Windows 7 vs. Vista

[AlexAndAHalf]

Hey everyone! With so many great games coming up, I've decided to upgrade my old laptop to something more suitable for gaming. There are two laptops that I have come across that have exactly what I'm looking for, but there is (literally) one difference between them: one is Windows Vista, and one is Windows 7.

The model that uses Windows 7 is $60 more than the model running Vista, and I was wondering if it was worth the sixty bucks to kick up the OS. Personally I'm thinking that I'm going to go ahead and fork over the extra cash to stick with the OS that I'm used to, but money is an issue, and if it isn't worth it, then it would be great to save the money.

My main concern is this: are there many games that will run only on Windows 7 and not support Vista?

Also, I am a college student in the Computer Science program and I am almost certain that I can be provided with a free copy of Windows 7, but this leads me to another concern; the laptop that is running Vista is a refurbished Asus model, and I'm concerned that upgrading it to Windows 7 will somehow throw off the programs that may come with it or cause some sort of other problem.

All help is much appreciated my friends!

Thanks so much!
-Alex

P.S. I'll go ahead and state ahead of time that I'm set on a laptop and not a desktop. With college and a social life and whatnot, I require something that can be taken on the go!

 

[S0ULphIRE]

For just $60, I'd take the one with win7 on it, depending on the programs already installed. Tbh this sounds kinda dodgy lol, like if you format you'll lose the programs?

 

[iFargle]

What programs are on each? My school sells a Windows 7 upgrade for $30, and I think Microsoft even offers it (or had offered it in the past) for $30 to college students. So it all depends, really. Take a small risk and upgrade to 7 and save some money or keep it on Vista or buy the other laptop for $60 more.


I think I'm the only one on the planet who prefers Vista

 

[MindoverMaster]

Vista actually wasn't that bad for me. It's just that everybody uses 7 and it's easier to give support on it. As the wording and way to get to where you want is different.

If you are fine running on Vista, stay with it. Otherwise, upgrading to 7 is a good alternative.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Win7 IMO is far superior than Vista, put Win7 on my sisters laptop the other day, and it flies around compared to her vista install when shes in photoshop now, win7 just manages memory better I think.

 

[crashdavis]

They still put Vista on Laptops? Are those used laptops?

W7 all the way...its by far the best OS Microsoft has put out..

 

[MindoverMaster]

He has an older laptop. Maybe it was only made around the time when 7 just came out. Windows 7 is only superior, because it has support for the latest devices.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

It isn't just the support for more devices, it's the fact it handles memory and tasks better, load Win7 and Vista on the same computer, maybe 1GB of RAM at most, see which OS handles that lower amount more efficiently.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

Indeed, greater optimisation on w7 than vista, IIRC superfetch especially? Mak might have to verify that though

 

[MyGodAL3X]

A while back, I tried putting both on my old P4 3.0 & 1 GB Ram computer.
Windows 7 did run a bit faster but the difference was mostly noticeable when you would load big applications. (Photoshop etc)
If you are happy with Vista stay with it. IMO