Is windows 7 still relevant for 2016+ gaming ?

[Trylony]

Hi,

 

4 years ago I use to own a computer with win7, today i'm using win10. I really miss windows 7 it is to me the best interface that I ever used, there's nothing like it, windows 10 is ok but there's just something about win7 that makes me wanna go back to it.

 

My question is (in the title really) would it be a good idea to install windows 7 today ? Is there a good reason to not do it .

 

Thanks for reading.

[samcool55]

Sure, i still run W7 and i'm still happy with it.

Maybe when games start to use DX12 more and the API becomes more mature and gives decent performance increases. You might want to change.

But for now, apart from like a few titles that are DX12 only, you will be fine with W7.

[done12many2]

4 minutes ago, Trylony said:

Hi,

 

4 years ago I use to own a computer with win7, today i'm using win10. I really miss windows 7 it is to me the best interface that I ever used, there's nothing like it, windows 10 is ok but there's just something about win7 that makes me wanna go back to it.

 

My question is (in the title really) would it be a good idea to install windows 7 today ? Is there a good reason to not do it .

 

Thanks for reading.

I still like Windows 7, but I'm using Windows 10 daily now.  I run Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 on one machine.  More so for benchmarking purposes, but every now and then, I'm glad I have an older OS installed for a real reason.  

 

Why not run both since you already have Windows 10?

 

[Trylony]

done12many2

 

Oh I didn't even know that was possible, (not really familiar with messing around too much with computers, just got into pc building this year)

 

But hey that sounds really cool, is there a cost in terms of performance ? I mean google it but what should I know before I run 2 OS's on one computer ?

[done12many2]

3 minutes ago, Trylony said:

done12many2

 

Oh I didn't even know that was possible, (not really familiar with messing around too much with computers, just got into pc building this year)

 

But hey that sound really cool, is there a cost in terms of performance, I mean google it but what should I know before I run 2 OS's on one computer ?

 

Absolutely no cost at all.  Only one will run at a time.  You can either do a setup with Windows Boot Manager and both OSs on the same drive or a setup like mine.  I install each version of Windows on its own drive and select which drive I want to boot from upon startup.  I've learned that there are advantages to each install having its own boot manager.

[Overkilled]

I love windows 10 and I'd never go back 7 by choice.

[Trylony]

done12many2

Thanks man, I'm glad I can actually do that.

[Curufinwe_wins]

No. It is not relevant.

 

It's funny. Windows 8 shows some situationally significant gains over Windows 7 for gaming performance, and Windows 10 (dx11) shows no improvements over Windows 8.

 

That plus the DX12 support means you really shouldn't be using 7 anymore if you really want the best of the best.

 

That said, a significant OS improvement could be 2-5fps... so it isn't like it is paradigm shifting.

[zMeul]

hell yes! W7 is still relevant

you don't have DX12, but you have Vulkan

[Delicieuxz]

Yeah, Windows 7 runs everything the same as Windows 10, and gets about the same performance. Some programs run better or worse in one version of Windows or another, but the benchmarks I've seen average out to being, from best performing for games to worst performing for games: Windows 8, then Windows 7, then Windows 10. Meaning, on average, that games perform better on Windows 7 than they do on Windows 10. Of course, that excludes DirectX 12 titles. Also, I was last looking at Windows OS benchmarks around the time that Windows 10 released, so maybe things have improved with Windows 10. But the difference between their average performances was 0.5 - 2 fps.

 

Performance aside, Windows 10 is mostly Windows 7 re-released with a few minor feature changes, a UI change, and lots of monetization mechanics built-in for Microsoft to profit off of. Windows 8 is also mostly the same as 7, with a changed UI and DX 11.3 probably being the biggest differences for a typical person. And Windows 7 was mostly a re-presentation of Windows Vista with minor changes (preinstalled drivers probably being the most significant). So, whichever Windows you run, from Vista to Windows 10, you're mostly still running Windows Vista, with smaller changes made from version to version around the mostly-same core. If it weren't for a lack of modern drivers for Vista, it would still be a competent modern OS (and since Vista SP3, it's faster than Windows 7, too).

 

Apart from user-interface, startup time, sleep-mode time, and DirectX 12 (and some things like Windows update settings), Windows 10 still functions virtually the same as Windows 7, and runs the same programs as Windows 7.

 

 

Also, if you want to continue using Windows 10, but just get the Windows 7 UI back, you could look into installing a custom theme for Windows 10:

 

Here's one for Windows 7's look:

http://sagorpirbd.deviantart.com/art/Aero-7-Themes-for-Win10-Final-523979941

 

And here's one for Windows Vista's look:

http://sagorpirbd.deviantart.com/art/Vista-Themes-Final-for-Win10-521781687

 

 

Microsoft said that Windows 10 will be the last Windows OS. But the truth is that Windows Vista was the last full Windows OS, and everything since then has been rehashes of the same OS. Microsoft probably kept releasing Vista under revised names and with a new UI because they want to profit every couple of years, rather than update the same OS indefinitely, and not generate new profit. With Windows 10, Microsoft has moved to OS monetization to generate its OS profit, which is why MS has been giving Win 10 away for free, and so that's probably why MS is confident to say that Win 10 is the last Windows. But, in actuality, it's as if Vista has been the last Windows for many years now.

 

Just like Windows 95, 98, and ME, are all based off of Windows 95, Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 10 are based off of Windows Vista. Windows 7 could be called Vista 1.1, Windows 8 Vista 1.2, and Windows 10 Vista 1.3, with the most impacting difference between them all being their driver support for various newer hardware, and their UIs.

[JefferyD90]

1 hour ago, Trylony said:

Hi,

 

4 years ago I use to own a computer with win7, today i'm using win10. I really miss windows 7 it is to me the best interface that I ever used, there's nothing like it, windows 10 is ok but there's just something about win7 that makes me wanna go back to it.

 

My question is (in the title really) would it be a good idea to install windows 7 today ? Is there a good reason to not do it .

 

Thanks for reading.

I personally cant recommend downgrading to Windows 7, BUT is it still relevant?  Sure.

[GoodBytes]

2 hours ago, Trylony said:

Hi,

 

4 years ago I use to own a computer with win7, today i'm using win10. I really miss windows 7 it is to me the best interface that I ever used, there's nothing like it, windows 10 is ok but there's just something about win7 that makes me wanna go back to it.

 

My question is (in the title really) would it be a good idea to install windows 7 today ? Is there a good reason to not do it .

 

Thanks for reading.

Any OS with DirectX 11 and up is still relevant today for gaming.

DirectX 12 games will have, for a while, DirectX 11 support.

 

Steam statistics shows that 43.9% of Steam users runs on Windows 10 (as of June), and growing (might reach ~50% by the time the free upgrade offer to Windows 10 ends July 29, if we expect a number of people waiting at the last minute to upgrade). Important stats to know where game developers will focus future games.

 

[GoodBytes]

1 hour ago, Delicieuxz said:

Yeah, Windows 7 runs everything the same as Windows 10, and gets about the same performance.

Not really. You can't run Windows Universal Apps under Windows 10, and you can't record gaming using the OS built-in feature (as it is new to Win10).

You can run Messaging app, to send/receive messages form your Android phone, and if you happen to care: Edge or Cortana, nor access to the Windows Store.

 

Quote

Some programs run better or worse in one version of Windows or another, but the benchmarks I've seen average out to being, from best performing for games to worst performing for games: Windows 8, then Windows 7, then Windows 10. Meaning, on average, that games perform better on Windows 7 than they do on Windows 10.

Incorrect. Gaming performance is close to identical with all 3 OSs on a powerful system. Lower-end system benefits a bit from Windows 8/10, that we are not talking about people playing games on an old system or Intel integrated graphics. You can't compare well optimized and evolved drivers over something completely new with missing features even, because reviewers can't wait, and must give you day 1 benchmark performance, for clicks taking advantage of people not knowing better.

 

 

Quote

Performance aside, Windows 10 is mostly Windows 7 re-released with a few minor feature changes, a UI change, and lots of monetization mechanics built-in for Microsoft to profit off of. Windows 8 is also mostly the same as 7, with a changed UI and DX 11.3 probably being the biggest differences for a typical person. And Windows 7 was mostly a re-presentation of Windows Vista with minor changes (preinstalled drivers probably being the most significant). So, whichever Windows you run, from Vista to Windows 10, you're mostly still running Windows Vista, with smaller changes made from version to version around the mostly-same core. If it weren't for a lack of modern drivers for Vista, it would still be a competent modern OS (and since Vista SP3, it's faster than Windows 7, too).

Perfect text to say to get fired on the spot at any job in software or computer hardware fields.

 

Quote

Apart from user-interface, startup time, sleep-mode time, and DirectX 12 (and some things like Windows update settings), Windows 10 still functions virtually the same as Windows 7, and runs the same programs as Windows 7.

 

Quote

Microsoft said that Windows 10 will be the last Windows OS. But the truth is that Windows Vista was the last full Windows OS, and everything since then has been rehashes of the same OS. Microsoft probably kept releasing Vista under revised names and with a new UI because they want to profit every couple of years, rather than update the same OS indefinitely, and not generate new profit. With Windows 10, Microsoft has moved to OS monetization to generate its OS profit, which is why MS has been giving Win 10 away for free, and so that's probably why MS is confident to say that Win 10 is the last Windows. But in actuality, it's as if Vista has been the last Windows for many years now.

No. But the truth is that Microsoft said that many times in the past, and it wasn't the case, and it won't be the case.

Windows 7 is is not a "reskin" of of Vista, nor is Windows 8, or 10. While they share the same core ARCHITECTURE, they feature large changes between each each of them in the back. You might not see it, and that is the entire point of the an OS (the user should not see the back stuff, which is the ultimate goal of an OS). There is a massive amount of things in the back.

 

If it was "just a GUI", trust me, there would be 5-10 people working at Microsoft for the Windows development, not several THOUSANDS. If you do the math in wages that each of them gets, and all the benefits, including the best health care money can buy for free (basically, free, complete, health care, but in the US). Firing them all, would be the most tempting thing any business person would do. But they need everyone.

 

[Delicieuxz]

I know there's lots that is being worked on and put into different Windows versions. But at the end of the day, for the typical Windows user, it does really come down to being effectively about as simple as I've put it. I would know, being a power user of my Windows OSes, and having used all of them since DOS extensively, except for 8.

 

I've been using Windows 10 as my main OS for a couple of months now, and with Startisback++ installed, it may as well be Windows 7, apart from Windows notifications telling me when a new display driver is out, or telling me to restart my PC after updates are installed without giving me the option to choose whether to download and install them, and when to download and install them. I'm hard-pressed to find anything in Windows 10 that matters to my daily use, which I choose to use, which is not already within Windows 7, or even Vista.

 

23 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

Perfect text to say to get fired on the spot at any job in software or computer hardware fields.

If talking about development and tech jobs and not about typical user experience.

 

Quote

You might not see it, and that is the entire point of the an OS (the user should not see the back stuff, which is the ultimate goal of an OS).

If a user can do all the same things, run all the same thing, and get the same performance... it begs the question of 'what's different, and what's the benefit?' Where programs run the same, and functionality behaved the same and has the same performance, there's probably not anything changed that is impacting on the user.

 

I'm aware there are oodles of small features in Windows 10 that aren't in Windows 7, but I'm also aware than none of them change the normal engagement of Windows for people already familiar with Windows, and that many of them I would prefer to not have in my Windows, such as the Windows store, Groove Music, the changed start menu, and Cortana.

 

Lots has been adjusted, but it's still the same core OS in functionality and performance since Vista. The design changes are more on upper-layers of the user experience, layers which I don't typically make use of.

[GoodBytes]

Windows 10 offer lots of new features over Windows 7 for users, as well as improvements, and better security.

So, it isn't "just a GUI".

 

and saying that " If a user can do all the same things, run all the same thing, and get the same performance ", is silly, as I can say: why not use MS-DOS?

In fact, you'll gain more performance from it over Windows 7 or 10, due to the more direct hardware access you have.

 

 

[AlTech]

On 7/8/2016 at 1:37 AM, Trylony said:

Hi,

 

4 years ago I use to own a computer with win7, today i'm using win10. I really miss windows 7 it is to me the best interface that I ever used, there's nothing like it, windows 10 is ok but there's just something about win7 that makes me wanna go back to it.

 

My question is (in the title really) would it be a good idea to install windows 7 today ? Is there a good reason to not do it .

 

Thanks for reading.

Other than not getting DX12 and WDDM2 or Cortana or basically advantage Windows 10 offers....... I don't see why not.

 

Though you're gonna have to pay for Windows 10 if you ever switch back.

[The_Askinator]

On 7/7/2016 at 6:37 PM, Trylony said:

Hi,

 

4 years ago I use to own a computer with win7, today i'm using win10. I really miss windows 7 it is to me the best interface that I ever used, there's nothing like it, windows 10 is ok but there's just something about win7 that makes me wanna go back to it.

 

My question is (in the title really) would it be a good idea to install windows 7 today ? Is there a good reason to not do it .

 

Thanks for reading.

Directx 12 is major and you'll be wishing you had stayed on Windows 10, Many games like Forza are released on the Windows store for FREE and.. You get more compatibility and stuff with other programs.

[The_Askinator]

Oh and Windows 10 is the final version of Windows, So.. Yeah.. Windows 7 may become quite insecure as Microsoft REALLY wants people to use 10. http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/7/8568473/windows-10-last-version-of-windows