What Is the Difference Between Windows 7 & Windows XP?

A confused computer user

Microsoft Windows XP proved to be so popular that many computer users opted to skip on Windows Vista. Windows 7 appears to be a much more stable operating system, and many users have a tough time deciding whether they should upgrade.

System Requirements

As with most operating system upgrades, the minimum system requirements for Windows 7 are much higher than for Windows XP. Windows 7 requires a processor at least four times faster than XP's minimum requirements and almost eight times as much RAM.

Speed

Microsoft claims Windows 7 has significant speed upgrades over Windows XP, but this is only true on computers with equal hardware configurations. If you're using an older computer, you may actually lose performance speed by upgrading.

Fuctionality

Windows XP can run applications designed for it natively. Windows 7, however, requires users run older XP applications in Windows XP mode, which requires additional RAM and hard drive space and isn't compatible with all processors.

Compatibility

Because Windows 7 requires running some older applications in XP compatibility mode, you may have to upgrade some of your applications in order to maximize the performance of Windows 7.

Benefits

Windows 7 does included a lot of new features, such as touch screen support, Windows Media Center, better control over resizing open windows and built-in parental controls software.

References

• Microsoft Support: XP System Requirements
• Microsoft: Windows 7