Solved! Core2Duo or i3 /Win7-32 or Win7-64

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vuser

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I am in the market for a laptop and I am on a limited budget. I am not going to be using the laptop for gaming at all. Nor am I going to be using it for streaming video - except for occasionally looking at something on Youtube. Mostly going to be used for browsing & programming.

At work, I have a core2Duo laptop running XP. I am very very happy with it. But you no longer get laptops with XP, so I have to get one with Windows7.

So I was wondering if Core2Duo is good enough for Win7 or do I need to go for i3? It's probably good enough for Win7 currently, but I am wondering what when Win7Sp1/Sp2 come out. Windows XP hardware requirements changed a lot with XPSP2 - I don't want to end up with a laptop which is terribly slow 2 years down the line with Win7SP2 comes out.

So what processor should I look for & how much RAM/Harddisk in order to use the laptop for 3 years atleast.

Next question is - Win7-32 bit Home or Win7-64 bit Home? I know all these chips are 64 bit chips, but they can run 32 bit OS also fine. And most software programs running on Win7 are probably still 32 bit. So should I go for 32 bit Win7 or 64 bit Win7. Also the default on these Laptops is Home Basic - is it worth the extra money I need to customize it to Home Premium.

 
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Any C2D CPU will work fine with windows 7(no slow-downs unless it's clock is slower than 2.0GHz and you have less than 3GB of RAM)
I'd recommend 4GB RAM,it's not expensive and it's enough for today's games/apps
And no there are no disadvantages of running Win7 64 because unlike XP 64, it has much better driver support.(Haven't had any software that had a problem with it)
Performance wise,you won't see a difference between 32 bit and 64 bit versions of windows 7(the 64bit version is a little faster in apps that benefit from a 64bit OS but they're few)

vuser

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Yes, I know that. My question is - does it just about work fine & or is there enough room for accomodating anything which may slow down windows win7Sp1, Win7Sp2 come out.

My question stems out of the fact that in 2001, I bought a desktop (I forgot the config - but I think it was an Athlon with either 128 or 256 MB RAM). It worked fine for many years - till the time XP SP2 came out. Windows was fully recompiled with the /GS option in SP2 which slowed down windows a bit as compared to SP1. Since updating to SP2, my desktop became much slower & I couldn't use it without it being painful.

I want to make sure I don't get into the same situation again - so I don't want a proc which is just about enough for Win7.



Yes, my question would I need more than 3.2 GB RAM? If not, is there any advantage in running 64 bit Win7 instead of 32 bit? Are there any disadvantages?

Or a Core2Duo - will Win7-32 run faster or will Win7-64 run faster. Likewise on an i3?

Is there any disadvantage to running Win7-64 - i.e. a lot of software running on Win7-64 (other than the OS itself) will be 32 bit - I know they will run fine - but it they run better on a native 32 bit OS?
 
Any C2D CPU will work fine with windows 7(no slow-downs unless it's clock is slower than 2.0GHz and you have less than 3GB of RAM)
I'd recommend 4GB RAM,it's not expensive and it's enough for today's games/apps
And no there are no disadvantages of running Win7 64 because unlike XP 64, it has much better driver support.(Haven't had any software that had a problem with it)
Performance wise,you won't see a difference between 32 bit and 64 bit versions of windows 7(the 64bit version is a little faster in apps that benefit from a 64bit OS but they're few)
 
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jsc

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I have several Core2 desktops running XP. I am in the process of converting everything to Win7-64. (I am glad Intel brought back the family pack. :bounce:)

On my systems, Win 7 is just as fast and, occasionally, a little quicker.
 

vuser

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What's the clock speed & how much RAM do these machines have?
And is it Win7 home basic, home premium or professional?
 


My laptop uses a Core2Duo T7200 @ 2.00ghz with 2gb of RAM along with Windows 7 Pro 32-bit. Everything runs smooth as butter. I see no slow downs what-so-ever. And BTW, SP1 for Windows 7 has already been released. I've had no issues stemming from the update. My Core2 was one of the first released for laptops. The ones that are still on the market now are newer than mine and are thus faster and more refined. They will handle Windows 7 just fine. The Core i3's are better (clock for clock) so if you are that concerned about overhead, then just grab one of them.
 

vuser

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This is what I have finally decided on
Dell Vostro 1014
Vostro 1014 System Chassis(DDR3)
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T6670 (2.2Ghz, 800Mhz, 2M L2 Cache)
Memory 2.0GB, DDR3-1333 SDRAM, 1 DIMM (System memory performance up to 800Mhz)
Mobile Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X4500MHD
Hard Drive 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Genuine Windows(R) 7 Home Basic 32bit (English)

Hopefully, this should be good for 3 years or so.
 
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