Windows 7 Version:
Windows 7 Home Premium Pricing:
Upgrade version price: $119.99
What You Need to Run Windows 7 Home Premium:
-
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit or 64-bit processor. More about 32-bit vs. 64 bit computers.
-
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit). What is RAM?
-
16 GB available hard disk space for 32-bit computers or 20 GB for 64-bit.
-
DirectX 9 graphics device and driver. How to install DirectX graphics devices.
What You Get With Windows 7 Home Premium:
-
The Aero Desktop, Windows 7's look and feel.
-
Windows Search, which is useful for finding things on your computer.
-
HomeGroup, which is a networking technology for sharing files, printers, music and other stuff with other Windows 7 computers.
- Windows Media Center, for organizing your music, movies, television shows and so on.
What Windows 7 Home Premium Does Not Have:
Windows 7 Home Premium lacks a few security features like file and hard drive encryption. It also doesn't have the problem steps recorder, a great troubleshooting tool. The most important feature not found on this edition, however, is Windows XP Mode. XP Mode ensures backwards compatibility -- in other words, programs that ran under Windows XP will run just as well within Windows 7.
One other factor you may want to consider is that Windows 7 Home Premium can't join a domain, so businesses will want to look at a higher-level version.
Why Choose Windows 7 Home Premium:
If you can live with the security and compatibility limitations, the relatively inexpensive Windows 7 Home Premium is a good choice. Consider carefully before you buy, however.