Overall performance and responsiveness would speed up with a faster CPU. More memory would help, too; fortunately, the 4700 uses less-expensive DDR2 memory and you might be able to use generic product there. If you have four DIMM slots, well, it might not hurt to try two pairs of 2GB to see what happens; I did something like that with my 2350 (I put in two 1GB sticks in defiance of the manual's insistence that the 2350 could use a maximum of 1GB memory) and it worked.
64-bit Windows has a few advantages and that's why I switched over to starting with XP, even though my box at the time had "only" 2GB.
The x300 video card is very dated and was severely limited even when it was new. That's a major bottleneck in your system performance; even a low-end 4550 or 5450 card should provide a noticeable increase in video performance.
The processor is only part of what is needed for Windows 7.
HERE is the Microsoft listing of the minimum requirements for Windows 7. Keep in mind the "minimum" requirements are not usually realisting and more is needed (such as memory). There is also a link to the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor that you can run and it will tell you if your hardware (and software) is Win 7 compatible.
Although you have a 64 bit CPU, one consideration for 32 bit or 64 bit OS is memory. If your PC's maximum memory is 4GB the 32bit OS will work well.
Didn't see your post soon enough, but I want to thank you for answering. My 4700 came with the Radeon x300 series graphics card and a Creative Tech sound card. The mother board is a Dell 0M3918, the processor is a P4, model 521 running at 2.8 GHz. I have thought about moving up to the 561 or 571 for the faster speed. I would really like to get into the 6x1 series with 2 Mb of L2 cache. Have no concept of whether this move would be all that beneficial.
Does it make a difference what type of processor to use for either version of Win 7? I have a 64-bit processor, does that make either version run better? Nothing in any of the requirements for Win 7 does it talk about the processor. I know that to run Virtual PC that a processor that has Virtualization is needed, but other than that, possibly, is there any need for a particular type?
Speed and virtualization are the main differences among the 64-bit CPUs. Unless your mainboard is an early (64-bit) design with AGP-based video, it should be able to run Windows 7 64-bit without issues. I'm composing this note on an old Athlon64 3500+ with 1gb (yes, 1gb) RAM with a 2600PRO video card and it's adequate for Web surfing and other light uses.
Thanks for the response. Yeah, I had hoped to go to the 64-bit version but as I have a 4700 with only the capability of 4 Gig, which I do, I reckon I'll stay with the 32-bit version. Still, does the choice of processor make a difference? I'm working through why Dell installed the 64-bit in the first place.
I have run Win 7 Advisor a couple of times prior so know some of what is or isn't compatable. I'm somewhat unsure whether I have enough space on my 2400 to transfer the files and other items so that the clean install can be accomplished. I need to find a way to determine how much info will be transfered which should tell me if I do have space enough. That and aquiring the cable to do the transfer. I have downloaded the proceedure files and printed so that I can follow along with the install.
rdunnill
6 Professor
•
8.8K Posts
1
December 24th, 2010 20:00
Overall performance and responsiveness would speed up with a faster CPU. More memory would help, too; fortunately, the 4700 uses less-expensive DDR2 memory and you might be able to use generic product there. If you have four DIMM slots, well, it might not hurt to try two pairs of 2GB to see what happens; I did something like that with my 2350 (I put in two 1GB sticks in defiance of the manual's insistence that the 2350 could use a maximum of 1GB memory) and it worked.
64-bit Windows has a few advantages and that's why I switched over to starting with XP, even though my box at the time had "only" 2GB.
The x300 video card is very dated and was severely limited even when it was new. That's a major bottleneck in your system performance; even a low-end 4550 or 5450 card should provide a noticeable increase in video performance.
fireberd
9 Legend
•
33.4K Posts
0
December 24th, 2010 03:00
The processor is only part of what is needed for Windows 7.
HERE is the Microsoft listing of the minimum requirements for Windows 7. Keep in mind the "minimum" requirements are not usually realisting and more is needed (such as memory). There is also a link to the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor that you can run and it will tell you if your hardware (and software) is Win 7 compatible.
Although you have a 64 bit CPU, one consideration for 32 bit or 64 bit OS is memory. If your PC's maximum memory is 4GB the 32bit OS will work well.
Jaxom5
1 Rookie
•
73 Posts
0
December 24th, 2010 18:00
Didn't see your post soon enough, but I want to thank you for answering. My 4700 came with the Radeon x300 series graphics card and a Creative Tech sound card. The mother board is a Dell 0M3918, the processor is a P4, model 521 running at 2.8 GHz. I have thought about moving up to the 561 or 571 for the faster speed. I would really like to get into the 6x1 series with 2 Mb of L2 cache. Have no concept of whether this move would be all that beneficial.
rdunnill
6 Professor
•
8.8K Posts
0
December 24th, 2010 18:00
Speed and virtualization are the main differences among the 64-bit CPUs. Unless your mainboard is an early (64-bit) design with AGP-based video, it should be able to run Windows 7 64-bit without issues. I'm composing this note on an old Athlon64 3500+ with 1gb (yes, 1gb) RAM with a 2600PRO video card and it's adequate for Web surfing and other light uses.
Jaxom5
1 Rookie
•
73 Posts
0
December 24th, 2010 18:00
Thanks for the response. Yeah, I had hoped to go to the 64-bit version but as I have a 4700 with only the capability of 4 Gig, which I do, I reckon I'll stay with the 32-bit version. Still, does the choice of processor make a difference? I'm working through why Dell installed the 64-bit in the first place.
I have run Win 7 Advisor a couple of times prior so know some of what is or isn't compatable. I'm somewhat unsure whether I have enough space on my 2400 to transfer the files and other items so that the clean install can be accomplished. I need to find a way to determine how much info will be transfered which should tell me if I do have space enough. That and aquiring the cable to do the transfer. I have downloaded the proceedure files and printed so that I can follow along with the install.