Windows 8 Even More Resource Efficient Than Windows 7
Usually a new version of Windows demands higher system requirements than the one before it. This wasn't the case with Windows 7, and it looks like it also won't be the case for Windows 8.
Microsoft yesterday demonstrated on stage at the Build event Windows 8 running on a three-year-old Lenovo S10 netbook, which packed an early model of the Intel Atom CPU and 1GB of RAM. Not only did it run Windows 8, but it ran it better than it could Windows 7.The latest version of Windows 7 was demonstrated running with about 404 MB of RAM used for 32 processes. Windows 8 in its current, unfinished state is doing the same with about 281 MB and 29 processes.
This is not only good news for those who are still running on computers that are several years old, but it's also for those seeking a performance boost from the greater efficiency. Hopefully this will also translate into better power consumption numbers for notebook users.
Windows 8 vs Windows 7 vs OS X Lion: hardware
While
Windows 8 will be available on ARM-powered devices, the Consumer
Preview is for 32-bit and 64-bit Intel and AMD machines only. OS X Lion,
of course, is a 64-bit, Intel-only affair. System requirements are
fairly undemanding: Lion wants a Core 2 Duo or better with 2GB of RAM,
while Windows 7 and 8 both want a 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM or 2GB
for 64-bit.
Lion is only (officially) available for Apple PCs, and it's strictly a desktop/laptop OS. Despite appearing on the odd tablet we'd argue that Windows 7 is really just a desktop/laptop OS too. Windows 8, however, is designed to encompass desktops, laptops, tablets and possibly smartphones too, and should ship on a dizzying range of devices later this year. For more about Windows 8 tablets check out our need to know piece
Lion is only (officially) available for Apple PCs, and it's strictly a desktop/laptop OS. Despite appearing on the odd tablet we'd argue that Windows 7 is really just a desktop/laptop OS too. Windows 8, however, is designed to encompass desktops, laptops, tablets and possibly smartphones too, and should ship on a dizzying range of devices later this year. For more about Windows 8 tablets check out our need to know piece
Windows 8 is Using Less Memory Than Windows 7
If you can install Windows 7 on your PC, you will be able to install Windows 8 as well. That's a key goal of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), which is currently crafting the OS -- due for release late next fall.
Microsoft Windows President Steven Sinofsky reports in his Building Windows 8 blog, "Our goal with Windows 8 from the beginning was to ship with the same system requirements as Windows 7."
While Microsoft aims to officially "only" hold steady in terms of minimum required hardware (which includes memory and processor) with the new release, it's also making it clear that its informal goal is to provide a superior memory footprint in Windows 8 versus its current flagship OS.
Mr. Sinofsky shows off a pair of screen grabs taken from Windows 7 (SP1) and Windows 8 machines running at idle after multiple clean reboots. The Windows 8 machine currently has 3 less system processes (9+% less) and has 124 MB (~20 percent) more "Available Memory" on his 1 GB notebook -- the Windows 7 minimum memory requirement.
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