I never reinstall Windows if I can help it. I would much rather track down and fix a problem so I know what caused it in case it ever happens again, or I encounter it on another system. With systems I receive to repair that is another matter because I never know the history of the user's usage of the OS, so I normally just dump the contents of the HDD for a full backup then format and clean install, then copy the user files back so they don't lose anything. It is much easier that trying to fix most user's existing installs because in all honesty most people don't actually seem to use their computers far beyond the default setup... and that raises a big point I've considered for many years..

Most people get a new computer with an OS pre-installed. They don't change it for another OS, and then don't really install much on it other than maybe Office and a couple of games. And all of their personal files normally fit easily onto a 60GB pen drive. This has therefore always raised the question in my mind that for most people a full blown PC with a current spec CPU and loads of ram is complete overkill for most. I know people that when buying a new PC they have to spec the top end CPU, the most ram etc... but then I ask them what they are actually going to be doing on it and they describe email, office, web browsing, some Facebook games and sometimes (but not that often) install a couple of games. Why do these people need a PC with a quad core CPU and 8GB of ram and a full brown GPU? They don't. I have saved quite a few such people a lot of money in the last couple of years... building them a more modest i3 (using its built in GPU) and 4GB ram, with a 60GB SSD. They have been extremely happy with this and it has easily exceeded their needs.

If I worked for PC World I don't think they would be making much money from my sales!
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Yes they do, because bloatware WindoZe needs it to give a better score in da WindoZe Experience & actually function half decently.

Seroiusly though, an i3 rig is not going to perform as well as an i7 or i5 based rig. CPU Cache plays a huge part on things, especially when Gaming.

When it comes to re-installing, 99% of the time, it's quicker than actually finding a solution to the problem. I've been trawling the web for the last week since putting a NAS drive on my network. Never needed to map jack before I attached my 12GB Network Store. So no more wasting time for me.
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Same with me. I've never had hardware to run OS4. If I did then I would probably use it as part of my daily computing use, but in all honesty even that is badly dated now. And I have to use Windows as it's the only platform that can run all the software I need and use.

@Kin. As shocking as it might be, most people don't play any games in their PCs. They literally use them for word processing, email, surfing the internet, and some candy crush saga. For this even a Core2duo is fine, let alone an i3.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
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As may be, but then you can't use a joypad to aim a crosshair like you can spinning around with a mouse & keyboard. Consoles are utterly useless for 3D Shooters & you know it.
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yes... but what is your point? Such people that don't game on their PCs don't game on consoles either! Most just play a few games on their phones and tablets... which is sadly becoming the mainstream gaming platform. Consoles are going back to hardcore gamers and not in every household.
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i7 is a better platform to game on than Core2Duo, i3, i5, consoles or mobiles I guess.
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The guy who has this Vista computer is concerned about it since MS is soon stopping support for Vista. He was asking about Windows 10.

Will Windows 10 likely run OK on a 2007 era typical consumer desktop system? Unfortunately I can't remember the specs.
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He should test it with windows 7 first. It should run ok with that. Then upgrade 7 to 10. Reason being if it can't find drivers for any hardware it falls back on the existing installed win 7 ones as they will still work.

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Judging by the specs on that Microsoft page, it will probably be OK. I suggested upgrading to Windows 7 a few years ago but he never followed up with that.

I think they were going to go and ask at the local computer shop. If they do, hopefully they might advise a memory upgrade.

Do you think such a machine will be less sluggish with Windows 10?
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My AMD x2 system (the one I built based on Harrison's recommended parts) from around 2006 is still alive and kicking. It runs Win7 just fine. With 4gig ram and an SSD for the main OS it still feels pretty decent for the basic stuff like browsing, torrenting etc.

I did try to run the Win 10 upgrade prog to see what would happen but the computer failed the upgrade checks - I think it was the GFX card that was so old as to be unsupported, but I can't really remember as I wasn't really too bothered and didn't push any further. In short, I reckon it might be a push to get your mate onto Win 10 (it might work, perhaps) but Win 7 would be just super.
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