Windows 7 compatibility with future specs?

Hi,

 

With windows 7 availability coming to an end a year from now, will future pc specs still be compatible with Windows 7?

Making a computer with much newer processors, motherboards, memory, video cards, etc... will all of them still be working well with Windows 7 or they would require Windows 10 or later. Windows 7 has such success and all my sims and programs are working superbly well with it while on Windows 10 many users have had this and that. (not just with flight sims)

 

I have a Windows 7 rig bought since September 2013 and I also have the Windows 7 CD. If I buy a new pc in let's say 3, 4 years and install Windows 7 will everything work or should I buy before it ends?

 

I will greatly appreciate feedback.

Please and thank you.

Microsoft has already dropped support for the latest generation of Intel processors for Windows 7. While it may still run on them right now, each successive CPU generation increases the chance of something breaking. There is also the other side that Windows 7 won't be able to take advantage of new functionality.

 

https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/16/10780876/microsoft-windows-support-policy-new-processors-skylake

I use Win 7 myself and plan on upgrading the CPU to an i7 7700K which is a Kaby Lake. I've read that Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake CPUs won't work with 7, but it was just with the updates not working. For that there is a fix at Github to allow updates again. Since I give two craps about updates it's not an issue for me.

 

Going forward into the future Windows will take advantage of different specs given by the CPU so Win 10 will be necessary.

 

If you're not sure ask at sevenforums.com.

Thanks guys. I'm not a spec expert so I find it real weird to name a CPU coffee lake etc... lol, anyway, my only interest is having a quad core with minimum 4Ghz. Same for the rest of the specs, anything high power and endurance which leads exactly where I'm afraid of, those kind of specs might not be available anymore. If I buy another pc now, well, I'll be stuck with 2 and I just need 1.

Yeah, the CPU names and Android names are stupid as all hell. Like in Android they have a cotton candy version, a lollipop version, a marshmellow version, etc. Oh! Ice cream sandwich. LOL I think they need to go on Weight Watchers.

 

As to the Intel CPUs, I had a Northwood, then something else and now Skylake. Right now there's Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake. Not sure what's next.

 

BTW, and I'm sure others will quote me. But a CPU cycle isn't really a good measurement for CPU capability, really. You'd think something being 4 GHZ would out perform say 3 GHZ, but nothing can be farther from the truth. It's more about CPU architecture.

 

Let me give a perfect example. I had a Pentium 4 3.0 GHZ CPU. Now I was able to play FS2004 on it, but I often got stutters with complex scenery and my PMDG 737. Now take my i5 6600k that is around 3.5 to 3.8 GHZ with turbo and it performs on the aptitude of 10x better. It's certainly not the meager 800 MHz bump, it's the architecture in the CPU to process single threaded instructions faster. It's also the reason why my laptop back then which was only 1.6 GHz could process more with the folding@home client then my Pentium at 3 GHz.

 

If you're looking for a CPU that can perform well you need a CPU that has good single core thread crunching ability withen your budget. I use this site to compare CPUs with the best single thread capability. Reason being is that FS2004 and FSX are only single thread coded. And these Sims are CPU orientated more so then using the GPU. It's not like the conventional games they have now a days. These Sims are very old.

 

Imagine what they could do now a days with multi-core threading and utilizing the GPU. I guess X-Plane fits this bill. I tried their demo but didn't care for it. It has a ways to go.

Reason being is that FS2004 and FSX are only single thread coded.

 

FSX SP1 and later has the ability to use multiple cores. The challenge is how to divide the work.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

Maybe to an extent, but in large part the code is single threaded only. If it was truly a multi threaded game then it would run a lot better on these new systems now a days then it does. Go ahead and add a few gigabytes worth of New York scenery and take a tour over Manhattan in the PMDG 737 and you'll see your frame rates drop faster than a criminal on a noose.

 

In large part, the Sim uses core 2, and that's what I've seen coded in FSX.cfg and what I have observed in Task Manager while in game.

 

If the game was truly multi threaded it be as great as flying around in GTA V.

I use FS2004 and will always do as all my addons are there and to be honest it's the only flight sim I have. And also on top of that, I've been adding AI traffic since years and I still haven't finished them all. I put so much work in the sim more than I went for a flight. I just wanna finish everything and back them up that way they are ready whenever they need to be installed again, just a copy paste and that's it.

 

I'm aware it needs lots of CPU which is why my current one is I7-3770 @ 3.4Ghz - 3.8Ghz max. It is a quad core yes but exactly as you said, I need one that has a good single core. At the time, after a bit of researches I came to a decision to have that I7-3770, now if I look to improve the CPU which I intend I want it to be a very good one in all aspects. Graphic cards and RAM are left out for now haha. By the way, I don't have a lot of addons with sceneries, everything is pretty much default except water, a few airports, a night and skies environments. My fps are locked at 60 and get lower by a maximum of 20 if I'm around lots of AI. I never tried to use more than 1 core from task manager, not sure if it can be done with FS2004.