Windows 7 Starter = Practical for gaming?

StriderVM · October 11th, 2009

I'm currently using the RTM version of Windows 7 Ultimate and although it's faster than XP, it's using a bit more HD space than Windows XP. So I'm thinking Starter would use less disk space? And it could also be faster since it has less features?

- No wallpaper (Don't care)
- No Aero (Don't care either)
- Fast User switching (Only me using the comp)
- XP Mode (Dual Booting)

Since it should still support DirectX11, I think this version is very viable for me. Does anyone has heard of anything about Windows 7 starter that could impact gaming usage?

__________________
Current PC specs :
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**Hard core Rikki** · October 11th, 2009

Home Premium of Basic should be more viable. Using the starter edition for 'gaming' wouldnt make real sense, at least comparing with Home Basic (since you can disable aero/wmm in home premium/ultimate, it can suffice, instead of sacrificing usability of the entire OS. With the additional auth work in pro and higher editions, settling on the home versions would make sense if available system ressources or hardware isnt performing enough for your taste).

__________________

StriderVM · October 11th, 2009

But it's cheaper! I've even have a friend who can get me an OEM disk for $50.

I'm seriously considering it because I won't be using the stuff I mentioned in the first post. Just gaming. With DX11.

__________________
Current PC specs :
AsRock 945GCM-S
Pentium Dual Core E5200 @ 2912Mhz (233x12.5)
Palit Radeon 4850 Sonic 512MB gDDR3
2x2048MB Kingston DDR2 800Mhz RAM

**Hard core Rikki** · October 11th, 2009

With a limit of 4gigs of ram, I doubt it'd be very enjoyable given how limited starter is. Well, the git of it is just how Starter is not really fit for gaming, though will have a smaller footprint than other editions.

Theres been a recent special offer from MS, giving students radical discounts, at just 30 $ for home premium. No need going for a limited version if its possible to get better for even less.

__________________

Phil · October 11th, 2009

Starter is only good for Netbook Use, nothing else

.....I wouldn't mind if HTC shoehorned it into one of their Smartphones

__________________

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A PC is like a hooker, it's a lot cheaper and gives you what you're after.. and if unlucky some diseases as well, that's why you gotta use protection. -CC

Spyhop · October 11th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by StriderVM

I'm currently using the RTM version of Windows 7 Ultimate and although it's faster than XP, it's using a bit more HD space than Windows XP.

Whether it does or doesn't, who the hell cares? It's disk space. Not like it's in short supply.

Quote:

And it could also be faster since it has less features?

Not for gaming.

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Phil · October 11th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyhop

Whether it does or doesn't, who the hell cares? It's disk space. Not like it's in short supply.

Not for gaming.

Seriously, the term "Im running out of hard drive space" simply does not make sense anymore when this day in age a 1TB drive goes for $70

__________________

A Mac is like an escort, you pay a ton and get nothing.
A PC is like a hooker, it's a lot cheaper and gives you what you're after.. and if unlucky some diseases as well, that's why you gotta use protection. -CC

Squall-Leonhart · October 11th, 2009

No matter what version of windows 7 is installed, the hdd usage is roughly the same.

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StriderVM · October 11th, 2009

Well, if Squall-Leonhart is correct and HDD usage is roughly the same, perhaps I'll just settle for Home Premium. Maybe I'll just verify it and get an RTM copy of Home Premium to see. I just don't have a fast broadband so it's gonna take some time to download a 2GB ISO file.....

And I plan to use vLite on it anyway. I've already experimented with vLite on this RTM and results are real nice my system is now quite faster than when XP was installed, especially on PCSX2.

Because I live in the Philippines, it's kinda hard to take advantage of any student promo for Windows.

Sure I can buy a new 1TB drive for like $80 here, but there's a 1GB, 4GB and 20GB HDs sitting here I can't use because I've ran out of IDE slots to use. I don't like wasting perfectly working HD's.....

__________________
Current PC specs :
AsRock 945GCM-S
Pentium Dual Core E5200 @ 2912Mhz (233x12.5)
Palit Radeon 4850 Sonic 512MB gDDR3
2x2048MB Kingston DDR2 800Mhz RAM

nanaya · October 11th, 2009

Buy an IDE to SATA converter.

Edit-Uh... I mean IDE to USB xp

Last edited by nanaya; October 11th, 2009 at 15:10..

Squall-Leonhart · October 11th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by StriderVM

Well, if Squall-Leonhart is correct and HDD usage is roughly the same, perhaps I'll just settle for Home Premium. Maybe I'll just verify it and get an RTM copy of Home Premium to see. I just don't have a fast broadband so it's gonna take some time to download a 2GB ISO file.....

And I plan to use vLite on it anyway. I've already experimented with vLite on this RTM and results are real nice my system is now quite faster than when XP was installed, especially on PCSX2.

Because I live in the Philippines, it's kinda hard to take advantage of any student promo for Windows.

Sure I can buy a new 1TB drive for like $80 here, but there's a 1GB, 4GB and 20GB HDs sitting here I can't use because I've ran out of IDE slots to use. I don't like wasting perfectly working HD's.....

no free pci slot for an ide card?

__________________

VBA-M | Xtemu | NGOHQ | Post Impact Productions | TNHW | XBCD 0.2.6 | Satanic666's Emulator Compiles
Don't be a NOOB, READ THE NGEmu/EmuForums Rules of Conduct
Need Help with ePSXe? This is your first stop!.
If you don't post all the required information, you don't get help.
Everytime someone posts a romsite, God kills a beautiful woman.

StriderVM · October 13th, 2009

Well, I do already have one PCI-IDE card. But since my 780G broke down and needed to buy an extra cheap Intel mobo, it's now lacking a PCI slot (Taken over by the dual slot 4850 I have

)

I also have a USB-IDE converter but they're a mess with plugs and stuff so it won't be practical for general usage.

Anyway, I finally tried Windows 7 Start and it was going fine until.......

I noticed starter only allows up to 2GB RAM usage! I didn't know about this limitation... O_o

Oh well, here we go to Home Premium.... :P

__________________
Current PC specs :
AsRock 945GCM-S
Pentium Dual Core E5200 @ 2912Mhz (233x12.5)
Palit Radeon 4850 Sonic 512MB gDDR3
2x2048MB Kingston DDR2 800Mhz RAM

Silenus · October 13th, 2009

Yeah as stated mostly netbooks would benefit from it.

__________________

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Mad · October 13th, 2009

I've used Windows Vista Starter on some cheap Compaq the office bought, equipped with Celeron 1.2Ghz, 2GB, 250GB HDD, DVD Burner.
It can't logon on Domains, can't open more than 3 programs at the same time.

In Win7 you can open as much programs you want. But still it wouldn't be usable for us. Had to format 1 machine and ghost the others.

__________________
[Windows 7 RTM PRO X64] [Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L] [Intel E5200@2.5Ghz] [Corsair XMS2 DHX 4GB DDR2 800MHz] [HIS HD4670 1GB GDDR3] [19" LCD SyncMaster T190] [Samsung SATA II HD322HJ 320GB] [LG HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH22NS30]
(@gigaherz) S.N.K.M.A.D.: Synthetic Networked Killing and Masterful Assassination Device

Lord Zedeck · October 14th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by StriderVM

Sure I can buy a new 1TB drive for like $80 here, but there's a 1GB, 4GB and 20GB HDs sitting here I can't use because I've ran out of IDE slots to use. I don't like wasting perfectly working HD's.....

I could maybe understand using a 20GB drive, but 1GB and 4GB? Come on, that's very early 1990s stuff. It's probably 5400RPM, who knows how small of a cache, and all that other stuff, too.

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tuanming · October 17th, 2009

This is what people called 'cheap'. It's like saying i don't want to drive my car because i don't want to get it dirty, so i would rather stay home.

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October 11th, 2009	#1 (permalink)
StriderVM Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Philippines Posts: 2,059	Windows 7 Starter = Practical for gaming? I'm currently using the RTM version of Windows 7 Ultimate and although it's faster than XP, it's using a bit more HD space than Windows XP. So I'm thinking Starter would use less disk space? And it could also be faster since it has less features? - No wallpaper (Don't care) - No Aero (Don't care either) - Fast User switching (Only me using the comp) - XP Mode (Dual Booting) Since it should still support DirectX11, I think this version is very viable for me. Does anyone has heard of anything about Windows 7 starter that could impact gaming usage? __________________ Current PC specs : AsRock 945GCM-S Pentium Dual Core E5200 @ 2912Mhz (233x12.5) Palit Radeon 4850 Sonic 512MB gDDR3 2x2048MB Kingston DDR2 800Mhz RAM

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October 11th, 2009	#2 (permalink)
Hard core Rikki And the science gets done Join Date: May 2004 Location: Perpetual Pompei Posts: 7,221	Home Premium of Basic should be more viable. Using the starter edition for 'gaming' wouldnt make real sense, at least comparing with Home Basic (since you can disable aero/wmm in home premium/ultimate, it can suffice, instead of sacrificing usability of the entire OS. With the additional auth work in pro and higher editions, settling on the home versions would make sense if available system ressources or hardware isnt performing enough for your taste). __________________ deviantART \| Blog \| Webcomics \| VBA-M \| PCSX2 \| @ES \| Shendo \| GeneralEmu \| XTemu Get the NGemu toolbar http://ngemu.ourtoolbar.com

October 11th, 2009	#3 (permalink)
StriderVM Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Philippines Posts: 2,059	But it's cheaper! I've even have a friend who can get me an OEM disk for $50. I'm seriously considering it because I won't be using the stuff I mentioned in the first post. Just gaming. With DX11. __________________ Current PC specs : AsRock 945GCM-S Pentium Dual Core E5200 @ 2912Mhz (233x12.5) Palit Radeon 4850 Sonic 512MB gDDR3 2x2048MB Kingston DDR2 800Mhz RAM

October 11th, 2009	#4 (permalink)
Hard core Rikki And the science gets done Join Date: May 2004 Location: Perpetual Pompei Posts: 7,221	With a limit of 4gigs of ram, I doubt it'd be very enjoyable given how limited starter is. Well, the git of it is just how Starter is not really fit for gaming, though will have a smaller footprint than other editions. Theres been a recent special offer from MS, giving students radical discounts, at just 30 $ for home premium. No need going for a limited version if its possible to get better for even less. __________________ deviantART \| Blog \| Webcomics \| VBA-M \| PCSX2 \| @ES \| Shendo \| GeneralEmu \| XTemu Get the NGemu toolbar http://ngemu.ourtoolbar.com

October 11th, 2009	#5 (permalink)
Phil Regular User ;) Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Naples Florida Posts: 10,001	Starter is only good for Netbook Use, nothing else .....I wouldn't mind if HTC shoehorned it into one of their Smartphones __________________ A Mac is like an escort, you pay a ton and get nothing. A PC is like a hooker, it's a lot cheaper and gives you what you're after.. and if unlucky some diseases as well, that's why you gotta use protection. -CC

October 11th, 2009	#8 (permalink)
Squall-Leonhart Behind ur girlfriend :D Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 18,949	No matter what version of windows 7 is installed, the hdd usage is roughly the same. __________________ VBA-M \| Xtemu \| NGOHQ \| Post Impact Productions \| TNHW \| XBCD 0.2.6 \| Satanic666's Emulator Compiles Don't be a NOOB, READ THE NGEmu/EmuForums Rules of Conduct Need Help with ePSXe? This is your first stop!. If you don't post all the required information, you don't get help. Everytime someone posts a romsite, God kills a beautiful woman.

October 11th, 2009	#9 (permalink)
StriderVM Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Philippines Posts: 2,059	Well, if Squall-Leonhart is correct and HDD usage is roughly the same, perhaps I'll just settle for Home Premium. Maybe I'll just verify it and get an RTM copy of Home Premium to see. I just don't have a fast broadband so it's gonna take some time to download a 2GB ISO file..... And I plan to use vLite on it anyway. I've already experimented with vLite on this RTM and results are real nice my system is now quite faster than when XP was installed, especially on PCSX2. Because I live in the Philippines, it's kinda hard to take advantage of any student promo for Windows. Sure I can buy a new 1TB drive for like $80 here, but there's a 1GB, 4GB and 20GB HDs sitting here I can't use because I've ran out of IDE slots to use. I don't like wasting perfectly working HD's..... __________________ Current PC specs : AsRock 945GCM-S Pentium Dual Core E5200 @ 2912Mhz (233x12.5) Palit Radeon 4850 Sonic 512MB gDDR3 2x2048MB Kingston DDR2 800Mhz RAM

October 11th, 2009	#10 (permalink)
nanaya :\| Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Dipokusumo Posts: 588	Buy an IDE to SATA converter. Edit-Uh... I mean IDE to USB xp Last edited by nanaya; October 11th, 2009 at 15:10..

October 13th, 2009	#12 (permalink)
StriderVM Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Philippines Posts: 2,059	Well, I do already have one PCI-IDE card. But since my 780G broke down and needed to buy an extra cheap Intel mobo, it's now lacking a PCI slot (Taken over by the dual slot 4850 I have ) I also have a USB-IDE converter but they're a mess with plugs and stuff so it won't be practical for general usage. Anyway, I finally tried Windows 7 Start and it was going fine until....... I noticed starter only allows up to 2GB RAM usage! I didn't know about this limitation... O_o Oh well, here we go to Home Premium.... :P __________________ Current PC specs : AsRock 945GCM-S Pentium Dual Core E5200 @ 2912Mhz (233x12.5) Palit Radeon 4850 Sonic 512MB gDDR3 2x2048MB Kingston DDR2 800Mhz RAM

October 13th, 2009	#13 (permalink)
Silenus Pilgrim Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Hyperion Posts: 3,387	Yeah as stated mostly netbooks would benefit from it. __________________ --ASUS G50VT-X1 - P8400 2.5GHZ - Geforce 9800GS 512MB - HDD 320GB - 4GB DDR2 800MHZ - WINDOWS 7 64 BIT - ZALMAN NC2000-- ...Mis sueños son mentiras que algun día dejarán de serlo...

October 13th, 2009	#14 (permalink)
Mad AKA snkmad Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Brazil, Fortaleza-Ceará Posts: 3,303	I've used Windows Vista Starter on some cheap Compaq the office bought, equipped with Celeron 1.2Ghz, 2GB, 250GB HDD, DVD Burner. It can't logon on Domains, can't open more than 3 programs at the same time. In Win7 you can open as much programs you want. But still it wouldn't be usable for us. Had to format 1 machine and ghost the others. __________________ [Windows 7 RTM PRO X64] [Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L] [Intel E5200@2.5Ghz] [Corsair XMS2 DHX 4GB DDR2 800MHz] [HIS HD4670 1GB GDDR3] [19" LCD SyncMaster T190] [Samsung SATA II HD322HJ 320GB] [LG HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH22NS30] (@gigaherz) S.N.K.M.A.D.: Synthetic Networked Killing and Masterful Assassination Device

October 17th, 2009	#16 (permalink)
tuanming Final Fantasy XXX Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA, TX Posts: 2,404	This is what people called 'cheap'. It's like saying i don't want to drive my car because i don't want to get it dirty, so i would rather stay home. __________________ Intel Core2Duo E6300 1.86Ghz L629A244 @ 3.78GHz Asus P5K-E Wifi/AP Rev.1.02g Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120+ FM121 (110 cfm fan) ATI x1900 GT Rev.2 256mb 513/657 G.Skill 2x1gb Hz--540MHz CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W