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Fuzzy Logic Windows 7 netbook performance: can MS make it faster?
Fuzzy Logic Windows 7 netbook performance: can MS make it faster? | Windows 7 netbook performance: can MS make it faster? |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Monday, 25 May 2009 | |
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So stupid is the idea that I even had my own personal fake Steve Ballmer announce on April the 1st that Windows 7 Starter Edition would be abolished because “people really hated the idea of being limited to three programs” – even though there were plenty of loopholes to allow multiple Microsoft programs to run without limitation. Of course it turns out that Microsoft has imposed other limitations on Win 7 Starter Edition for netbooks instead. No more than 1GB of RAM, no screen sizes larger than 10.2-inches. At least the hard disk restriction has moved from a maximum of 160GB to a higher max of 250GB. Note, those restrictions are only for netbooks sold at retail - in theory all of these models will be upgradeable to at least 2GB RAM (and no doubt more in the future) and to 320GB hard drives post your retail purchase. It's a frustrating and seemingly pointless limitation that hinders true innovation at a time when the PC world needs it in the face of Apple and its impending iTablet, especially when the real limitation of netbooks is the processor when compared to Core 2 Duos, and CULV systems are seemingly poised to take over. CULV is being touted by Intel as being better for netbooks, delivering faster performance at a price lower than traditional notebooks but more expensive that netbooks, but the age of CULV is only beginning as we speak. How that will change the netbook industry (along with Windows 7 and its multi-touch capabilities) is all yet to truly unfold before us. Expanding on one of those limitations, Windows XP for netbooks let manufacturers create models with screens of up to 12.1-inches in size, but this is something Windows 7 Starter Edition no longer allows. With Microsoft continually flip-flopping on what is and isn’t allowed, or even whether Windows XP will continue being sold or not – who’s to say what Microsoft has set in stone today won’t turn to dust tomorrow? That's being a bit harsh but on the other hand we all know of changed plans, delays, missing features, broken promises and more when it comes to Microsoft (and a lot of other companies, governments etc besides). One thing is for certain: Windows XP still feels way faster and smoother than Windows 7 RC edition on one of today's Intel N270 Atom, 1GB RAM, 160GB HD, yadda yadda netbooks. And yes, Microsoft will allow you to create netbooks with bigger screens or slightly better specs if the OEM uses a more expensive version of Windows 7 (such as Home Premium). However, I’ve used plenty of pre-7100 builds on various netbooks, but my experiences of Win 7 RC 7100 on netbooks have proven to be a lot slower than I expected. Perhaps it's because I'm using the "Ultimate" edition rather than the Starter Edition but Microsoft did say it wanted any version of Windows 7 to run on netbooks. And yet the performance of the RC has slowed down from my experience of beta and pre-RC versions, and if Starter Edition runs the same... Why is this? What has Microsoft added to the RC code to slow things down? Why does XP still feel so much faster than Windows 7, when earlier Windows 7 builds screamed along on netbooks in comparison? And how much damn money is Microsoft expecting us to pay for its latest and greatest OS? Please read on to page 2… |
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