[SOLVED] I think I need some technical advice please, before purchase.

Hi - I'm new here today, so I thought I'd say hello from Sunny Devon.
I would be very glad of some expert advice and directives please on Windows 7 as a new system.

I'm about to retire my windows XP Home PC to use as a spare and buy a new PC online from one of the large Companies. I don't do gaming, but I do spend a lot of time doing graphics with a very good old Paintshop Pro 7 program that I've been using for more than 10 years. Also lots of sound editing and music recording stuff and the occasional burning of DVDs and CDs
I've probably got to buy a new PC with Windows 7 and most of them come pre-installed with 64bit Home Premium on them. I've been told that lots of old 32bit and 16bit stuff won't work on windows 7.

What should I do about this? Should I try to find a Windows 7 with 32bit already on it?
Can the Windows 7 64bit run any kind of XP emulation way so that I can install programs like PSP 7 or Audacity Sound Recording Software; DVD writing programs; Conversion Programs?
It would seem a waste to only use the new PC for email and web browsing and have to fire up the old one to do all my photographic stuff.
I have read about the speed of 64 bit and its use of RAM 4gb etc but I'm still confused about what mess I'm going to get into with Drivers and software.

I've tried GIMP for graphics on my Macbook and it's not nearly as flexible or easy to use as PSPro . I think I'll have enough problem losing my Outlook Express and having to run Thunderbird Mail so it seems that upgrading is going to be the usual bore that we have come to expect ever since I upgraded Windows 3.1 for workgroups in 1995.

And if you want an even bigger laugh, it even took me ages to re-train myself to use windows-based word-processors after I'd been weaned on DOS applications. I used to connect to the internet with a DOS email program back in the days of Demon's KA9Q software in 1995! So just when I've got everything sorted, Microsoft have always gone and moved the goalposts and I end up like everyone else burning the midnight oil trying to get the system up and running as well as it had been on the old system.

I'd be very grateful for some advice from anyone who has already "been there"
Thanks very much
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Plado

Go for a pc that has Windows 7 Professional x64. It has a free downloadable version of VirtualPC & XP Mode which will run 16 & 32 bit software. Also, try to get 6-8 gbs. of ram at the minimum for 64 bit. 6.0 GB ram for Intel, 8.0 gbs. ram for AMD. Also, Virtual PC/XP Mode will need at least 2.0 gbs. out of that ram, to run correctly. The Professional also has other feature's missing from Home Premium. Namely the ability to backup over a network, if you use Windows Backup.

You may have to upgrade some software, Panit Shop Pro 7 does not run on W764 bit but PSP X2 does quite well on W7 64 bit. If you get there W7 Pro or Ultimate you can download and run MS XP virtual machine. Be aware though that in full screen mode XP virtual from MS is only 16 bit colour, there is registry hack to make it 24 bit colour. 16 bit will not work, most 32 bit will work and you can also try the program in compatibility mode. Depending on how old your periphial hardware is this may also need to be upgraded to work on W7 64 bit. 64 Bit is the only way to go, as previously recommended 6 to 8 Gig of Memory. Personally I have 12 gig of Triple Channel 1600 MHz memory on my machine

Thanks to both for that advice. Sounds very good to me. I've read some things about the replacement for PSP programs (Corel PSP X2) and they were not very complimentary and said it was a rotten substitute and this rather confirms my suspicions that Paintshop Pro even in it's earlier forms was a better program than anything that tried to out-design it. I've tried Gimp on my Macbook and it's horrible, fussy muddled software that takes 4 x longer to learn to use than Photoshop or PSP.

It does rather look as if I'm stuffed - because finding a competitively priced Windows 7 PC with that much RAM is going to cost a packet that I just can't afford. I was hoping a 4gb ram would be enough for my uses. So that bit of information has rather saddened me.

I reckon the best bet based on your advice is to get a Windows 7 home pro 64bit and go for that Virtual and XP mode add-on. My level of graphics doesn't really matter if it turns out to handle it a bit slowly. By comparison with the way my 1.5gb of Ram grinds along in XP Home SP2, I think anything with 4gb of Ram is going to seem like lightening!

I'll look around for the best size of RAM I can get on W7 for something under 375 uk pounds. And I'll semi retire my XP Acer and keep it for those jobs that W7 just can't manage. Progress eh! Much more modern, much faster, much better in every way if you ignore the fact that it can't do anything with software older than 10 years. Thanks for your replies you have been very useful.
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Plado

Ram is cheap. You can always order more ram and put it in yourself. My pc has a AMD cpu, which means it supports DDR3 dual-channel ram. It cost me under $100.00 for a 8.0gb. ram kit. Do yourself a favor and run searches on sites like Newegg.com, Amazon.com, etc. Use those sites and you very well will save money. Also, search for a pc suitable to your tastes on those site's also. You could save a couple hundred dollars doing this. Also, any software you currently use on your current pc that you're going to use on your new pc try downloading & running Windows 7's Upgrade Advisor. Don't pay attention to what it says about your current pc's hardware, as you're replacing it with a new one. Focus on the software that you're going to continue to use on the new pc. Afterward's you'll have a good idea on what will work and what need's an updated version.

Plado - Welcome to the Windows 7 Forums website!

To be honest, you'll be fine with 4GB of RAM to start with. I ran with 4GB of RAM for about a year and then added 2GB more. I did this mostly to assuage my ego, it had nothing to do with any specific need that's for sure.

Even when I'm doing very heavy video rendering or conversions I use no more than about 2.8 GB of RAM.

Have you considered building your own system? It's very easy and doesn't take too long at all. Just a thought, besides why strap yourself to a neutered motherboard and PSU that the majority of the major PC makers supply.

I second what Nibiru2012 says. Build your own and put the components in that you want. Plus, doing so you end up with a clean pc. Not one that over an hour uninstalling what ever manufacturers bloatware junk.

Well thank you both brkkab and Nibicu2012 - superb advice.
Last evening taking note of what you said, I went looking for the best bargain for something that is almost as good as self build but was a kind of pick-and-mix on Dell's site. The end result was something that cost a bit too much for me. But then when I went to the reviews of actual users on such sites as CNET - it told a rather nasty picture of the resulting lack of upgrade-ability of the Dell model in question and the way it couldn't have it's RAM expanded - so I moved away from that deciding not to be a victim!

Next I went back to good ol' Amazon market place and found an HP Compaq SG3-250UK
with Athlon 11 x 2 220 2.8ghz processor. 4gb of ram upgradable to I think 8 later.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit and the price a very reasonable 311 uk pounds so for US readers that's $510 US. I also take onboard your good advice about running older software and I'm going to print that out before I close this window.

The PC will be delivered tomorrow or Thursday which is just as well as I take a week's holiday next week. I can start it up and have a play with it and then look forward to doing more in depth exploring when I come back.

I think this should be a good purchase. HP are not bad on support either. I've had some bad printers from them in the past but on one occasion they came to my home, failed to find the fault and left me with a brand new replacement with a new warranty so I was not going to speak ill of them until I have to speak as I find.

I did build my own system back in 2001 but I had help from a young whiz kid who was in the business. He constructed it all for me and set up a system knowing far more than I did about BIOS and DOS and he got a very good system over-clocked that served me well for about 6 years. I couldn't have done that myself. It took him about 12 hours to get it all running smoothly - it would have taken me about the length of time it takes an infinite number of monkeys to come up with the works of Shakespeare!

Thanks again for your superb advice.
You've been very helpful and I will mark this thread solved after I've seen any tag-ons from you.
Cheers and Beers
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Plado

Dell's don't leave much room for upgrading components. Before buying a HP search Bing or Google about customeer complaints. You'll find alot.Definitely do your homework on this before it's too late.

If you get W7 Professional, as brkkab mentioned, it includes the free download of Virtual PC - XP mode and PSP7 should work there. I have PSP 3.11 running in XP mode.

I have since learned PSPX and it was a big learning curve (still stuff I don't know how to use) but it will run w/o XP mode so now that is what I use.