just installed build 7260 and I guess it's fast I can't tell a difference between xp and 7 in normal applications. Will try games tomorrow and compare fps. also this is not related to windows 7 but sorry for major inactivity. I actually go on rtw a lot but I don't log in I don't have a great connection here in vietnam. I will try and post videos and pictures for my next upgrades case,psu and gpu. kind of debating on getting and am3 ddr3 board or not or waiting. I will use the left over parts that I keep getting maybe for another build.
Thats an old build. you need the RTM 7600 build which is what I and most other users are using.
You wont see much difference between xp and 7 as this is what they wanted it to be like. Windows 7 is as fast as xp with all the eye candy on, but try vista however and you will see the reason why it was replaced so soon!
They've already started working on Windows 8 :s They're gonna stop shipping Windows 7 in April 2010 :P
Edit: I'm trying to find the document that says they'll stop shipping in April, but I can't find it, maybe I dreamed it? Lol.
oh I know vista is a pain and windows 7 is much faster than vista. I know its an old build but I'm too damned lazy. Next copy of anything I install is going to be official copy of windows 7. I can't believe can ship windows 7 in october 2009 and stop shipping april 2010 thats ridiculous.
I use the buil 7600 RTM version (officially confirmed by MS) and it is alot faster than Vista and maybe even XP.
Even tho im happy with it.
just burned a copy. I'm gonna use it on my main pc back in NY when I get back until the official os is out
guys I need some more help. My dad has a gateway m-1617 with 4 gigs of ram. 2gb stock. It has vista home premium on it and its really damn slow. I want to install windows 7 32bit on it like I did with the other computer. When I installed it on the other computer it gave me the "upgrade" option which kept old files in a "windows old" folder. I want to know if that upgrade option actually keeps the drivers from before because on the other pc it didn't bug me about things like video card drivers and I definetely did not have to reinstall motherboard drivers for lan or audio or the chipset driver. Can I do the same with the laptop? If not I can still download the drivers from gateway, but I just need to know it wont f*** up the laptop in which case my dad would not be happy.
Hmm, you might want to not use the upgrade function, as it wont cure the slowness.. If you do a fresh install everything will be new.
To the actual question: I'm not sure if the drivers go with the upgrade, but windows 7 should support most laptops out of the box.
hmmm. why wont it become faster? I'm installing windows seven either way and the drivers are just gateways drivers which have nothing to do with vista. the vista drivers work with windows seven already. So I'm gonna try to upgrade anyway and install it just like normal. I just need to know that its not gonna destroy the laptop during install if it has problems. Anybody know if I can install normally install windows 7 without destroying the laptop during install?
Oh I also have an internet issue with build 7260. I dont know if its an issue or not, but when I start the computer with windows 7 already installed it shows a local area connection which is active but tells me network2 has no internet access and I have to mess around and wait 10 minutes before it says network 2 connected.
omg it wont be destroyed, it will be alot better than a crappy upgrade. Upgrade means; not getting rid of the old "slowness". Just install it normally, without upgrade. then install the vista drivers.
when i said destroyed i meant ive heard people say they've tried to install  and during the process it didnt install properly and bad things happened. I'll try.
Not a fan of the 'upgrade' option as I have had bad experiences with it myself.
I always do a fresh install to make sure all is well and new.
Also note that if you do do an upgrade, any drivers on the old system will be wiped out as they are not compatible. only drivers that are not os dependant will stay.
if you computer is slow wwith vista you should see a slight speed increase with using 7, but a slow computer will allways be a slow computer 
Its a laptop and it shouldn't be slow its really well equipped. I'm not worrying about my computer just the laptop
Well, just do it. Install fresh windows 7, if it does not work, do it again. Second time works everytime