Buyers’ Guide: Upgrade to Windows 7 or buy a new PC?

As the launch date of Windows 7 nears, users are becoming more and more puzzled whether to get an upgrade on an existing computer or to get a new PC altogether installed with Microsoft’s newest operating system. Moreover, with retailers flooding the market with several attractive pre-order schemes, users are hurrying and scurrying to get the best deals.

A quick analysis will make things a lot easier. If you have a PC which has been used for less than 5 years then an upgrade will simply do the trick for you. According to Microsoft, the Windows 7 will run on a 1GHz processer, 16GB of disk space, and 1GB of RAM.

But if you seriously plan to run the operating system on these requirements then it is a good idea to run Microsoft’s Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. It will check for any compatibility issues that you may have with your hardware and software settings. One important observation here is that Windows 7 runs on the same specs requirement with Vista. So if you have Vista already installed in your computer, then Windows 7 will run on the same or even better on the same hardware.

However, this tip is just to meet the basic requirements. If you want to enhance and milk on its features, then you should consider settling for a new hardware to avail services of software like multi-touch support which comes with Windows 7 and optimize its use. Other enhancements include the SSDs running on Windows 7. It is a unique feature which is only available on Windows 7.

For users of Professional and higher, the XP mode is a brilliant feature again. For users who are more familiar with Windows XP, it enables users to run applications. It depends largely on Windows Virtual PC and has bigger memory and CPU requirements. It is important to compare the memory that a PC can handle when it comes to cost benefits. For anyone who uses more than 3GB memory, it makes more sense to get the 64-bit Windows. It will come handy in editing and manipulating HD images and running virtual machines. For office applications and web surfing, the 32-bit Windows would do just fine. The Upgrade advisor will relate the necessary changes for your CPU.

The cost for an upgrade of Windows 7 will be anywhere at and around $200. That is surely a lot cheaper than the amount of money you will have to shell out to get a new laptop. Its a good steal considering you will be getting a new hardware with the edition of Windows 7 of your choice with it. The Home Premium will come for $120. If you have a computer which meets the requirements and if you are still quite satisfied with its performance, then you should not hesitate to retain it and get an upgrade for Windows 7. It makes more sense and will be easy on your budget as well.