Windows based pc's are horrid

[KaptKirk]

OP obviously needs to learn how to use Win7 correctly b/c the series 9 hardware and Win7 aren't the problem.

OS X and Win7 are both great operating systems, but for very different reasons. Used to be a Windows only guy but got a Mac several years back, and loved it. Now I use both on a regular basis.

Get over your fanboyism like I did when I was still a teenager. If you can't realize that different operating systems are better at different things you need to grow up and educate yourself.

 

[trims]

OP obviously needs to learn how to use Win7 correctly b/c the series 9 hardware and Win7 aren't the problem.

OS X and Win7 are both great operating systems, but for very different reasons. Used to be a Windows only guy but got a Mac several years back, and loved it. Now I use both on a regular basis.

RiscOS is really great too - for an OS which fits on a 4Mb RAM chip. I still like the GUI and three button mouse, and the fact that it doesn't try to 'second guess' you the whole time, and I still use it for domestic correspondence.

I gather there are several alternative flavours of UNIX which are popular too.

Each to their own . . .

 

[PaulWog]

Problem with Windows is all the stupid **** Microsoft put in there. Like last night when in the middle of my gaming session my gaming rig started lagging badly. After having to quit my game, check task manager and do some googling I found out that it was the "Windows assesment tool" taking up 90% of the CPU. So then I had to find out how to disable that before I could continue playing.

Stuff like that annoys me, I should not have to spend 5-10 minutes to make Windows NOT disturb my computing.

But yeah, Windows 7 does get fewer blue screens and crashes than previous versions.

Sounds like you have a virus masquerading as an antivirus, or you have your antivirus settings set up to interfere with your every-day tasks (based on a schedule); and Windows 7 doesn't have a built-in antivirus scanner, so this would be something installed outside of Microsoft's bounds.

The long and short of that problem you were having is this: Windows 7 by itself does not take up 90% of your CPU randomly unless if you've done something to make it do that, or if you've bought a brand-name computer with bloatware which has done something to do that.

 

[neteng101]

Windows 7 isn't bad, but getting Windows and a PC to play nice is often the challenge. Windows 7 actually runs pretty well on Macs but even then they have similar integration into the hardware issues. This is because Microsoft only builds the software, so the fit and finish of the software and the hardware together is often questionable.

Its like trying to stuff a size 7 foot into a size 6 shoe a lot of times... neither the shoe nor the foot is bad, but they don't quite fit together.

Apple doing both the software and hardware shows the better integration of OSX when running on a Mac. Try running OSX on a hackintosh, and OSX becomes as ugly as Windows 7 or worse, to get everything running smooth together.

 

[PaulWog]

Windows 7 isn't bad, but getting Windows and a PC to play nice is often the challenge. Windows 7 actually runs pretty well on Macs but even then they have similar integration into the hardware issues. This is because Microsoft only builds the software, so the fit and finish of the software and the hardware together is often questionable.

Its like trying to stuff a size 7 foot into a size 6 shoe a lot of times... neither the shoe nor the foot is bad, but they don't quite fit together.

Apple doing both the software and hardware shows the better integration of OSX when running on a Mac. Try running OSX on a hackintosh, and OSX becomes as ugly as Windows 7 or worse, to get everything running smooth together.

That comes down to how much you're willing to pay for your computer. I love it when people say "PC's are clunky and made of cheap parts" <-- yes, some are. Some are made of very expensive parts. Apple does tend to come out ahead in the case department for both desktops and especially laptops. But in terms of internals, Apple isn't any better dollar-per-dollar (and honestly Apple is worse dollar-for-dollar when it comes to graphics).

I have an i7 2600k processor, Radeon 6970 graphics card, 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM, a 1TB WD Black hard drive, etc, etc. So if I were to partition my hard drive and run OSX on it... well, it would be smooth as can be! However, I run Windows 7... and it's smooth as can be as well.

A huge benefit for me (building my computer) is that I have the option (which I have taken advantage of) to overclock my processor. Running it at 4.8GHz allows for some much quicker photoshopping ^_^

 

[62tele]

Wouldn't anyone posting on a Mac board be at least a little biased towards Maca? If not then why be here at all? Or in your case, why go to a Mac board to report the unsatisfactory experience you had with a non Apple product but not explain in detail what problems you ran into or why this info is pertinent to an Apple forum?

I'm not criticizing you, I'm just not sure what your point is. I actually am pretty curious on what system you ended up with if you returned the Samsung and went back to Apple because the CURRENT crop of Airs aren't known to be that high-end in specs either.

I'm pretty sure that Is what would you expect people who are Mac users visiting a Mac site to do: express why they like Mac products over Windows.

That sure beats people who loathe Mac visitng here and extolling the virtues of Windows or Android in never ending troll fashion.

 

[0dev]

Windows 7 is alright, and it performs well even on fairly dated hardware. I'd go for Linux on a PC personally, though.

 

[Davidkoh]

Sounds like you have a virus masquerading as an antivirus, or you have your antivirus settings set up to interfere with your every-day tasks (based on a schedule); and Windows 7 doesn't have a built-in antivirus scanner, so this would be something installed outside of Microsoft's bounds.

The long and short of that problem you were having is this: Windows 7 by itself does not take up 90% of your CPU randomly unless if you've done something to make it do that, or if you've bought a brand-name computer with bloatware which has done something to do that.

Please get a clue what you are talking about before posting.

Windows assesment tool is no antivirus, it is built in with Windows 7. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_System_Assessment_Tool

As you can see it is scheduled to run every week. And while being run it will use a lot of your system resources.

 

[htpw16]

Please get a clue what you are talking about before posting.

Windows assesment tool is no antivirus, it is built in with Windows 7. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_System_Assessment_Tool

As you can see it is scheduled to run every week. And while being run it will use a lot of your system resources.

You can disable it though.

 

[radiohead14]

I gave him the benefit of the doubt at first, but at this point his intentions seem clear. Its also nice to see a good portion of the Mac community has evolved far beyond "Desktop OS Wars" (and moved on Mobile OS wars ).

i can't even hang at the iPad section anymore.. too much negativity there sometimes. it's become like Engadget's comments section where you have a bunch of immature people calling each other "fanboys" all day long.. hate that term.

i don't understand why some people put too much personal/emotional investment towards a piece of gadget. i mean i can understand that with a new purchase, you have to justify it to avoid buyer's remorse, but if it works for you.. then who cares what other people think. it's not like these companies are paying you to defend their products..

anyway ..end rant.

 

[Davidkoh]

You can disable it though.

Yeah, but why should I have to do that to not lag? Especially when it is not doing anything important for my usage of Windows. It should be made to only run when you are idle.

 

[tdfreeman]

I reluctantly opened this topic knowing the Windows bashing would surely ensue, but I've been pleasantly surprised. I've purchased 4 Macs in my household and also have many Windows machines (5 counting my server). I use a Mini for my media machine due to it's size and multiple USB ports that actually charge an iPad (2 iPhones, 2 iPods, & 2 iPads in the house). My current laptop is a MacBook Air 13", max config. I have no issues with either OSX or Win7. That being said, Win7 is actually faster on my MBA than OSX. Boots faster, shuts down quicker, and daily tasks are just quicker. If Apple would write proper drivers for graphics switching and battery consumption, I would consider booting it in Win7 full time. I also have to kill tasks much more often in OSX than I do in Win7. I won't blame this on Apple as it's most likely the applications, but stability was brought up here.

I haven't looked into the new Air "clones" as I'm happy with the form and function of my MBA. I'm also not fond of the integrated 3000 graphics that Intel is pushing. My preference on buying a laptop is based on form and function. If a contender came out for the MBA, I'd definitely consider switching back to Win7, but so far, that's not been an issue. That's doesn't mean on OS is better than the other, as both are very stable and very user friendly.

Speaking on the phone level, I recently tried switching due to the mass amount of Apple products infiltrating my home. From my personal experience, there is no contest between IOS and Android. I could never rely on the Android phone. It was laggy, slow, and full of bugs. I rebooted it more in the month I tried it than the last 6 months of using the iPhone. They say it's the apps that cause the issues, but if that's the case, what's the point if I can't use apps? With that said, I *LOVE* the new Windows Phone 7. It's smooth, intuitive, and like IOS, just works. The issue with WP7 is the lack of apps. I'm currently using it as my main phone and I'm going to miss it when I have to return it. Hopefully the iPhone5 will be out soon.

 

[PaulWog]

Please get a clue what you are talking about before posting.

Windows assesment tool is no antivirus, it is built in with Windows 7. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_System_Assessment_Tool

As you can see it is scheduled to run every week. And while being run it will use a lot of your system resources.

Quit with your rather uninformed trolling. You truly do appear to be the fool in this particular situation.

"Windows System Assessment Tool" is what you should have mentioned in the first place. You said "Windows Assessment Tool", which is one of many different types of viruses masquarading as antiviruses. You need to be very specific with your wording. If you say "Windows Assessment Tool", that's not "Windows System Assessment Tool". I get what you were getting at now, but it didn't click for me when you didn't type the whole phrase out. There are so many different pieces of software out there with similar names that it's rather foolish to get sloppy and not type out the whole title of the software or feature.

That said, you need to do YOUR homework. Windows System Assessment Tool is not set up to be run on a schedule UNLESS if you specifically set it up to do so. On a fresh install of Windows 7, you have to select whether you want it to run regularly or not. If you choose to have it run regularly, it will run regularly. It was your choice. However, you can undo your mistake rather easily.

You are now going on about "well I shouldn't have to lift a finger... Windows 7 should work perfectly right away". Well, it does. It was your own mistake, and you can obviously rectify that mistake by changing the settings. End of story.

When you put a computer together, by the way, you do have to lift a finger or two and think about how you want it set up. You have to, for example, select whether you want your antivirus to scan on a regular basis (and when it does perform a system scan, it will take up some processing power, and more importantly your hard drive will be bogged down). You also have to set up other things such as the Windows System Assessment Tool... however, I've never set this on a periodic check: It's a one-time thing that you run after you've set your computer up, or installed new hardware. It's rather artificial as it's really a no-good benchmark... running it periodically doesn't make any sense.

 

[ecschwarz]

...With that said, I *LOVE* the new Windows Phone 7. It's smooth, intuitive, and like IOS, just works. The issue with WP7 is the lack of apps. I'm currently using it as my main phone and I'm going to miss it when I have to return it.

I think the other issue is that many of the carrier stores are pushing Android and iPhone and ignoring the Windows Phone 7 models, even though the interface is quite nice (I don't have one, but I admire how lightweight the sync software for OS X is):

http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/06/21/wp7-gartenberg

 

[reputationZed]

I'm pretty sure that Is what would you expect people who are Mac users visiting a Mac site to do: express why they like Mac products over Windows.

That sure beats people who loathe Mac visitng here and extolling the virtues of Windows or Android in never ending troll fashion.

Are you saying that as Mac users we are obligated to extoll the virtues of Apple over Windows? Why should there be an issue with Mac users stating that they believe Win 7 is a decent OS? I'll agree that some one posting to a Mac forum that Windows or Android blows OSX/iOS away is most likely a troll, but going to the opposite extreme and condemning anything not from Apple as junk equally as ignorant.

 

[Davidkoh]

Quit with your rather uninformed trolling. You truly do appear to be the fool in this particular situation.

"Windows System Assessment Tool" is what you should have mentioned in the first place. You said "Windows Assessment Tool", which is one of many different types of viruses masquarading as antiviruses. You need to be very specific with your wording. If you say "Windows Assessment Tool", that's not "Windows System Assessment Tool". I get what you were getting at now, but it didn't click for me when you didn't type the whole phrase out. There are so many different pieces of software out there with similar names that it's rather foolish to get sloppy and not type out the whole title of the software or feature.

I agree it was a bit sloppy, but it isn't that hard to link the two. If you hear one of them you should be able to place it.

That said, you need to do YOUR homework. Windows System Assessment Tool is not set up to be run on a schedule UNLESS if you specifically set it up to do so. On a fresh install of Windows 7, you have to select whether you want it to run regularly or not. If you choose to have it run regularly, it will run regularly. It was your choice. However, you can undo your mistake rather easily.

You are now going on about "well I shouldn't have to lift a finger... Windows 7 should work perfectly right away". Well, it does. It was your own mistake, and you can obviously rectify that mistake by changing the settings. End of story.

Wrong, which I already linked, on a fresh install of Windows 7 it is scheduled to run every Sunday at 1 am. I did not get any option to enable it or not when installing my windows. I never even heard of it before it started drawing power.

When you put a computer together, by the way, you do have to lift a finger or two and think about how you want it set up. You have to, for example, select whether you want your antivirus to scan on a regular basis (and when it does perform a system scan, it will take up some processing power, and more importantly your hard drive will be bogged down).

Yeah, but this is something that I choose to install.

You also have to set up other things such as the Windows System Assessment Tool... however, I've never set this on a periodic check: It's a one-time thing that you run after you've set your computer up, or installed new hardware. It's rather artificial as it's really a no-good benchmark... running it periodically doesn't make any sense.

Would been good if I got the option. I don't even see why this was added, which is one of my constant problems with Windows. Too much useless stuff is installed with it.

 

[neteng101]

I have an i7 2600k processor, Radeon 6970 graphics card, 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM, a 1TB WD Black hard drive, etc, etc.

Keeping up with just AMD driver updates in Windows 7 is a chore, especially when AMD does something to break it big time. Keeping up-to-date in OSX is mind numbingly simple, even Windows Updates have given me some trouble before (especially if you haven't updated a system in a while, and it gets confused with which little patches need to be installed in what order, etc).

But Windows 7 is still the best for PC based gaming... gaming on OSX and on Mac generally is just silly if you ask me, given the lack of truly high end GPU hardware in Macs. Believe me, I do get it.

 

[ahmak]

It should be made to only run when you are idle.

You are right on this one. On the properties tab of WinSAT in task scheduler the active, default conditions are:
Start the task if idle for 10 minutes.
Stop if the computer ceases to be idle.
So whoever created that did share your way of thinking, but obviously there is some bug with that task and it starts regardless of current cpu status. So MS has to fix it for sure, till then it has to be disabled.
It should also start only on hardware event, change of RAM, HDD, SSD GPU and so on, not to be triggered by time schedule. This trigger can also be changed manually in Task Scheduler, but that sort of tuning the system kills the idea of simplicity.

 

[PaulWog]

Wrong, which I already linked, on a fresh install of Windows 7 it is scheduled to run every Sunday at 1 am. I did not get any option to enable it or not when installing my windows. I never even heard of it before it started drawing power

It's an option when you install everything. There's "use recommended settings" or other things such as that... should be under one of those. It's always best to "choose later".

However, if it is automatically in your install, then that's very odd. I have installed Windows 7 on many different desktops and never had that problem. Three of my family members own Windows 7-based laptops which also never had this issue. But it's plausible that your version of Windows 7 could be something like the "Dell Windows 7 install disc", or some other brand, which automatically has some settings predone. The version of Windows 7 I've dealt with is specifically from the OEM disc, as well as on two Acer laptops, and one Lenovo laptop.

Keeping up with just AMD driver updates in Windows 7 is a chore, especially when AMD does something to break it big time. Keeping up-to-date in OSX is mind numbingly simple, even Windows Updates have given me some trouble before (especially if you haven't updated a system in a while, and it gets confused with which little patches need to be installed in what order, etc).

But Windows 7 is still the best for PC based gaming... gaming on OSX and on Mac generally is just silly if you ask me, given the lack of truly high end GPU hardware in Macs. Believe me, I do get it.

Is it a chore? All you have to do is one of two things:

Use the "Windows Updates" feature, which will install the updates, including any finalized drivers (I wouldn't recommend this route for drivers but it works). Or simply go to the AMD website and download and install the drivers. Done. Simple. How is that a chore?

Anyways, older drivers on the 6000-series, for example, aren't going to be crippling or problematic anyways. All of the driver releases are fine really. When it comes to gaming, having up-to-date drivers is easy to maintain and it will improve performance obviously.

I dunno though... why do you find it to be a chore?

 

[tdfreeman]

Keeping up with just AMD driver updates in Windows 7 is a chore, especially when AMD does something to break it big time. Keeping up-to-date in OSX is mind numbingly simple, even Windows Updates have given me some trouble before (especially if you haven't updated a system in a while, and it gets confused with which little patches need to be installed in what order, etc).

But Windows 7 is still the best for PC based gaming... gaming on OSX and on Mac generally is just silly if you ask me, given the lack of truly high end GPU hardware in Macs. Believe me, I do get it.

The new AMD drivers (last few versions) check for updates and prompts if there are new versions. You can even choose to download and install with one click. I was surprised when it popped up as I don't check the site often.

 

[singlestick]

I reluctantly opened this topic knowing the Windows bashing would surely ensue, but I've been pleasantly surprised. I've purchased 4 Macs in my household and also have many Windows machines (5 counting my server). I use a Mini for my media machine due to it's size and multiple USB ports that actually charge an iPad (2 iPhones, 2 iPods, & 2 iPads in the house). My current laptop is a MacBook Air 13", max config. I have no issues with either OSX or Win7. That being said, Win7 is actually faster on my MBA than OSX. Boots faster, shuts down quicker, and daily tasks are just quicker. If Apple would write proper drivers for graphics switching and battery consumption, I would consider booting it in Win7 full time. I also have to kill tasks much more often in OSX than I do in Win7. I won't blame this on Apple as it's most likely the applications, but stability was brought up here.

I haven't looked into the new Air "clones" as I'm happy with the form and function of my MBA. I'm also not fond of the integrated 3000 graphics that Intel is pushing. My preference on buying a laptop is based on form and function. If a contender came out for the MBA, I'd definitely consider switching back to Win7, but so far, that's not been an issue. That's doesn't mean on OS is better than the other, as both are very stable and very user friendly.

Speaking on the phone level, I recently tried switching due to the mass amount of Apple products infiltrating my home. From my personal experience, there is no contest between IOS and Android. I could never rely on the Android phone. It was laggy, slow, and full of bugs. I rebooted it more in the month I tried it than the last 6 months of using the iPhone. They say it's the apps that cause the issues, but if that's the case, what's the point if I can't use apps? With that said, I *LOVE* the new Windows Phone 7. It's smooth, intuitive, and like IOS, just works. The issue with WP7 is the lack of apps. I'm currently using it as my main phone and I'm going to miss it when I have to return it. Hopefully the iPhone5 will be out soon.

Agree very much with your assessments of Apple and Windows. There just is no rational point in bashing one over the other.

I have heard consistently good things about the Windows Phone 7. But I guess it is not as "sexy" as Android or the iPhone. How is the battery life for the device?

 

[tdfreeman]

Agree very much with your assessments of Apple and Windows. There just is no rational point in bashing one over the other.

I have heard consistently good things about the Windows Phone 7. But I guess it is not as "sexy" as Android or the iPhone. How is the battery life for the device?

Battery last easily over a day, that's 24+ hours, not an 8 hour work day. This is with making some calls, 2 emails (1 Exchange push & 1 1hour check), and integrated Facebook updates. The Facebook integration alone is worth the price of admission. The Office/Skydrive integration is excellent.

 

[singlestick]

Battery last easily over a day, that's 24+ hours, not an 8 hour work day. This is with making some calls, 2 emails (1 Exchange push & 1 1hour check), and integrated Facebook updates. The Facebook integration alone is worth the price of admission. The Office/Skydrive integration is excellent.

Thanks for the info. I have a long daily commute, and I cannot guarantee that I will be near a power source, so battery life is important. It's also good to know about the Office/Skydrive integration.

 

[Young Spade]

Get over your fanboyism like I did when I was still a teenager. If you can't realize that different operating systems are better at different things you need to grow up and educate yourself.

Haha I think I fit the bill. As a 19 year old college student, I strictly used Windows computers until this April; back when I was in high school I, admittedly, was one of those, "Macs are stupid", people who didn't have a strong basis on the reasoning behind the bashing.

The result? I got a used BlackBook in April. I just sold that to help fund for either a new MBA or a MBP. Never going back.

 

[Young Spade]

Agree very much with your assessments of Apple and Windows. There just is no rational point in bashing one over the other.

I have heard consistently good things about the Windows Phone 7. But I guess it is not as "sexy" as Android or the iPhone. How is the battery life for the device?

Not as sexy? I have used all three (Own a Nexus 1 [Android]) myself and love it. I don't like iOS because I feel it's too simple for me (somewhat of a nerd so of course I rooted and have custom ROMs on my phone) and WP7 phones are all capped at 1 ghz. I have 2 phone upgrades and I'll probably use them on the new iPhone 5 (if it's THAT much better than the 4) or the Galaxy S 2 if that ever comes out over here.

The WP7 phones are great though. Very smooth and the whole phone experience feels smooth.

Know how it's smoother when coming from XP/7 -> Snow Leopard? Think that, but from Snow Leopard to the next thing. Then relate said hypothetical smoothness in a phone.