What a gamer needs to know about different versions of Microsoft operating systems
In 2020, many are still using old versions of Windows and will not dare to upgrade to the latest. Others, on the contrary – not so long ago purchased a PC with pre-installed Windows 10 and are thinking of switching to the legendary “Seven” or at least a light version of LTSC in order to get rid of all unnecessary and free up performance, for example, for games.
Is there really any benefit from switching from one version of Windows to another, especially for games, we will analyze in this material.
Which Windows versions are outdated?
Unfortunately, this includes even the popular Windows 7
To begin with, we want to warn against using the still popular operating systems from Microsoft that have expired in every sense. These are the following today:
- Windows XP. This operating system does not support any hardware newer than 2011 and does not recognize more than 2.5 gigabytes of RAM. Security updates stopped coming to her in 2014. Even older versions of Windows are not worth mentioning.
- Windows Vista. Its support was discontinued shortly after the release of Windows 7. One of the most unsuccessful iterations of the operating system.
- Windows 7.It is still loved by many, but it has already stopped receiving security updates , and soon it will stop receiving driver updates. In addition, new games run slower on it (see video above). As a result, it is not recommended to install “Seven” on modern gaming PCs.
- Windows 8.Its support ended even earlier than Windows 7. It is considered the most unsuccessful OS from Microsoft in history.
Which edition of Windows 10 should you choose: Home, Pro, or LTSC?
There is practically no difference in games
After excluding all outdated versions of the operating system, only Windows 10 remains. But it also has several delivery options: “Home” , “Professional” (Pro), recently gained popularity Lite with Extended Support (LTSC), as well as a number of corporate and educational versions not intended for the average user.
Read more about each of the above editions of Windows 10 in more detail.
- Windows 10 Home. Basic edition for home use, as the name suggests. Preinstalled on most computers in stores. Many professional and especially corporate opportunities are missing. Takes up less space than Professional, but more than LTSC.
- Windows 10 Professional. A more complete edition for private use. Suitable for both home and office. There is virtualization, remote desktop, storage encryption, the ability to combine computers into clusters, and a number of other features that are of little use for games. The most voluminous version in terms of the amount of occupied space on the drive, as well as in RAM.
- Windows 10 EnterpriseLightweight professional version, in which only basic functionality is left. It features extended security support and more rare, but larger updates (once every 2-3 years). You cannot legally obtain it for home use. Takes up the least amount of space compared to other editions. Some older games manage to get more FPS, but newer ones have the same performance as regular versions.
It turns out that in 2020 it would be most reasonable to abandon all outdated versions of the OS from Microsoft, including the “Seven”, and among all editions of Windows 10 it would be better to prefer “Home”. Windows 7 will gradually stop working on modern hardware and new games. Windows 10 Pro takes up more space and consumes more memory, but doesn’t provide anything useful for gamers. Using Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC still looks reasonable. It is lighter and even gives more FPS sometimes (but only in older games). However, for private use, LTSC is not legally distributed.
