Geeks in Phoenix

Geek Blog


Should you upgrade your computer to Windows 10?

With Microsoft giving away free Windows 10 upgrades to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, the one question that I keep getting asked is, "Should I upgrade to Windows 10?" The real question should be, "Will my hardware run smoothly with Windows 10?" Let's take a look and see if you should upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10.

Should you upgrade your computer to Windows 10?

When Microsoft first released Windows 10, they had an application called Get Windows 10 (GWT). This program would analyze the hardware and software inside your computer and let you know if there was anything that was not Windows 10 compatible. That program is gone, but the Windows 10 installer will still analyze your computer before starting the installation.

Just remember that even if the Windows 10 installer says everything is compatible, it doesn't mean it will work smoothly with Windows 10. I have seen systems that were completely compatible with Windows 10, but when they got the upgraded, the performance was below what it was with the previous version of Windows.

The first thing we should look at is the hardware requirements for Windows 10. When compared to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, they are necessarily precisely the same for all three versions.

Windows 7 requirements:

  • 1 Gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 1 Gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
  • 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
  • DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Windows 8.1 requirements:

  • Processor: 1 Gigahertz (GHz)* or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2
  • RAM: 1 Gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
  • Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
  • Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

Windows 10 requirements:

  • Processor: 1 Gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
  • RAM: 1 Gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
  • Hard disk space:
    • Windows 10 version 1809 and prior: 16 GB for 32-bit OS 20 GB for 64-bit OS
    • Windows 10 version 1903 and newer: 32 GB for 32-bit and 64-bit OS
  • Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver

So what differentiates Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8? The hardware drivers. Let me explain.

In the past, when a manufacturer discontinued a hardware piece, Microsoft would take the last known Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) certified driver for that hardware and incorporate it into the driver's directory for the next version of Windows. The Windows\System32\Drivers directory is the generic driver collection that is inside of the installation media for Windows. If Windows cannot find a driver for a specific type of hardware in the driver's directory, it will go out to the Internet database and look for a suitable driver.

But when a type of hardware gets outdated, Microsoft has been known to remove the driver from the driver's directory after a couple of years. That's when things can get tough. I've have had to go back into previous versions of Windows installation media and extract drivers from older driver directories. I have a customer with a large format plotter that Windows hasn't had a driver for since Windows Server 2003 64-bit. But I have extracted the driver from the installation media and have used it on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7 with no problem.

So what am I saying? It comes down to whether the manufacturer(s) of your hardware is still supporting them with new drivers. If the device is no longer being sold, you can assume that there will be no new drivers for it. Now there are exceptions to this rule. Expansion cards, like graphic/video cards, are one of them. I've found that companies like NVIDIA and AMD will create new drivers for what they call legacy hardware (discontinued hardware).

Before you decide to upgrade your Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 computer, take a couple of minutes and go over to all of the manufacturer's website(s) and locate the drivers for your system components. A few minutes now can save you hours later. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

With all of that in mind, if the last version of drivers that came from the manufacturer was for Windows 7, then the drivers in Windows 8.1 were Microsoft WHQL certified drivers. And if that is the case, then Windows 10 may or may not come with a compatible generic driver. It may have to go out to the Internet database and find a driver. And if that's the case, you can bet it will be a completely generic driver.

But if the last version of drivers that came from the manufacturer was for Windows 8.1, then the Windows 10 driver will most likely be a Microsoft WHQL certified hardware driver.

Bottom line; if your system or components were built before the release of Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 (October 2012) and are no longer in production, I would be skeptical about whether to upgrade to Windows 10. But if your system and/or components were built after the release of Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 (October 2012) and may or may not be still in production, there is a good chance that Windows 10 will run perfectly fine. But remember, there will be exceptions.

Comments (1) -

Excellent -down-to-earth- article! I wish I had read it BEFORE I upgraded to Win 10... I have an old HP Pavilion dv-6000  (2008) that came with Vista, and had practically no problems with it in Win7, but the moment I moved to Win 10, I lost audio, internet, and several other things. I spent hours trying to fix those things and gave up after three solid days of trying. Went back to 7 and I don't miss 10....Call me a romantic, but I liked XP a lot better than the rest. I have Win 10 in my newest laptop, but always come back to the faithful XP....

Reply

Add comment

Free computer diagnostics

Repairing a PC can sometimes be expensive, and that is why we offer free basic in-shop diagnostics. Give one of our professional and experienced technicians a call at (602) 795-1111, and let's see what we can do for you.

Check out our reviews

Geeks In Phoenix LLC, BBB Business Review

Customer service is #1

Here at Geeks in Phoenix, we take pride in providing excellent customer service. We aim to give the highest quality of service  from computer repair, virus removal, and data recovery.

Bring your computer to us and save

Repairing a computer can be time-consuming. That is why we base our in-shop service on the time we work on your computer, not the time it takes for your computer to work! From running memory checking software to scanning for viruses, these are processes that can take some time.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call at (602) 795-1111  and talk with one of our Geeks. Or you can send us a message from our contact page , and one of our Geeks will get back to you as soon as possible. Or you can stop by and see us. Here are our hours and location.

Like Geeks in Phoenix on Facebook

Follow Geeks in Phoenix on Twitter

Watch Geeks in Phoenix on YouTube