Buy Windows 7 Or Buy A New PC?

Robert B | Nov 18, 2009 | Comments

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Now that Windows 7 is out, some of you may be debating whether you should buy Windows 7, or if you would be better off just buying a new computer. With computer prices at an all time low, now is a great time to pick up a decent spec machine for very good value. What’s more, lots of the PC manufactures released new machines to add to their line up when Windows 7 was released which gives you, the consumer even more choice.

Courtesy Techtree.com

Courtesy Techtree.com

Even better than that,if you buy a new PC, with Windows 7 pre installed , you don’t have to go through all that stress of upgrading your current PC to Windows 7. While some users may not be put back by the challenge of updating an OS, I know many people who just wouldn’t be up to it. And the chances are if your thinking of getting a new machine, your running Windows XP, and the upgrade process to Windows 7 is a long and tedious process. But if your up for the challenge have a look at our guide here. If your updating from Windows Vista this process is easier but it does take quite a while.

And even if you have decided to stick with your current computer and update it with Windows 7, there is still the question – Clean Install Or In Place Upgrade? You need to weigh up the various advantages and disadvantages, luckily we have yet another guide for that, see it here

But wait! Have you decided which version of Windows 7 that you want to install onto your machine? Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate? There is different features in each, you can compare them all by seeing our post here

And finally, have you decided where you are going to buy Windows 7? Unfortunately you can’t avail of the special pre-order offers any more, but if you shop around you may find that some places are giving discounts. Try the likes of Amazon, Play.com and Microsoft’s website.Windows 7 Ultimate

Personally, I would buy a new computer if  my current machine wasn’t 64 bit compatible. Why? Well 64 bit computing is starting to become the standard for computers. Yes I know the majority of computers out there are still running 32 bit OS’s but Microsoft and Apple have both started pushing 64 bit with Windows 7 and Snow Leopard respectively. 64 bit has its benefits and disadvantages but if your buying a new computer running 64 bit Windows 7 you will have little or no problems as your machine is already configured for 64 bit. To find out a bit more about 64 bit computing see this post from Jason

Or even if your buying a new computer running a 32 bit version of Windows 7, see if it’s 64 bit compatible as you may decide to change some time in the future. Ideally your looking for a machine with a Intel Core 2 Duo or Quad-core or higher processor, or AMD’s line of 64 bit processors. If your current machine hasn’t got one of these 64 bit compatible processors I’d recommend buying a new 64 bit PC with Windows 7 pre installed, because this will hopefully give your computer an extended lifespan and it won’t become out of date so quickly. And also you don’t have to be worrying about how you are going to install Windows 7.

While Windows 7 has been receiving high praise for its ability to run on low spec machines better than Vista, I still think it would be better to get an average spec machine and you can fully enjoy the benefits Windows 7 has to offer. I’m not saying you have to buy a new machine just to run Windows 7, in fact it’s quite the opposite. But look at it this way, Windows 7 costs from $120 -$220, for an extra few hundred you can buy a decent spec machine and get Windows 7 included.

But of course if your current machine is already quite powerful or relatively new, then upgrading to Windows 7 will probably suffice. And don’t forget that if you purchased your computer after 26th June 09 you may well be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7 so don’t forget to look into that first.

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About the Author: Robert from Ireland is keen on all things tech. An avid Windows user, he designs websites and helps with troubleshooting computers. He hopes to pursue a future career in the I.T. area and is currently running his own website Techinfo-4u.com as well as writing for Windows7News and Connected Internet

  • John
    I completely disagree with the conclusion here. I upgraded my old PC (~6 years old) to W7 and had no problems. Only needed to search for 1 driver, which was on the manufacturer's website. I added a second HD to my PC and formatted it first. Then I did a fresh load to that additional HD.
    It was easy and only took about an hour or so to load - on that old machine! I have all of the Aero features and now I've been able to test all of my old software and devices to see if they work with W7.
    W7 actually seems to work faster for me that WXP on this machine, but with this method I am always able to go back to WXP if something doesn't work.
    This process revived a still good PC that's capable of meeting my current needs. Should I need more power, then I will upgrade at that point -- computers are always advancing fast and it doesn't make sense to upgrade until you need to. At that point, you'll end up with a faster/better PC for less money.
  • I didn't come up with a conclusion, i simply gave my point of view. I am in complete agreement that Windows 7 does run as well, if not better than XP on old machines, what i was trying to get across is that if you were thinking of upgrading or buying a new machine, now is one of the best times to do it. Im looking at it from a cost and value point of view as well, you could buy a computer now and it would last you for the next 6-10 years just as your's has done for you.
  • John
    Fair enough, but you point out many good things about buying new and only negatives about upgrading. Therefore what other conclusion could a reader come to?
    If you are looking at this as a cost/value point of view, then most inexpensive PCs do not have more than 2-3 GBs of RAM - which is the main value for having a 64-bit OS. You need to either build your own PC or buy a more expensive one to take advantage of the 64-bit OS, which decreases the value/cost of the decision to buy a new PC.

    On the flip side, there is little/no discussion about the great fact that Windows 7 does a great job reviving old hardware. I can get Windows 7 HP right now from Amazon for about $110. I could buy a GB of DDR memory for less than $30. So for about $100-150 I could make my old PC perform like a brand new one, saving me about 2 more years on the need to upgrade. There hasn't been a lot of great hardware improvements on PCs (ports or PCI-E type advances), so now is actually a good time to extend the life of your PC as USB-3 is on the horizon. Such changes, likely to come in the next year or so, are going to outdate a new PC very quickly.

    Basically if you weren't writing for a conclusion, then you actually need to present the other side of the argument.
  • Fair comment, i forgot about USB 3.0, you state your case well, maybe the other side of the argument will be part 2 of this article
  • Windows20
    I would rather buy a new PC with Windows 7. Even better is to include the Windows 7 Service Pack 1. With a new PC, new operating system. You will have a new PC with USB 3.0 and PCI Express 3.0. Also I would choose either the Intel Core i7 or Intel Core i9 processor. Wow! My PC will have the latest technologies. I would rather choose Windows 7 Home Premium. I have two Windows XP computer. One was brought in 2005 and another one was brought in 2007. The 2007 PC has the Windows Vista Capable logo. However, both of my XP computer is getting slower. Not enough RAM and I won't buy RAM just to upgrade my 3 year old PC and my 4 year old PC. I have 3 Vista PC. But I'm planning to buy two Windows 7 PC from a PC company but I will customized it. I can't wait the beta build of Windows 8.
  • DanTG
    Upgrading to 7 IS tedious, no doubt about it. However, you *can* skip the "reinstall everything from scratch and salvage all the data* saga.
    What you need is Zinstall, which actually does solve that problem (all your apps work on 7!).
    I've already mentioned this in the upgrade guide discussion - but it's just that great, I can't stop raving about it :)
  • FifthGradeEnglishTeacher
    Please learn the difference between "your" and "you're." I cringed so many times while reading this post that I could barely concentrate on the content.

    "Your" is possessive. You used it correctly when you referred to "your computer" or "your machine."

    "You're" is a contraction of the words ""you are." You incorrectly used "your" instead of "you're" four times in the following three sentences, as well as numerous other times in this short post.

    "And the chances are if YOU'RE thinking of getting a new machine, YOU'RE running Windows XP, and the upgrade process to Windows 7 is a long and tedious process. But if YOU'RE up for the challenge have a look at our guide here. If YOU'RE updating from Windows Vista this process is easier but it does take quite a while."
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