Microsoft released their Windows 7 pricing today. The Home Premium Upgrade will be $120 normally, but from June 26 till July 11 they are having a preorder sale where we can get it for $50. I’m guessing OEM would be $90, and the academic $80 or $90. I am definitely getting one for my main computer, but I’m not sure about the HTPC. I was hoping you guys could help me out.
My HTPC is almost 3 years old.
Core 2 Duo E6300
Intel MB with P965 chipset
2 GB DDR2 533Mhz
Nvidia GeForce 7600GT
Auzentech X-plosion sound card
Vbox 164e dual ATSC tuner
My main concern is driver compatibility for the soundcard and tuner. Neither manufacturer was very good at delivering drivers. Are they really going to put much effort into drivers for products they no longer manufacture? Right now everything works. I don’t want to screw it up. I know the easiest way to find out would be to download the RC version and try it out, but I don’t have a spare hard drive to put it on.
My other question is What are the benefits of Windows 7 over Vista on my HTPC? I’m using Vista Media Center, but I also keep a wireless mouse and keyboard on the coffee table so I can browse the web while I watch TV, or manage my Itunes, or download off bittorrent.
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