Windows version for old PC

[greenmonk10]

I recently fixed a friends old pc currently running windows 7 with an AMD phenom ii x2, 8 gigs of ram, and a gts 450. My question is whether or not upgrading to windows 10 is a good idea or if it will reduce the performance of this aging hardware.

[rubled0102]

Ensure that all the devices installed in the system are compatible with Windows 10, then upgrade, if you so desire.

Windows 7 is still fine for the vast majority of day-to-day tasks, but some games and software may only work on Win10. (DirectX 12 games, some Microsoft software, etc)

[The Sloth]

go to Linux if you want better performance 

[yathis]

Windows 10 is not a good idea to upgrade towards. If anything try to find a W7 copy and stick with that.

I have Vista copy from Vista Forums guru.

[TheCherryKing]

Windows 8(not 8.1) is the newest version of Windows I would install on very old hardware. Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 lack support for processors older than Intel Core.

[Nostalgia_Realm]

To actually answer your question: yes it's a good idea, you will get many security and reliability improvements as well as minor performance increases. For day-to-day use you might see a performance decrease because Windows 10 has more eye candy enabled by default, but you could disable that if you so desire.