Upgrade to Windows 7

Good day all. I am running CS3 and DPP on my Windows XP pro computer. I recently upgraded to the 70D and can no longer use camera raw to process photos. I can still use DPP but kind of miss camera raw. I have looked into getting CS6 or Lightroom 5 to process images but system requirements for both call for Windows 7. One thing system requirements doesn't say is if it has to be 64 bit or 32. I have avoided upgrading to 7 but it looks like it is inevitable unless I can find another solution. I know one advantage to 64 bit would be running more memory. Any thoughts on the subject? Like maybe the cheapest easiest route?
Clay

How old is your computer and what are the important specs? Anything still running XP is likely too old to bother sinking any more money into.

If you do upgrade, buy an OEM copy of Win7 from Newegg or Amazon and do a clean install. 64 bit is the default today because almost everything sold now has at least 4GB of RAM. A 32 bit OS will only see up to about 3.3GB of RAM, less if your video card has lots of memory. 32bit applications running on a 64 bit OS will have access to less RAM than if you ran the 64 bit version.

What are you waiting for? And skip Win7. Go straight to Windows 8.

Ray Marrero wrote in post #16573057
What are you waiting for? And skip Win7. Go straight to Windows 8.

Do you think anyone who's been avoiding Win7 (arguably the best version of Windows ever) for 4+ years wants to move to the clusterf**k known as Win8?

I built the computer 2 years ago. LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, ASUS M4A88T-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard, AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor, G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM, OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply. The motherboard supports up to 16gb memory. So just bite the bullet and get 7?

Yes...

Upgrade win 7 is a good os imho, you will need it to go to Lightroom 5 or cs6 or cc also.

Thanks for the support. I am thinking of going to Lightroom 5.

You will not be disappointed by Windows 7, your config is perfectly suited for it, I would wedge in another 4GB of RAM and you'll be set. Snap your neck before thinking about Windows 8 though.

emvy wrote in post #16573217
You will not be disappointed by Windows 7, your config is perfectly suited for it, I would wedge in another 4GB of RAM and you'll be set. Snap your neck before thinking about Windows 8 though.

Yep. This.

Hi Clay,

I just made a similar upgrade from Vista to Win 7 64, to get LR5, and can thoroughly recommend you make the jump.

I am a computer novice and the easy way is to add a SSD and install Win 7 on that, then a quick tweak of the boot drive order in BIOS and you are away. If it doesn't work just unplug the SSD and you can boot up in XP again. Good time to plug in more RAM too - cheap and easy.

I used Windows Easy Transfer to move some stuff and Win 7 Library makes it easy to still access files on the old drives.

If you are going to move to a new OS....just go to 8.1

8.1 address some of the concerns people had in 8.0

YP5 Toronto wrote in post #16574472
If you are going to move to a new OS....just go to 8.1

8.1 address some of the concerns people had in 8.0

8.1 doesn't address any of my problems with it. All it does is tweak metro a bit, add a button to take you to tablet-land (thanks, Microsoft :rolleyes, and become even more insistent that you logon with a Microsoft account.

Win8.x is still a touch screen tablet OS forced into a place it doesn't belong.

Ah well.. can't please everyone.

mike_d wrote in post #16574521
8.1 doesn't address any of my problems with it. All it does is tweak metro a bit, add a button to take you to tablet-land (thanks, Microsoft :rolleyes, and become even more insistent that you logon with a Microsoft account.

Win8.x is still a touch screen tablet OS forced into a place it doesn't belong.

Anyone that has built their own computer (such as the OP) has enough skill to configure Win 8.1 such that 1) you never have to see Metro, 2) you never need to logon with an MS account and 3) for $3 you can have an exact replica of the Win 7 start button (StartIsBack+) ... and you end up with a better OS than Win 7. Win 8.1 is the same as Win 7 with speed advantages and an improved Windows Explorer.

I used to think the same way as you, but after messing around with Win 8/8.1 for a few months I'd now only recommend Win 7 to someone that is technically challenged or to someone that really needs XP Virtual Machine.