Which Windows 7

[Ian Brewster]

I think I will be making the move off Windows XP to Windows 7. My PC will handle 64-bit, but there are several versions of Windows 7. Do I need to go to the Pro version to get the best out of Photoshop CS6? Or is Home Premium sufficient?

Also, my ASUS motherboard has two pairs of DIMM slots, with one being occupied by two 1GB memory sticks. I am proposing to buy another pair of 1GB, but could I put in say a pair of 2GB and still retain the existing 2 x 1GB? I am not trying to spend $$!

Ian

[livio]

Hmm Interesting question. If you already 2 x 1GB dimms then I would be nearly inclined to just buy a new board CPU and memory. The 1GB dimms are probably DDR2 if you can get a hold of DDR3 it will serve you much better I would probably up for around 200 for a good new board, Say 300 for a good CPU and probably 150 for around 12GB memory. The other components like hard drive, CD drive, network card etc al are all transferrable. This give you up to 3 or 5 years trouble free operation depending on the age of your Hard Drive. As a rule of thumb between 3 and 5 years is what you should expect to get from a HDD and anything more than that is a bonus. Unfortunately it's not always straight forward to upgrade your PC because of the rate of change of the components. Hell you can get a Good board for 60.00 if you want so it is not that much of an expensive exercise.

My advise is to have a chat with the local computer store or get a new PC from one of the major vendors this way you can be assured spare parts.

Kind Regards
Livio

[Ian Brewster]

Thanks Livio,

I would just be adding a pair of DDR2 memory units to the spare slots. My PC is not that old and any further upgrade is not warranted; I have a quite new HDD.

Ian

[Warbler]

I think you'll find that DDR2 RAM will perform best if all the RAM modules are the same specification. Lots of people have upgraded from DDR2 machines. You may find some cheap RAM on-board some old machines. Have a hunt around at those places selling ex-govt computers. I'd go for 4x2GB DDR2 modules and Windows Home Premium 64.

Cheers,
Tim

[Ian Brewster]

Thanks Tim, that sounds good!

[ROA44]

MSY have 2G G-Skill & kingston RAM $26 / $32 a stick. Regarding compatibility between brands I haven't found a problem I know the old PC series ram was a problem but I think those issues have been mostly over come. The amount of RAM you have can be a benefit depending on what you are doing, you haven't mentioned if you have a Dual or Quad Core system if dual core 4G would probably do but I'm Not sure how hungry for RAM Win.7 is in which case you may need all the RAM you can possibly afford. Most Quad core machines with Win.7 are running 6 to 8G.