an SSD to an HDD.

 

[trumpet-205]

In terms of "bloatness" it is,
XP < 8 < 7 < Vista

I never noticed a difference between Windows 7 to Windows 8. Any difference one felt when moved to Windows 8 comes from the fresh install. I did most of my work using Linux w/VirtualBox so my PC stayed mostly fresh when moved to Windows 8. I'm using i7-3770K w/ 16 GB of RAM if you are curious.

Here are four things you can do to boost performance,
* Fresh install any Windows excluding Vista (given low RAM size it is better to go with 32 bit instead)
* Replace HDD with a SSD (since data drive is the bottom of data chain replacing one with SSD significantly boost loading performance)
* Expand RAM to 4 GB (2 GB is low in today's standard for Windows)
* Set up temporary RAM drive (Imdisk is a good one) to offload Temporary Internet Files and cache files from HDD/SSD (RAM is faster than SSD, and by going temporary there will be no privacy issue).

Of course you can also ditch Windows and go with alternative OS, such as Crunchbang Linux, Lubuntu, etc.

 

[Lacius]

If you have 2GB of RAM, these are your options from best to worst:

Windows 8 32-bit > Windows 7 32-bit > Windows 8 64-bit > Windows 7 64-bit

There is a marginal performance increase from Windows 7 to Windows 8. It's marginal though, so if you prefer things like the conventional Start Menu button (which can be re-added with third-party software), then you might want to stay on Windows 7. Ease of use and comfortability for you is more important than the marginal performance increase you'll get.

As for 64-bit vs. 32-bit, 64-bit uses more RAM than 32-bit, so if you only have 2GB of RAM, your performance will actually be worse if you use a 64-bit OS. If we're talking only about performance, Windows 8 32-bit is your best option.

 

[Ericthegreat]

If you have 2GB of RAM, these are your options from best to worst:

Windows 8 32-bit > Windows 7 32-bit > Windows 8 64-bit > Windows 7 64-bit

There is a marginal performance increase from Windows 7 to Windows 8. It's marginal though, so if you prefer things like the conventional Start Menu button (which can be re-added with third-party software), then you might want to stay on Windows 7. Ease of use and comfortability for you is more important than the marginal performance increase you'll get.

As for 64-bit vs. 32-bit, 64-bit uses more RAM than 32-bit, so if you only have 2GB of RAM, your performance will actually be worse if you use a 64-bit OS. If we're talking only about performance, Windows 8 32-bit is your best option.

Yea there a reason you gotta have 64 bit, cause 32 bit will support the whole 2 gig of ram man?

 

[shakirmoledina]

i love all ur answers. Ofcourse hardware upgrade is unlikely but I will try to get win8 x86 on the system if possible. No upgrade so the headache or reinstalling apps begins

 

[shakirmoledina]

i just went for a win 8 x32 installation and the system seems great with the amazing speed and UI.

thanks all for the advice

 

[Lacius]

Yea there a reason you gotta have 64 bit, cause 32 bit will support the whole 2 gig of ram man?

32-bit operating systems support up to 4GB of RAM.

 

[Coto]

try using 2x2GB ram sticks separately so you can use the double channel feature, i have 2x4GB ddr1333mhz and a core2duo machine. Trust me, I disabled Windows Paging File and it's smooth at 30+ open tabs

 

[Originality]

32-bit operating systems support up to 4GB of RAM.

3.2GB without certain tweaks, but yeah.

 

[Lacius]

3.2GB without certain tweaks, but yeah.

32-bit supports up to 4GB of RAM. That 0.8GB RAM that's inaccessible in your example has to do with video memory, etc. 32-bit still supports up to 4GB of RAM natively.

 

[Magnus87]

I would just get windows xp for that machine. Or buy more ram, whichevers cheaper.

Wait you said programs take a while to load? Maybe an SSD down the line? Alteast with those you can reuse them in a future build.

XP???? ahahhahaah. Its 2013 not 2001


I have Windows 7 x86 on a P4 @3.2GHZ, 2GB and 256MB video onboard and It works very well.


@shakirmoledina

If you have 2GB ram try with x86 version of Windows (Vista/7/8).
If you really want a x64 version, add more ram (2 or 4 GB)

 

[hisagishi]

XP???? ahahhahaah. Its 2013 not 2001


I have Windows 7 x86 on a P4 @3.2GHZ, 2GB and 256MB video onboard and It works very well.

I take it you have almost everything disabled? No way you could be using a 256mb onboard + p4 with aero for example.