New iMac + Windows 7

[chimpybits]

Hi I'm looking to setup my girlfriend with a base iMac with Windows 7.

First a bit of background. She is a realtor accessing the web-based listings system MLXchange. This requires a browser with ActiveX. Hence the need for Windows. This and gmail is pretty much all she does computer-wise, but she does it a lot. She currently has a 4 year old cheap eMachine PC running XP which is loud, fugly and slow.

She is about to upgrade to a new iMac because it looks good and is quiet. This will be running Boot Camp (no need for Fusion/Parallels as she has no use for OS X as she can't browse mlxchange there) and Windows 7. (From researching I think Home Premium Edition seems to be a good fit). Yes, I know buying a Mac to run Windows exclusively is not economical and misses the main benefit of a Mac, namely the OS, but the good looks and ease of the hardware setup trump these concerns.

I know that Apple won't be officially supporting Windows 7 until later this year with a Boot Camp update and that the Magic Mouse will have only basic functionality, but has anyone any experience yet or running non-Beta Windows 7 with the new iMacs? Will it basically work?

 

[rgarjr]

7 works fine with the Mac dude.

 

[chimpybits]

You're running the retail Windows 7 on a new iMac?

 

[psingh01]

I'm running Win7 RTM on a late 2006 MBP 17". The new iMac should be fine. The one issue I have is a few BSODs! Lol. I use Apple bluetooth keyboard and mighty mouse. Occassionslly when waking from sleep and typing something the I get a crash. Maybe bad Bluetooth drivers or just general windows suckiness.

 

[NJRonbo]

Question....

Gonna run Windows 7 on my new 27" iMac
via VM FUSION.

Concerning the new magic mouse....

It does not work on a PC.

However, will it work on a virtual machine
running Windows 7? What does that virtual
machine pull the input device drivers from --
the guest OS (Windows 8) or host system (Mac)?

 

[psingh01]

I would likely be a generic mouse in the VM. They don't deal with hardware directly, just pass the user clicks and movements as input from the "virtual mouse". In other words it'll work like any other mouse.

 

[NJRonbo]

Ya, figured it would not pass the gestures,
but as long as it will work as a simple mouse
then I am a happy camper.

Thanks.

 

[chimpybits]

What do you think about the ability of the base iMac (NVIDIA 9400M and 4 GB RAM) running Windows 7 and Internet Explorer with ActiveX driven web services?

 

[kevhui]

I tried installing both Win7 RTM x86 and 64-bit on my iMac, which was purchased in April 08. Win7 works fine.

The base iMac should run perfectly.

 

[A Macbook Pro]

Dude, Windows 7 works fine on any Mac. No worries. And all minor glitches will be ironed out when Windows 7 becomes an official bootcamp OS.

 

[chimpybits]

OK, we're going forth with the iMac and Windows 7 regardless. Still it's nice to get the assurances from others. Going with the base iMac. Thanks.