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Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

T60/T61 Series
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andre#4
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Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

#1 Post by andre#4 » Fri Oct 04, 2019 5:48 pm

I am going to use the NOS nvidia board to finally build my ancient supercomputer. Having trouble choosing OS. Was going to use 7, but it has only 4 months left. (Currently use XP, but can not use it anymore because I can't even open some websites because my browsers are too old and won't update)

Questions
1. Can a t61 board (#44c3926 made in 2010) function on windows 10 at all? {machine has 9500chip/8gb ram/SSD/1200x1600 ips screen}

2. (I have heard win10 updates itself to the point the drivers don't work anymore, and in any case where would I get an old enough version of 10 even if I were to turn off the updates, which by year2018 seem to have shanghai'd the t61's old drivers according to what I have read folks needed to revert to an older version even a year ago).

3. If win10 will function, will it waste cpu, using 70%-90% just to idle, and burn up the valuable GPU which cost me over $400 just for the board? (because it doesn't have the nvidia bug)

4. Would win 8.1 be any better in that regard? (overheating just to compute unknown nonsense at idle)

5. Could I use 7 for the next few years like I have used xp the last few years? Or will the chrome browser and others fail to be able to update once January 2020 rolls along? I don't know how long I would have before I get this outdated browser problem.

(the main reason I am changing, is because half of the websites I click on won't let me see them due to some security problem which requires update of browser, which requires new OS, which prompts me to build the super computer to be able to handle it).

What would you guys do? I am a total novice, I just want to be able to click on websites and see them. But I also want my 4:3 computer to last as long as possible without getting burned up. If Linux is required for that I will take it but don't know if it will have same problems with old drivers and old browsers. I don't want to wreck this rare expensive 2010 penryn board, which is still in the original box.

Sorry such a long post. I did research for a couple hours before asking.

ajkula66
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Re: Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

#2 Post by ajkula66 » Fri Oct 04, 2019 6:46 pm

W10 will run on a system from this era. My limited experience says it will run hotter than W7, though. YMMV.

Having said that, I would stick with W7 for as long as possible since it's the closest OS to the one that the machine was originally designed to work with and all the necessary drivers are readily available no updates needed.
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theterminator93
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Re: Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

#3 Post by theterminator93 » Fri Oct 04, 2019 10:19 pm

IME Google will be first to stop supporting Chrome on Windows 7, but it won't happen at the same time Microsoft stops releasing security updates. Firefox (ESR) will probably outlast Chrome by at least a year, if not more.

Case in point: the most recent release of Chrome for Windows XP was 49, released 8/31/16. The latest version of Firefox for XP was ESR 52.9.0, released 6/26/18. So it's reasonable to assume, given past observations, that Google may continue support for Chrome on Windows 7 until early-mid 2022, and Firefox until early 2024. There is no guarantee of either though.

It's totally your call to run 7, 8.1 or 10. If you are worried about force-fed updates and don't like 10's user interface, but don't want the uncertainty of not knowing when browser support will end, you could use 8.1 with classic start. Driver compatibility with 8.1 from 7 seems to be better than 7 to 10.

I myself am facing a similar dilemma... I've been running 7 on my T601 which I use at work, but I've been considering the upgrade for a few months now. I will probably take a backup image of the SSD before upgrading and try it out for a few weeks, and decide whether to keep it or revert after that time. With the T9900 it's fairly responsive but there are times I'm left waiting, impatiently, for tasks to complete due to the CPU holding things up. If that gets worse on 10, suffice it to say, I won't be keeping it for long.
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RealBlackStuff
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Re: Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

#4 Post by RealBlackStuff » Sat Oct 05, 2019 1:36 am

andre#4 wrote:
Fri Oct 04, 2019 5:48 pm
3. If win10 will function, will it waste cpu, using 70%-90% just to idle, and burn up the valuable GPU which cost me over $400 just for the board? (because it doesn't have the nvidia bug)
You must have missed this: https://www.theboardroom.info/t61mobo.html

I also will continue W7 on my machines (probably for a few years to come), until I have scraped up enough experience with Linux.
Then it's OUT with Windoze forever.
And the W10 spyware/bloatware will NOT EVER set foot in my house!
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
.

zoltan87
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Re: Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

#5 Post by zoltan87 » Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:25 pm

I would use Win 8.1, that's what I have been using on my T60 and T601 Frankenpad too, without any issues (on T60 I had to disable fast boot due to the Ati driver causing black screen on startup). You need to spend about 5 minutes after Win 8.1 install to customize a few things, so you won't ever see the tiles etc., but after that it's honestly the most logical and cleaned down Windows visually, with all the modern features required. And the end of life for Win 8.1 is still 3 years or so away. After that it will be Linux for me too.
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olddog
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Re: Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

#6 Post by olddog » Mon Oct 07, 2019 5:36 am

I have Win10 running on four T61 machines (which I will be selling). They do get a bit warm, but otherwise they work fine.

I also have Haiku running on a T61P. It needs a bit of work still, but it's what a PC operating system ought to be. And Puppy Linux on another T61 (Xenialpup64).

If you are inclined to try Haiku, dual boot it, and choose the latest nightly version, which is much more up to date than the Beta.

I totally agree with RBS. Windows has to go. And I am hoping Haiku will in due course be in a state to replace it completely. Until then, Puppy will do.

H-Atkinson
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Re: Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

#7 Post by H-Atkinson » Mon Oct 07, 2019 2:59 pm

Hello,

I recently built a similar frankenpad (14.1" 570m, X9000, 8 gb, SSD, LED-lit SXGA+), and had win10 running on it for about a week. I tried switching to windows 7, and honestly, it felt quicker. Also, the driver support for windows 7 is better than windows 10 (all of the multimedia/FN keys work with only 2 drivers from lenovo, and power manager on win7 is better than what Vantage provides on win10). Obviously, windows 7 doesnt have antivirus software built in, so if you plan on downloading anything you dont trust, that is something you would need to install yourself. Windows 10 can be lightened up to run as quickly as Windows 7 will out of the box, but it takes time.

In short, Windows 7 has provided me with a better experience overall, and thats what I will stick with for my Frankenpads (until MS completely cuts all support, then I may reevaluate).
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Re: Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

#8 Post by JBUK » Wed Oct 09, 2019 6:25 pm

My experience is positive with W10. That means that it instals and works NOT that I like it. I have it locked down using winaerotweaker to stop it updating and spying.
However I use dual boot with XP and this works very well on the web for almost all sites by using the last version to work with XP of both Opera and Firefox.Have you given them a try ?
Where to begin......
390e FOR SALE : GONE
1 x T20 : SOLD
1 X T23 + 3 breaking for parts
1 X T23 with Samsung 840 SSD and XP Great combination !: SOLD
1 X T60
3 X T61
1 X T601 15"
1 X T520
2 X T530

olddog
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Re: Win7, 8.1, or 10 for new nvidia 570 frankenpad?

#9 Post by olddog » Sat Jun 06, 2020 6:25 am

The Haiku developers have just released a second Beta. This operating system is getting better and better.

If you want to try it out, you'll need a USB stick and a way to write the ISO to it. Balena Etcher works well.

Best way to test it is to dedicate an old machine to it. Then you can simply create a bootable BeFS partition on your hard disk using G-Parted or an alternative.

LibreOffice works well, and so does the Otter browser. Both easily downloaded from Haiku Depot - a supplied application/repository.

Good luck.

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