"The home network option is one of the unique selling points, allowing shared access to files within your house or office."
Karim Beerahee
For many this upgrade has been seen as one expensive support pack that should have been used to fix Vista rather then usher in a new operating system.
Critics of Microsoft maintain that Windows has not been stable since the 95 edition.
What we like best
This functioning version of Vista is generally faster and capable of multiprocessing at a better pace, by which I mean it does not crash easily.
Coming in both a 32-bit and 64-bit version Windows 7 has a refurbished desktop and broader range of customisable themes. It allows you to view and record television as well as read/write Blu-ray.
The system comes with Windows Explorer 8 which, although is not favoured by some is a secure and easy way to browse the internet. It also has a variety of navigating tools so that you can easily find open or preview your desired files.
The home network option is one of the unique selling points, allowing shared access to files within your house or office, as well as allowing you to link wirelessly with greater ease to the internet and shared printers.
What we like least
The full installation has the same features, but costs more. If you already own a machine with Vista or XP, no matter what the version the upgrade will suffice.
You will have to do a clean installation if you have XP, or are changing between 32-bit and 64-bit or if you are downgrading e.g. from Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Home Premium.
For a basic upgrade of your current system this is a very good foundation. You may be tempted by the other versions and with names like ‘Professional’ and ‘Ultimate’ who wouldn’t be? But the additional cost of these systems and what they add that’s extra is minimal, the fundamentals of Windows 7 is contained in this package and will super-speed the way you go about computing.
Today's best deal
Features
NEW: support for touch screen systems TV recorder and much easier navigation tools
Add On
Available as an upgrade
Download or CD
CD
Compatible with
Vista
XP requires clean installation
System Requirements
- Over 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 1 Gb RAM (32-bit) or 2 Gb RAM (64-bit)
- 16Gb available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 Gb (64-bit)
- Direct X 9 Graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
- DVD-ROM drive for installation
- Internet connection for some features
Add a review of the Windows 7 Home Premium
We are currently building a list of exciting vouchers for you to choose from. While we do this, why not take a look at our expert review for the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade & Full Version review
