Operating System Software

Genuine Microsoft® Windows™

Most of our customers choose Genuine Microsoft Windows Home Premuim for their new PC.

On this page, we'll take a look at some of the features and benefits of choosing a Windows based Operating System (herein called "OS"), as well as some of the limitations you may not be aware of, though before we start, we need to clearly identify what an OS is. The simplest explanation of an OS is to liken it to a brand new house, finished, painted, carpeted and empty with no furniture, and ready for habitation.

Microsoft Windows 7

Windows 7 Desktop

Windows 7 is available in 32-bit or 64-bit versions.

  • Windows 7 Home Premium supports up to 16GB RAM and is our best seller.
  • Windows 7 Professional supports up to 192GB RAM, it has extra tools and services to make it compatible with Primary Domain Controllers, improved backup capabilities and full remote desktop support.
  • Windows 7 Ultimate adds data encryption to hard disks and it allows multi language selections from any running system.

32-bit or 64-bit, what should I choose?

  • 32-bit Windows
    • 32-bit Windows is best for compatibility with some older software, such as titles no longer developed, but still mission critical.
    • 32-bit Windows has a RAM memory limitation of 3GB for Home Premium and 4GB for Professional.
    • 32-bit software is not able to utilise the full capabilities of todays hardware, so applications will run marginally slower than on a 64-bit system.
  • 64-bit Windows
    • 64-bit Windows will run most 32-bit applications quite successfully.
    • 64-bit Windows supports up to 16GB RAM for Home Premium or 192GB RAM for the Professional and Ultimate editions.
    • 64-bit software can utilise all the advanced hardware features of todays hardware and 64-bit applications run at full speed.
    • 64-bit software has a slightly larger memory footprint, but it utilises it more efficiently.

What is provided with Windows 7?

Dual Boot

Windows7 as provided by Microsoft comes with sufficient software to enable most users to get started with their PC. Of the most commonly required features used by 95% of PC users, Windows7 Home Premium provides the following from the install DVD;

  • Ability to connect to a network
  • Ability to browse web pages
  • Very limited document support
  • Limited multimedia support
    • Ability to playback most Microsoft proprietary codecs
    • Ability to rip CD's to WMA or MP3 format
    • Windows Media Center
  • A small handful of simple games
  • Reasonable range of USB peripheral device support
  • Limited range of printer drivers preloaded
  • Basic file compression and decompression
  • Minimalistic malware protection
  • Simple data backup and restore
  • Simple CD and data DVD creation (not always readable with older versions of Windows)
  • Windows Live Essentials 2011 is not provided with the install DVD, though it is available as a free download from Microsofts servers. It adds options to install the following additional programs to Windows7.
      • Windows Live Messenger
      • Windows Live Photo Gallery
      • Windows Live Movie Maker
      • Windows Live Mesh
      • Windows Live Writer
      • Windows Live Family Safety
      • Windows Live Messenger Companion
      • Windows Live Bing Toolbar
      • Windows Live Outlook Connector Pack
      • Microsoft Silverlight

    Windows 7 does not provide the following from the install DVD;

    • Microsoft Office is not included with Windows7
      • Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook, Publisher and Access are not included with Windows7. These are productivity applications which require a seperate End User License Agreement, license key and installation media.
    • Windows 7 has no built-in email application
    • Full Multimedia support requires additional downloads, software licences, and/or third party applications
    • DVD movie creation requires the purchase of additional media codecs
    • Windows 7 is usually out of date in its feshly installed state and requires huge downloads to catch up with security updates.

    Windows7 is best viewed as a platform or base onto which the software you need can be added to give you the type of system you require. If we take the example of a brand new house, a fresh Windows7 install is like a newly finished house, nicely painted with driveway and gardens intact, but no real furniture inside.

    Windows7 starts to become really useful after it has been enhanced with your preferred Applications, Utilities and of course, your favourite toys. This is where the right selection can make all the difference for you as a user, though we'll see more of that on another page.


    Our JDI Systems come preloaded with the most commonly requested Windows Live applications, Microsoft service packs and critical updates, as well as a useful selection of productivity, multimeda and security enhancements so our in-house builds are ready to use from the moment they are first started.




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