Playing with Windows 7

I've been playing with Windows 7 RC1 for a couple of months now and I must say I'm really enjoying it. My self-build system (Pentium E6300@3.2GHz, 2Gb RAM and 320Gb HDD) is certainly powerful enough to drive it along well and the graphics card (nVidia 8600GTS) allows me to play games on it easily such as my present favourite Anno 1404.

It certainly is a 'Vista that works' and works well. It is a pity that mini-applications such as Windows Mail, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker didn't make it over into this version. Thunderbird is a great email client though and it works well on Windows 7. But how does a lower specification system perform with Windows 7?

So, I resurrected an old eMachine box based on an AMD Athlon X2 4000+ CPU at 2.1GHz with a new AsRock AM2+ motherboard but used the existing 1Gb memory and 160Gb hard disk drive. Software installation went well without any problems though the integrated VIA sound chip needed the Vista drivers from the motherboard's support CD-ROM. I also loaded the overclock utility and used that to bring the CPU to 2.3GHz.

After downloading Kaspersky's AntiVirus for Windows 7 trial there was about 68% of the memory used. Not much left over for applications to run with. A bit of trimming required. So I set the user interface style from the default Aero to Windows 7 Basic and then stopped Windows Defender. I also grabbed an extra 96Mb from the integrated video using the BIOS setup. Memory used is now 30%. Good enough for word processing, web surfing and email etc. Just to push it a bit, I installed the Anno 1404 game demo. It worked well if a bit slow on reduced details settings on the Geforce 7025 integrated graphics.

Now if only I could get rid of the faint tobacco smell from the previous owner it would be fine!

Losing my memory

I don't know why, but I've been upgrading a lot of desktops recently with additional memory. In fact I've almost run out and that is after ordering replacement parts. As soon as I get them, I sell them.

It's difficult to know what to stock. That means what to carry around with me. Speeds and capacities vary so much and often you need to add pairs of exactly similar manufacturer and specification to make sure that dual channel performance is maintained. I don't want to buy large quantities of memory parts 'just in case', especially as I leave them in my car boot overnight. However PC3200 DDR2 512Mb is useful to have enough of, and PC4200 512Mb can be used as a substitute for most Windows XP systems that are upgrading from 512Mb total capacity to 1Gb. You can then take out the original pair of 256Mb strips and use them to upgrade the next one.

I had problems with a DELL Dimension 5000 the other day which needed to be increased from 512Mb to 1Gb only I didn't have any PC3200 or PC4200 memory at all. I tried replacing what was in there with PC5300, both a pair of 512Mb and a single 1Gb. The pair didn't want to work at all, it just beeped and the single strip booted but subsequently crashed when the Windows desktop screen was almost finished displaying. Eventually I managed to recover two PC3200 256Mb strips from a DELL Dimension 5100 that I had in the workshop and that worked perfectly. Job done!

When I looked on the Crucial website (where I buy most of my memory) it said that upto PC6400 was OK in the Dimension 5100. Sure enough, two PC6400 1Gb strips were installed and worked fine. Just what I needed anyway for the Windows Vista upgrade. Strange that two systems with a similar specification and chipset should behave so differently. Probably different motherboards.

The rise of the low-end graphics card

I've become aware that relatively cheap (under £40) graphics cards can provide a great 3D graphics experience with translucency, shadows and reflections in modern games at a playable refresh rate. I've just been playing the new Anno 1404 demo on my new Windows 7 system with an ATi Radeon HD3450 (£25, 256Mb DDR2, 3Dmark06 1800) on my 1680 by 1050 resolution monitor. A bit jerky but a beautiful picture.

So let me see what I can get if I pay a bit more. Say for an nVidia 9500GT (£37, 512Mb GDDR3, 3Dmark06 5875) Over three times the performance for just £12 more. Now the game runs smoothly and pretty. What a bargain! These cards are low on power and run cool and quiet too. Without the need for extra power leads and hefty power supplies. Great for decoding and playing DVDs as well.

They are a perfect upgrade of the integrated graphics in most basic systems. They improve the Aero Glass interface in Vista and now Windows 7. My Windows Experience score for that jumped from 3.1 to 5.9 with this latest graphics card.

Low-end graphics cards used to be just for playing retro games. This new generation offers adequate performance for today's games especially if you are happy to lower the detail level slightly or the screen resolution. And your whole system could feel a lot faster as well.