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Is there any reason not to run Win7 Ultimate on a netbook - compared to the other versions of Win7?

Sorry - should have been clear in my original post. I have an MSDN sub so cost isn't a concern. I'm more concerned about performance or if another version is better suited to netbooks.

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There is no difference in performance between the versions (unless you count the Aero theme, but you can disable that). Ultimate just has more features, so it wouldn't make sense not to get it if cost isn't an issue for you.

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Cost, and maybe if you have a real low end netbook, you will not have graphics powerful enough for Aero.

At the end of the day, if not using Aero, joining a domain, or use Bitlocker (as well as a few other nice features) having Ultimate is just a name...

But, again, the only reason you would not use it is if the cost outweighs the benefits to you.

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  • Win7 Ultimate will run just fine without Aero. If your graphics aren't powerful enough, then Aero will just be disabled and the OS will run just fine. Aug 16, 2009 at 6:17
  • I know, that's why I said its pointless paying the extra if you are not going to use it! Aug 16, 2009 at 14:04
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If you're not going to use some of the features of Ultimate -- such as Aero, Media Center, BitLocker, XP Mode, joining a domain -- it's probably a waste of money. You might not even have hardware sufficient to run Aero or XP Mode, and you'd need a tuner for Media Center to be very useful.

On the other hand, BitLocker in particular is useful for portables, from a security perspective. It can basically encrypt your hard drive contents. But, on the other other hand, you could do that anyway with a free tool like TrueCrypt. :-)

Save your money and buy the edition that's right for you, after analyzing your needs. Even if you need one or two of the features listed above, there may be a more appropriate version than Ultimate. The following page at Microsoft will help you choose editions: Which one is right for you?

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  • Um... Aero isn't a feature that's only available in Win7 Ultimate. It's in Home Premium too. Aug 16, 2009 at 6:17
  • Correct. I wasn't pointing out the features available only in Ultimate, but features that aren't necessarily available in all versions of Win7 but that are certainly available in Ultimate (since it has everything.) I wouldn't assume Win7 Home Premium as a basis for comparison. Consider, Aero isn't in Win7 Starter Edition, which is likely to come pre-installed on many netbooks, and the OP mentioned he's looking at a netbook. Aug 16, 2009 at 12:32
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Ultimate would be a complete waste of Money for a Netbook. Im running it Now on my Dell Mini 10 only because its apart of the Release Candidate. My Netbook has the GMA500 Pretty Lowend. and Areo runs fine on it. But I Disabled it and it gave it a nice boost in performance.

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I am running Ultimate on an ASUS N10E. Runs fine with Aero, once booted.

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No reason unless you are seriously short on disk space, such as one of the early netbooks with a small solid state drive. I also got Ultimate free from a Microsoft event, and am running it in a virtual machine with no issues.

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disabling audiodg exe in windows 7 ultimate using tune up utilities makes mini netbook run faster.

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