The system requirements for Windows 7 are very low considering you could take a computer that is 10 years old and still run Windows 7 on it. In fact, you just need to have a 1 GHz that has been around even more than 10 years before Windows 7 was released. But the real question is whether you should really be running this operating system with the minimum requirements.
The answer is a definit no”. The reason for this is because it will run incredibly slow. The minimum specs require a 1GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of hard drive space, and a graphics card that supports Direct X 9. Finding one of these computers for $100, and in some cases even less, depending on the use that is given to the computer can be quite simple. In fact, the operating system is probably worth more than the computer itself. So what’s going to happen if you buy one of these and then run Windows 7?
First of all, the computer will run at a very slow speed. The 1GHz CPU with only 1GB of RAM will mean your RAM is underutilized because CPU usage will typically max out before memory when using decent sized apps. This means that you will be waiting and waiting while your computer uses all the processing power it has.
Possibly most importantly, all the processes running in the background will take up more than 50% of that RAM. You need to be very careful because this can cause your computer to freeze. Although Windows 7 is much more stable than Vista, limiting your system to just 1 GB of RAM is not a good choice.
So if you plan on using this OS, just go out and buy a new computer if you’re running one that’s that old. For $500 you can get a system that will use all the capabilities of Microsoft’s latest operating system.
