Windows 7 on 900

[drowe]

I'm running XP on my 900A with a 16GB SSD and 2GB RAM. It runs eveything I want it to do, it is fast, light, and I carry it everywhere. But.... I'm wondering if anyone has tried to run Win 7 on this. I've read that it runs, it runs better, have to use compatibility mode for some things, aero doesn't work, on and on and on..... There doesn't seem to be a real consensus of whether it is "better" than XP. Just looking for the communities thoughts.

David

[ThisIsNot]

Windows 7 is more optimized for Intel's Atom processors than either XP or Vista. It also takes better advantage of Intel's GMA 500 and GMA 950 graphics solutions. I looked up the specs to your Eee PC 900A and it appears that it comes loaded with a 900MHz Intel Celeron processor. I don't want to sound negative or anything but that is pretty much the worst netbook processor out now when compared against the Intel Atom, AMD Neo/Athlon 64, and even older Via processors.

Windows 7 might be able to run on your system but I doubt that it would be any better than XP. Windows 7 RC runs better on my Gateway netbook but it is packing a 1.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 processor with 2GB of RAM and an ATI X1270 graphics solution. Aero even runs fine on it.

So, for your needs, I would stick with Windows XP simply because the 900MHz Celeron really isn't good at running anything other than Windows XP and various Linux distros.

[drowe]

I've got one of the woot specials, it came stock with the slow 4gb ssd and linux and the atom processor. Knowing that, it looks like you would recommend win 7? Any words of wisdom about drivers?

[fewt]

Originally Posted by ThisIsNot

Windows 7 is more optimized for Intel's Atom processors than either XP or Vista. It also takes better advantage of Intel's GMA 500 and GMA 950 graphics solutions. I looked up the specs to your Eee PC 900A and it appears that it comes loaded with a 900MHz Intel Celeron processor. I don't want to sound negative or anything but that is pretty much the worst netbook processor out now when compared against the Intel Atom, AMD Neo/Athlon 64, and even older Via processors.

Windows 7 might be able to run on your system but I doubt that it would be any better than XP. Windows 7 RC runs better on my Gateway netbook but it is packing a 1.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 processor with 2GB of RAM and an ATI X1270 graphics solution. Aero even runs fine on it.

So, for your needs, I would stick with Windows XP simply because the 900MHz Celeron really isn't good at running anything other than Windows XP and various Linux distros.

That's debatable. The Celeron uses tons more power, but overclocked it performs as well as the Atom N280. What the Eees with the Celeron don't have is the i945, that's what really keeps them down.

Eee Celeron @ ~1300MHz: Linux PC (Intel Celeron M 900MHz) : Geekbench Result Browser

1000HE: ASUSTeK Computer INC. 1000HE : Geekbench Result Browser

The Celeron Eee is quite a capable little machine. It's a hungry little bugger though. :-D

[ThisIsNot]

Right but that is with overclocking. Additionally, Asus is including software with their 1005HA and 1008HA Eee PCs to overclock the N280 to 1.8GHz. So an overclocked N280 will probably outperform an overclocked Celeron. Like you said, the Celeron is quite capable but it is power hungry. Without overclocking, a N280 Atom can easily outperform a 900MHz Celeron.

Originally Posted by drowe

I've got one of the woot specials, it came stock with the slow 4gb ssd and linux and the atom processor. Knowing that, it looks like you would recommend win 7? Any words of wisdom about drivers?

You won't be able to upgrade to Windows 7 with 4GB of SSD storage. I believe that the light version still takes up 6-9GB of space. All my Windows 7 installations take up 9GB (on my netbooks) but I have read some forums where people were able to shave it down to 6GB. You would have to upgrade your SSD drive to either a higher capacity (at least 16GB) or just throw a 500GB hard drive in there.

[fewt]

Originally Posted by ThisIsNot

Right but that is with overclocking. Additionally, Asus is including software with their 1005HA and 1008HA Eee PCs to overclock the N280 to 1.8GHz. So an overclocked N280 will probably outperform an overclocked Celeron. Like you said, the Celeron is quite capable but it is power hungry. Without overclocking, a N280 Atom can easily outperform a 900MHz Celeron.

Agreed, and I much prefer my 1000HE over my Celeron 1000HD. I was just implying that the Celeron Eee is still a capable little netbook. :-D

[drowe]

Originally Posted by ThisIsNot

You won't be able to upgrade to Windows 7 with 4GB of SSD storage. I believe that the light version still takes up 6-9GB of space. All my Windows 7 installations take up 9GB (on my netbooks) but I have read some forums where people were able to shave it down to 6GB. You would have to upgrade your SSD drive to either a higher capacity (at least 16GB) or just throw a 500GB hard drive in there.

I've already upgraded to a 16GB drive. I've got 11GB free space on it, I think I'll vlite my win7, repartition, see if I can shoehorn it into that space and dual boot. With the N270, 2GB RAM, and that SSD it should be fairly fast. I'll just have to see if I can get enough drivers to make it work!

[ThisIsNot]

I don't know why I am having trouble reading. I guess I need to sleep more than 4 hours every night. I went into the office over the weekend and was paid time and a half. It is hard to say no especially when I get paid that much.

You shouldn't have any issues with a 16GB SSD, N270 processor, and 2GB of RAM. Aero definitely isn't going to run but Windows 7 should be pretty stable. Microsoft says that Windows 7 takes advantage of Intel Atom platform (more so than XP or Vista) and that it takes better advantage of SSD. The nice thing about Windows 7 is that you should not run into any driver issues. I installed Windows 7 RC on an Asus Eee PC 1005HA and didn't have to install any drivers. Win 7 was able to recognize the built-in webcam and even worked with the multi-touch touchpad. I had to download Asus's software to overclock the N280 Atom processor but that was about it. The N280 processor even throttled down to the lowest value without using Asus's software, it was just limited to 1.66GHz without installing the Asus software.

Personally, I would make an image of your current netbook and copy it to a USB thumb drive (or hard drive) and install Windows 7 RC from scratch. Otherwise, you are only going to have a few GB left over. Additionally, I am pretty sure that Windows 7 requires 16GB for the installation process (I got away with installing it on an empty 16GB SSD though).

[ericinboston]

Originally Posted by drowe

I'm running XP on my 900A with a 16GB SSD and 2GB RAM. It runs eveything I want it to do, it is fast, light, and I carry it everywhere. But.... I'm wondering if anyone has tried to run Win 7 on this. I've read that it runs, it runs better, have to use compatibility mode for some things, aero doesn't work, on and on and on..... There doesn't seem to be a real consensus of whether it is "better" than XP. Just looking for the communities thoughts.

David

Well, you have to really start with the very first question: Will Windows7 be supported on my computer?

This is a question only your hardware vendor and yourself can answer. Regardless of what "computer" you own.

It's pointless to install W7 if your soundcard will stop working, or your wireless network card, or your video, or your memory card reader, etc.

Do what everyone else does when a new operating system comes out:

1)Visit your computer manufacturer's website and look for a compatibility statement

2)Visit your computer manufacturer's website and look for drivers that are downloadable for your machine for the new operating system

3)Let some other people try the new OS first both in general and for your specific computer make/model. Why should you be the one to report that it erased all your data?


And before you even think about the 3 steps above, FIND THE FACTS about WHY you should upgrade from the old OS to the new. If there is no new functionality, why upgrade? Weigh the risks/rewards...then go research if it's worth the upgrade FOR YOUR COMPUTER.

-Eric