Windows XP vs. Windows 7

[tonejunkee]

I would like to upgrade to PT9 but have avoided it due to my rock solid XP setup - However - I hear that Windows 7 will access and utilize all 4GB of RAM instead of the currently displayed 3.25GB

My current XP setup has every known tweak, but most importantly, it can have a working PT session up at the same time as a browser window - both with audible content. Can the Windows 7 drivers handle this? -

any resources out there for audio tweaks on 7? Let me know if it's worth the plunge! I have a custom audio PC from Sweetwater

tj

[chrisdee]

Originally Posted by tonejunkee

it can have a working PT session up at the same time as a browser window - both with audible content. Can the Windows 7 drivers handle this? -

Not that I usually do it but I'v been surfing, taking backups and running PT9 at the same time.
I think this has more to do with how powerfull and compatible your machine is whether you can do this or not.

XP is over 10 years old. In the computer era this is a especially long time.

[tonejunkee]

what about the 32bit vs 64bit thing? I remember some folks talking about that last time I checked in on this (2 years ago)

[Benoni]

Originally Posted by tonejunkee

I would like to upgrade to PT9 but have avoided it due to my rock solid XP setup - However - I hear that Windows 7 will access and utilize all 4GB of RAM instead of the currently displayed 3.25GB ......

Windows 7 64 BIT can use 4GB+ another 12GB if on Windows 7 Home Premium (16GB limit in W7 Home Premium 64bit) and Windows 7 Pro and Ultimate 64 bit, can use up to 192GB of ram.

Pro Tools is still 32 bit, so in a 32 bit OS it will only be able to use about 1.7GB unless you do the 3GB/Switch, then it usually gets around 2.7GB

Running any 32 bit app in a 64 Bit OS will let the 32 bit app utilize up to 4GB of Ram natively. So if you get Windows 7, make sure to get the 64 bit version.

Originally Posted by tonejunkee

any resources out there for audio tweaks on 7?

I dont do all of them, as I need Aero ON because I use many programs at one time, but here are the opts.

Avid Windows 7 Optimizations Video Playlist - YouTube

Windows 7 Optimizations

and some PT9 info.....

Pro Tools 9 Frequently Asked Questions

Pro Tools 9.0.2 Update


Driver Downloads and Updates for Pro Tools 9 and 8

[daeron80]

Install Win7 on a new drive. That way you can immediately revert to XP and your current PT version if needed.

For me, Win7x64 has been like a miracle. Everything is quicker and easier. The only thing I didn't like was that when re-backing up a PT session, it wanted me to confirm that I wanted to overwrite every single file one by one. But there's a utility called Classic Shell that allows it to work like it XP.

Originally Posted by tonejunkee

[XP] can have a working PT session up at the same time as a browser window - both with audible content. Can the Windows 7 drivers handle this?

Yes, if your computer is newer than, say, 3 yrs old.

[tonejunkee]

ahh, so I can literally pull the current system drive out and set it aside while using a fresh drive for 7

this is a Core 2 Quad @ 2.66 GHZ and one year old. The chip is ASUS

I am excited at the possibility of this working, especially since I'll be doing the same for my laptop - which was made for 7 but I resisted and installed XP upon purchase

looking forward to upgrading both to 8GB of RAM!

[daeron80]

Originally Posted by tonejunkee

ahh, so I can literally pull the current system drive out and set it aside while using a fresh drive for 7

Don't even need to pull it out if you have another SATA port. I keep both my XP and Win7 drives mounted. When I reboot, it asks me which system to boot to. After a few seconds it boots to Win7 if I don't choose.

[Motoko]

Been running on Win 7 x64 for more then a year and all I can say it's rock solid. I reboot my laptop once every twee weeks tops and haven't had any issues, apart from some problems while PT9 was scanning my plugins for the very first time.

Recently updated to SP1 on both my Windows machines and no problems. Here's a link to a power profile for Win 7 optimized for audio handling.

http://support.presonus.com/entries/...for-studio-one

x64 is basically only useful if you are using more then 4 GB of RAM in your machine.

[TOM@METRO]

We've been running Pro Tools on W7/64 for 15 months now and would not consider going back to XP or any 32-bit OS.

[forgotteng]

Originally Posted by TOM@METRO

We've been running Pro Tools on W7/64 for 15 months now and would not consider going back to XP or any 32-bit OS.

Tom what interface are you using. I am on a profire 2626 and have had issues. I am also running Waves V8 Mercury and A UAD1 and a UAD2 card. It is murderous getting everything to work together. I would love to get this working. Windows7 is definitely faster.