Windows 7 or XP???

So which do you like better? All the new machines have 7, and have for a while... I think after 6 months of Windows 7, I'm about to reformat my laptop with Windows XP.

7 seems, clumsy, I think. It looks like they tried to make the new pcs look like macs, and stopped a third of the way in the process. I don't mind the new "look" and "feel" to it, and I've gotten used to it, so it's not a case of not giving it a chance.

At first, I was excited to get it since it was 64bit (vs my old XP 32bit) so I could make use of more than 4gb of ram. But in fact, my Quad core laptop is slower than my old dual core amd 6400+ machine. Don't use it for internet surfing much and my AVG and Microsoft Sec Essentials say my machine is clean. Only PS, LR, some plugins, pics, itunes, and music files are all that have ever been on it, and I haven't added anyhing in a while.


What do you think? XP or Windows 7? Not which do you have, but which do you prefer?

Some of the newer software, i.e. lightroom 4, will not work in xp...keep that in mind

XP: Welcome to 2001. It doesn't support modern hardware well, doesn't cache to memory as well, and is just old and tired. Win XP-64 never caught on and hardware support is poor. Windows 8 is almost out.

Get used to Windows 7. It works fine. Get a shell replacement if you must. Move with the times or be left behind.

Neither. I was so impressed win the Win 8 Beta I converted my PC to a Hackintosh and run MacOS 10.7.3 Lion. Maybe one day I will dual boot...but not now.

Windows 7 is great...for Microsoft. OSX is still superior

Logicus wrote in post #14289136
But in fact, my Quad core laptop is slower than my old dual core amd 6400+ machine.

Extra cores wont make your OS any faster and getting over the 4GB memory limit is beneficial to programs like Photoshop. I guarantee CS5 runs better on 7 then it ever could on XP. It may be your anti-virus or you may be in need of a clean boot and a defrag which is making your machine a bit slower. I don't know how to give a solution without lots more details but there should not be that much noticeable difference.

Windows 7 x64 along with an Intel SSD, ClassicShell, and FileSearchEX have made me forget all about Windows XP.

I hated windows 7 BEFORE I got windows 7. After getting it, I LOVED it. XP is just so dated now. I have yet to have any problems with Windows 7. Its as awesome now, as XP used to be before 7.

It took me a while to figure out the comparitively new UI, but I love it now. Plus all the little tweaks are fantastic. Its easy to switch between open windows now and having a real time search means I can actually find things. Its also considerably snappier than our old XP desktop.

Windows 7 x64 for me. XP is my second choice when it comes to Windows. I can't stand Vista, and would never go back to it.

Win-7 with Chrome browser has been extremely stable and useful. I would not go back!

I also like Chrome's Adblock app... and I use CCleaner daily to sweep all those browsing cookies and sh-t off my hard-drives. (I didn't know for awhile that CCleaner swept ALL installed drives... very useful!)

Tonaka wrote in post #14293340
Windows 7 x64 for me. XP is my second choice when it comes to Windows. I can't stand Vista, and would never go back to it.

If you disable Areo it's not that bad even though Win7 is so much better.

I know vista gave everyone a bad taste, but windows 7 really isn't that bad. There's a few things worse but many other things that are way way better than xp. If you want to live in the current times and use software/hardware from the current decade then it's pretty much inevitable that you have to move on from XP...
I know what you mean, but you really need to get over it and just install 7

I have always liked XP and it took me a while to get used to Windows 7. XP was very ingrained. Now that I've had Windows 7 for a while I like it a lot more. A worthy successor to XP and WAY better than OSX.

That said, XP is more suited to slightly older slower hardware. If your quad core is slow on Windows 7 there is something up, it should do just fine. Windows 7 does need more RAM to be happy ive found.

I never much liked XP, to be quite honest. For my use it wasn't much different from Win 2k, just moderately shinier but never terribly pretty. Even the dreaded Vista brought some improvements in high powered systems running more cores and RAM but it had its warts. 7 has been quite excellent and I've been meaning to try 8, I have my reservations but I'll hold off judgement until I've given it a fair shake.

Is 7 better than OSX? Is Nikon better than Canon? In the end based on my long history of using both and not giving much of a damn I'd say you're best off just using whichever one you prefer. I like being able to build my own workstation, that's something that matters to me.

I would unequivocally say that I think 7 is better than XP though.