For Dummies Windows 7 All-in-One 978-0-470-48763-1 ユーザーズマニュアル
製品コード
978-0-470-48763-1
774
Knowing What Windows 7 Wants
Knowing What Windows 7 Wants
Do you have an old PC sitting in a corner, doing an uninspiring job of run-
ning Windows XP or (worse) Vista? Does your friendly local computer store
advertise a pile of unsold computers, reduced in price because they’re past
their prime?
ning Windows XP or (worse) Vista? Does your friendly local computer store
advertise a pile of unsold computers, reduced in price because they’re past
their prime?
Not to worry, mate. That old hunk of iron may be usable yet.
In the course of writing this book, I tried running Windows 7 on all sorts of
odd pieces of hardware. Here’s what I found:
odd pieces of hardware. Here’s what I found:
✦
Many systems that run like slugs under Vista perform significantly —
noticeably — better with Windows 7.
noticeably — better with Windows 7.
✦
Fairly recent Windows XP desktop systems, when fed a little extra
memory and a video card worthy of the name, can handle Windows 7
quite well.
memory and a video card worthy of the name, can handle Windows 7
quite well.
✦ Old Windows XP laptops, on the other hand, don’t do well with
Windows 7. The primary culprit: lack of oomph in the video department.
✦
Almost any new system — even one that’s been discounted heavily —
runs Windows 7 very well. Get the memory up to 1GB or more and install
a better video card, and you’re done.
runs Windows 7 very well. Get the memory up to 1GB or more and install
a better video card, and you’re done.
Let me tell you a story: Last month, I hopped down to my friendly local PC
dealer, looking for a dirt-cheap PC to run Windows 7. I found a discontinued
HP Pavilion — dozens of them — that the retailer had marked down to $225.
Very basic stuff: Dual core Pentium, 1GB of memory, 160GB hard drive, inte-
grated Intel GMA 3100 video driver, PCI Express slots.
dealer, looking for a dirt-cheap PC to run Windows 7. I found a discontinued
HP Pavilion — dozens of them — that the retailer had marked down to $225.
Very basic stuff: Dual core Pentium, 1GB of memory, 160GB hard drive, inte-
grated Intel GMA 3100 video driver, PCI Express slots.
Bravely pursuing Windows 7 enlightenment, I tore open the case and
installed a used video card that I had lying around the office. It sports an
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT chip with 256MB of memory. You can buy the same
card at many discount shops for $50 or less.
installed a used video card that I had lying around the office. It sports an
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT chip with 256MB of memory. You can buy the same
card at many discount shops for $50 or less.
I installed Windows 7 on the machine, and it proved positively snappy.
The Windows Experience Index (see Book II, Chapter 4) came in at 5.3 (see
Figure 1-1). That’s a mighty good showing for a $300 PC.
The Windows Experience Index (see Book II, Chapter 4) came in at 5.3 (see
Figure 1-1). That’s a mighty good showing for a $300 PC.
A 5.3 score makes this discount Pavilion almost as fast as my (ridiculously
expensive) two-year-old production machine. If anything, it feels faster.
expensive) two-year-old production machine. If anything, it feels faster.