New Win7 Launch Hardware Bonanza : New Hardware

By Rachel Rosmarin , published on October 21, 2009 at 7:30 PM
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The launch of a new operating system always means new hardware—lots of it—even if the operating system’s requirements aren’t a whole lot more demanding than the previous OS. In this case, Windows 7’s official debut on October 22 will usher in dozens of new laptops and desktops that aren’t that different—internally—from those you could buy in early October. Here are Microsoft’s Windows 7 system requirements:

·         1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

·         1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

·         16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

·         DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

See? Nothing to it. All of the computers included in the following (mostly laptops, with a few desktops for good measure) will be launched on or around October 22. They’ll each ship with a fresh Windows 7 installation. They run the gamut from barebones browsing machines to juiced-up gaming rigs; from thick, boring configurations to sleek and ultra-light designs. There are almost never this many options from which to choose, so if you’re in the market for a PC, now is a good time to start shopping around. Nearly all computers that were on the market for the past few months will now start shipping with Windows 7 installed—this article covers the computers that are launching, brand new, this week.

For those of you who jumped the gun and bought a PC in the last few weeks (or bought a machine running Vista anytime between June 26, 2009 and January 31, 2010), yes, you can get a coupon for a free Windows 7 upgrade. But remember, netbooks are not eligible. And, you'll have to do the installation of Windows 7 yourself.

Please let us know in the comments if the computer you’re most excited about isn’t included in this roundup. In a couple of days, you'll be able to use this tool from Microsoft to search and shop for more PCs that come with Windows 7 pre-installed.
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Comments
outacontrolpimp 10/22/2009 2:38 AM
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whatever happened with the bloatware rule microsoft was trying to make? did that ever get passed. all these laptops will suck if theres tons of bloatware on them, most users have no idea how to take it off :( stupid companies setting themselves up for failure with boatware

XD_dued 10/22/2009 6:26 AM
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outacontrolpimp :
whatever happened with the bloatware rule microsoft was trying to make? did that ever get passed. all these laptops will suck if theres tons of bloatware on them, most users have no idea how to take it off stupid companies setting themselves up for failure with boatware



Its annoying, but not hard to take off yourself :)

scook9 10/22/2009 7:51 AM
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They left out the Alienware Area 51 and Area 512 ALX desktops

Kind of expensive, very good looking, very good optiones (just not prices). Unfortunately it is i7 with only 3 memory slots though, so 12gb cost ALOT

Tomsguiderachel 10/22/2009 8:08 AM
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scook9 :
They left out the Alienware Area 51 and Area 512 ALX desktopsKind of expensive, very good looking, very good optiones (just not prices). Unfortunately it is i7 with only 3 memory slots though, so 12gb cost ALOT


Thanks! Good to know.

excalibur1814 10/22/2009 9:36 AM
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They should also place a screen offering links to the various virus apps BUT install Microsoft Security Essentials as standard. As soon as you pick another package, it removes the MS one. As we all know, if MS bundles something with Windows the EU will slap them in the face.

With luck the oems will realise how much they destroyed the face of vista with 512mb ram desktops/laptops, filled with absolute crap. Forget Google/yahoo/aol/ms toolbars, forget the huge av packages that slow systems, forget it all. Just be wise for a change and ensure that the systems shipped perform as fast as possible.

Dumb, really dumb. P.s. Sony laptops... they are nearly crippled when they arrive (might have changed now though)

tester24 10/22/2009 5:36 PM
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I agree with excalibur about OEM's destroying Vista with their sub par offerings for hardware that are "vista compatible". However Microsoft should have saw this and did something about it.

I don't think that will be the problem this time because you can get a laptop with 4 gigs of memory and a decent processor for around $600.

michaelahess 10/22/2009 7:14 PM
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Acer pic:

"Switchable discrete graphics mean you can snap out of battery-saving mode and into turbo-charged movie-watching mode."

Do you even know what dscrete graphics are for? WTF?!?!?!

Intel 950 will play 1080p content with the processor that things got!

hemelskonijn 10/22/2009 7:29 PM
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Now this is a nice article indeed and without any moronic remarks.

I had fun reading it.

dedhorse 10/22/2009 8:20 PM
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HP's ProBook 5310m and Pavilion dm3 should be releasing today too. The DM3's pretty much the poor man's Envy.

Kelavarus 10/22/2009 11:17 PM
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The Adamo looks *awful*...

Tomsguiderachel 10/23/2009 7:31 AM
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dedhorse :
HP's ProBook 5310m and Pavilion dm3 should be releasing today too. The DM3's pretty much the poor man's Envy.


Thanks for chiming in about these!

bustapr 10/23/2009 9:29 PM
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Finally i see a netbook with good specs for me. the acer timeline looks really good with a core 2 duo, 2gb ram,320gb SSD, and small size 11.6 is the perfect netbook for me at college. Just need to find $550. Meh, scholarship money comes in november, I'll take it!!!!!!!

aspireonelover 10/25/2009 7:14 PM
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bustapr :
Finally i see a netbook with good specs for me. the acer timeline looks really good with a core 2 duo, 2gb ram,320gb SSD, and small size 11.6 is the perfect netbook for me at college. Just need to find $550. Meh, scholarship money comes in november, I'll take it!!!!!!!


That's not a netbook, that's a notebook... A netbook doesn't use a Core 2 Duo CPU

bustapr 10/25/2009 11:37 PM
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aspireonelover :
That's not a netbook, that's a notebook... A netbook doesn't use a Core 2 Duo CPU


WOW how lost are you boy!!!!!!
Did you by any chance take a look at the whole article, find the netbook im talking about, and read the description.
But anyway, I investigated it because i like it and learned that this uses a core 2 duo SU7300 which is an "ultra-low-voltage"(ULV) cpu. And the size makes it a netbook no matter what it has. It also can carry a pentium su4100.

judeh101 10/30/2009 6:56 AM
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bustapr :
WOW how lost are you boy!!!!!!Did you by any chance take a look at the whole article, find the netbook im talking about, and read the description. But anyway, I investigated it because i like it and learned that this uses a core 2 duo SU7300 which is an "ultra-low-voltage"(ULV) cpu. And the size makes it a netbook no matter what it has. It also can carry a pentium su4100.


It's a laptop with a smaller screen :P. Or it should be called an Ultra Portable, but certainly not a netbook. A netbook has limitations, which microsoft sets the rules here "No more than 2 GHz, no more than 1 Gig of RAM, and no more than 160GB of HDD space"
Anyways! I don't wanna start a war here, just telling you the fact that either this article is wrong, or you kinda don't get a definition of a netbook.

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