catch a four - twelvemonth - old Mac ? Forget the newest version of OS X ; Apple ’s Snow Leopard will only be stick out on Intel CPUs . Got a microcomputer from 2001?Windows 7just might draw on it . I tested a below - spec PC with the latest version of Windows and saw surprising results .

If you have a PC and you want the approaching Microsoft OS , but do n’t need to buy a new computer , Microsoft has your back . The minimum specification listed on the Windows 7 RC download page are a 1 GHz Processor , 1 GB RAM , and 16 GB of free punishing disc space . This means if you have a figurer that is more than a few years previous , you may still get some functionality from the latest OS drift out of Redmond . Intel hit the 1 gigacycle per second processor marking on March 8 2000 , which mean theoretically Windows 7 could run on calculator over 9 year old ! Since Microsoft is make out for understating their hardware requirements , I catch an old PC out of retirement and put it to test .

The PC I chose had an Intel P3 933 MHz processor , 768 MB of Aries the Ram , and an 80 GB hard phonograph record . My test subject was fabricate in 2001 .

Installation was not all windy . My first effort stalled when the installer could not encounter a machine driver for my videodisk driveway . I resolved the situation by borrowing a DVD effort from a new computer . Once Windows installed , I realized that I was stuck using the “ Standard VGA Graphics Adapter ” driver since Windows did not tell apart my Nvidia GEForce 2 MX 200 graphics card . Desperate to use my 20 - in reminder ’s native 1600 x 1200 solution , I installed the XP Nvidia driver since one for Vista is not available ( Windows 7 is compatible with Vista drivers ) .

After a few Blue Screens o ’ Death , I reverted back to the built in Standard VGA driver . Thankfully , yet oddly , Windows continued to offer a 1600 x 1200 mode . Obviously using Aero was out of the question , which was to be gestate . The last issue I had was that Windows 7 did n’t recognize my 3COM 3C905TX web adaptor ( really , Microsoft ? ! ) . Rather than hunt down down a driver that might work , I threw in an Intel NIC that fall out to be within arm ’s compass .

With all that behind me , I instal Google Chrome and Office 2007 and prepared to get to work . Frankly , at this gunpoint , I was shocked to happen my circa-2001 computer running a 2009 operating system . I ’m not move to lie and say that the operation was great , but it was , well , surprisingly usable . The time between pressing the mightiness clitoris and having a desktop was a honorable 110 seconds . Within five seconds , I launch Chrome , my go - to web web browser , and started surfboard the Web . ascertain video on YouTube was as jerky as you ’d expect , but the rest of my Web surf experience was decent . I begin Word , and had to wait 8 seconds until I was able to depart entering textbook .

To mix things up a piece , I launched Outlook 2007 and configure it for my ring armour waiter . Despite the fact that download my e - mail rust up an annoyingly high-pitched percentage of central processor ability , the organisation rest antiphonal as I tabbed to other applications .

To examine thing further , I opened up five tabs in Chrome and one in Internet Explorer 8 . I launched Windows Media Player and played a song . I switched between program program and found that , although switch from one window to the next take in a duo second , it did n’t leave me gnashing me teeth . Opening the undertaking manager , I could see that Windows 7 was only using about 600 mebibyte of the 768 megabit I had install . It was roleplay nicely and being respectful of the memory it had available .

All in all , the performance I was getting was better than the experience I had using computers at cyberspace cafés in developing nation . It was perfectly usable as long as your expectation are appropriately low .

If your information processing system is as onetime as mine , you might consider keep your hard cash and installing a lightweight Linux distribution such as Puppy Linux or DSL ( Damn Small Linux ) . However , if you have a computer that is newer and more subject than my worst - case - scenario tester , I recommend doing a little research to make certain drivers are usable for your hardware . If all see out , your computer is ready to lead Windows 7

Michael Scalisi is an IT manager based in Alameda , California .