Intel e5200 2 cpu w/ 4 gig ram... enough for Windows 7 Pro?

[benali72]

I need the advice of some of our Windows experts on the board here.

I snagged an intel e5200 (2 cpu's @ 2.5 ghz each), with 4 gig of ddr-2 memory (max'd out).  (Got it for free by fixing its mobo).

Is this sufficient hardware to run Windows 7 Pro and have a happy experience?  Would you recommend 32- or 64- bit Windows?

Thank you.

[DarkHumour]

Knee jerk answer is the 64 bit version as it would be able to use >> 4gb if this system was replaced in the future.  (Athlons... DDR3... etc)   Or go Linux 64 and run Windows virtually so it almost doesn't matter what the host hardware is. This might bypass that pesky activation nonsense should the host hardware change dramatically in the future.

32 bit maxes out somewhere between 3 and 4gb (at least for XP). 

Also make sure you get the version of seven that includes a free virtual pc of XP. Especially if you do not have any licenses left. I think Business Pro is the lowest that supports/includes it.

If you have hardware that can support it the only downsides to 64 bit is the loss of legacy support and/or some programs may not run quite right on it.  I've been hemming and hawing about putting 64 bit SUSE, 64 bit XP, or 64 bit Windows 7 on my laptop for a while now.  I think I want to get a slightly better model that maxes out at 8GB of RAM and has a sata based ultrabay instead of pata.

My laptop is perfectly suited for what I currently use it for. My desire for something marginally better annoys me but buying peripherals that would only work on this model bugs me too. (I need a new battery already).

DarkHumour

[The Gorn]

I agree with DH, that motherboard+cpus+memory should easily run Windows 7 64 bit.

The edition that includes Windows XP compatibility mode is Windows 7 Professional.

As DH stated, 64 bit Windows will not run some older Windows 95, Windows 3.1 and DOS applications. The missing element is the 16 bit subsystem, which goes bye-bye in 64 bit versions.

Which is exactly what Windows XP mode is for. You can't run certain older apps directly under the 64 bit OS. But you can create a Windows XP instance within Windows 7, and run the older app under that virtual OS.

[benali72]

Thanks, guys, I appreciate your expertise.  I'm afraid I've been in Linux World so long I've lost touch with current Windows. Now I've got a good idea of some of the considerations. 

I checked the CPU chip (Intel e5200 dual core) and found that it does not support virtualization. So it can't run VirtualBox, for example. 

But here's something interesting .... the MS web site says it still would be able to run a virtual XP instance under Win 7.  So MS says the cpu chip doesn't need hardware virtualization to run virtual XP under Win 7.

The MS website says you need at least Pro edition to run virtual XP (Home Basic or Premium won't do). That hikes the price for Windows from $99 to $149 at places like TD.

I noticed that this mobo only has sata connectors and 1 80g disk. No ide connector at all, which is too bad, since I've got several big ide drives available. I used to have an ide pci expansion card, I'll see if I can find it. Otherwise time for a few dollars for a nice new fast big sata drive.   

[DarkHumour]

You don't need to buy an ide controller necessarily.  Just get an IDE-to-SATA adapter plug/converter.  Plug n play no drivers necessary. I think.

I hoped SCSI would take over the interface connector standard but I guess I will settle for SATA eliminating the IDE in desktops and laptops.

DarkHumour

[benali72]

Thanks, DH, I wasn't aware of those ide-to-sata connectors.  Very inexpensive... looking them up I see they're like $5 or so.

One interesting thing... most need power so you have to connect a little power plug (the ones once used for floppies) to their circuit board to power it.

I hope my ide/pci card will work and be recognized by the OSs, if not, the connector you mention might do it for me.

Thanks.

[The Gorn]

Probably, most recent (<3 year old) hardware like IDE adapters that relies on standard chip sets should be recognized by Windows 7.

Older stuff is simply not accessible by Vista or Win 7 because the driver architecture makes a break from Windows XP and earlier stuff. Driver compatibility between Vista and Win 7, however, is similar.

In general, very proprietary stuff needs drivers written specifically for Vista and above and if it's older, there are simply no drivers. For example, I have a Microsoft wireless LAN USB adapter that I bought in 2004 and there are no drivers for Win 7 or Vista. Another example is an older PCI ethernet card that I tried, which does not work in Vista.

[benali72]

oops, that's right... a device from XP days may not be recognized by Win 7.  My ide adapter card dates from XP days and my Linuxes recognize it fine but that doesn't mean Win 7 will. I'll try it out and see but now that you mention it I'll bet it doesn't. 

[benali72]

UPDATE -- 

I checked MS's Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) for WIndows 7 and found it would cut off my scanner, printer, and ide controller card. Lots of forum messages from people trying to get this stuff to work (and failing).  I dont feel like buying an OS so that I can then be forced to buy new peripherals so I'm passing on Win 7 with this box. I'll probably get Win 7 when I buy a new bare bones box sometime in the future.  Thanks for the good advice.. this has been a good learning experience.

[Richardk]

Also with hardware, stick to known brands... common stuff.

I'm searching for the best word here but the short of it is I once purchased an IDE card for an XP box that I wanted to add an additional drive to. The stupid card also did RAID even though it wasn't being used, but I discovered that the disk wasn't recognized on a standard IDE controller. So if this card ever went bad, even if the disk was good, I'd be stuck.

[The Gorn]

Benali - I agree with you. Adoption of Windows 7 or Vista forces the obsolescence of a *lot* of not that old hardware components.

I'm a little surprised about your printer not being supported, though. What model is it? My HP Laserjet IV (vintage 1993) was supported directly. (Through a USB to parallel cable.)

[PhilFromNY]

I have a really old Epson Action Laser printer. It's not supported directly by Windows 7 but the printer (like most from that time period) has a LaserJet III emulation mode which is supported by W7.

[The Gorn]

I wonder if something like an Epson MX-80 would work? I saw "generic graphics printer" in the generic printers in Windows 7.

[benali72]

I used the MS HCL available to determine compability --
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/default.aspx.

I found my HP scanjet 5400c and the HP Laserjet 6L both not supported for both 32- and 64- bit Windows 7.  I found a lot of forum discussions where people have gotten the printer to work by other means... I'm not sure about the scanner.  (Odd that the Laserjet 6L printer is not compatible since most HP Laserjets are, including the 4L and 5L. ) 

I also determined my PCI adapter card for the IDE/PATA disks would not work.  As G0ddard suggests, a newer one might.

The ironic thing is XP on this box would run all this stuff fine...  except for sata disk(s), which it wouldn't recognize.

[Richardk]

The ironic thing is XP on this box would run all this stuff fine...  except for sata disk(s), which it wouldn't recognize.

So it's not a hardware issue but an OS issue. The interesting question is why.

This certainly seems like one step forward and two back.