Last/best CPU's to support windows 7

[RRW359]

I hear the next gen. CPU's by Intel and AMD will only support Windows 10. Mostly out of curiosity, I was wondering what the latest/greatest CPU's from AMD and Intel support/will support Windows 7. I'm unsure if I'll upgrade to 10 as I have my reasons for keeping 7, but in case I stay with 7, I may want to max it out as much as possible.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Everything modern currently out there supports Win 7 fine.
If you want to max it out then forget three years old AMD.
i7-6700K with Z170 board, i7-5820K or i7-5930K with X99 board.

[RRW359]

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

Everything modern currently out there supports Win 7 fine.
If you want to max it out then forget three years old AMD.
i7-6700K with Z170 board, i7-5820K or i7-5930K with X99 board.

I know everything does now, I'm thinking of the next year or so. I just want to know when the last ones will be released/what the last one is if it has already.

As for Intel vs AMD, I just prefer to know them both.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Latest and safest bet would be i7-6700K and AMD has nothing that could match this CPU.

[The Muppet Surgery Special]

Originally posted by RRW359:

I hear the next gen. CPU's by Intel and AMD will only support Windows 10. Mostly out of curiosity, I was wondering what the latest/greatest CPU's from AMD and Intel support/will support Windows 7. I'm unsure if I'll upgrade to 10 as I have my reasons for keeping 7, but in case I stay with 7, I may want to max it out as much as possible.

x86 and x64 means just that, it will run it.

[Bibo1]

You've totally misunderstood the reports. Only Windows 10 will support all hardware features of modern and future processors. You will still be able to use earlier Windows versions with newer processors, just not all of their features will be supported by the OS. Presumably the differences will be minor like energy-saving features etc.

[The Muppet Surgery Special]

Originally posted by Bibo1:

You've totally misunderstood the reports. Only Windows 10 will support all hardware features of modern and future processors. You will still be able to use earlier Windows versions with newer processors, just not all of their features will be supported by the OS. Presumably the differences will be minor like energy-saving features etc.

It is not a problem, Windows 10 is free anyway and will be free in future as a SERVICE OS, they are going to charge for "features" on Windows, and the base OS will be free, it is today. They now charge for "personalisation" but the base OS is free. Windows IS a SERVICE now.

They will also push out updates, MANDATORY.

[Bibo1]

Win 10 is free for a limiited period only. After that all bets are off. Things change over time, sometimes rapidly.

[RRW359]

Originally posted by Bibo1:

You've totally misunderstood the reports. Only Windows 10 will support all hardware features of modern and future processors. You will still be able to use earlier Windows versions with newer processors, just not all of their features will be supported by the OS. Presumably the differences will be minor like energy-saving features etc.

Originally posted by The Muppet Surgery Special:

Originally posted by RRW359:

I hear the next gen. CPU's by Intel and AMD will only support Windows 10. Mostly out of curiosity, I was wondering what the latest/greatest CPU's from AMD and Intel support/will support Windows 7. I'm unsure if I'll upgrade to 10 as I have my reasons for keeping 7, but in case I stay with 7, I may want to max it out as much as possible.

x86 and x64 means just that, it will run it.

www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-updates-support-policy-new-cpus-will-require-windows-

10/www.theverge.com/2016/1/16/10780876/microsoft-windort-policy-new-cpus-will-require-windows-

www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-7-wont-work-intels-current-next-gen-cpus/

[Bibo1]

zdnet and verge links don't work here
Don't fall for the clickbait headlines. You can still run Win 7 on Skylake etc. There's still enough life till 2020.
If you run a PC with a dedicated GPU you've got nothing to worry about. Laptops with iGPUs etc is another thing.

[The Muppet Surgery Special]

Originally posted by Bibo1:

Win 10 is free for a limiited period only. After that all bets are off. Things change over time, sometimes rapidly.

Wrong. You can download it on the Microsoft website, then you can purchase it AT ANY TIME from WITHIN the App Store to get access to specific features that are locked out in the indefinite base trial (check the activation state, you pay for "personalisation").

Windows will become a service subscription platform. Base will be free, to get customers, just like Office 365. You are going to see Windows 365 :) Windows updates are mandatory, metric sending is mandatory. Watch and see ) You will see more "features" become purchasble on Windows 365 :) It is tightly coupled to their OneDrive which is also a paid for service (with free entry for the bottom feeder teir).

[RRW359]

Originally posted by Bibo1:

zdnet and verge links don't work here
Don't fall for the clickbait headlines. You can still run Win 7 on Skylake etc. There's still enough life till 2020.
If you run a PC with a dedicated GPU you've got nothing to worry about. Laptops with iGPUs etc is another thing.

Well all sources I can find that mention it say that asside from certain skylake CPU's, most CPU's going forward won't work on 7 or 8 (not that 8 really matters TBH), including blogs.Windows.com. Obviously security updates for Windows will keep going until 2020/2023 for existing hardware, but it clearly seems that MS doesn't want future CPU's to work with <W10.

[The Muppet Surgery Special]

Originally posted by RRW359:

Originally posted by Bibo1:

zdnet and verge links don't work here
Don't fall for the clickbait headlines. You can still run Win 7 on Skylake etc. There's still enough life till 2020.
If you run a PC with a dedicated GPU you've got nothing to worry about. Laptops with iGPUs etc is another thing.

Well all sources I can find that mention it say that asside from certain skylake CPU's, most CPU's going forward won't work on 7 or 8 (not that 8 really matters TBH), including blogs.Windows.com. Obviously security updates for Windows will keep going until 2020/2023 for existing hardware, but it clearly seems that MS doesn't want future CPU's to work with <W10.

It is the OS that works with the CPU, not the CPU with the OS.

On Windows this is the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer), on Linux this is the kernel.

The CPU has features and instructions, those are utilised (or not) by the OS. The OS calls those features, not the CPU calling OS features. They just decided that they will use specific features, if it is there, it works, if not, it will not work.

If the CPU has x86 and x64 and features that Windows 7 uses, it will work, ALWAYS. If the CPU maker removes a feature that Windows 7 needs, then obviously it will not work. but, they rarely (if at all) remove features from chips.

They want to better their platform, and remove legacy maintenance, and reduce their test matrix. To do that, they MUST have specific chip features, be it TBT or VT-x or AES or anything that the future chips have. If your chip doesn't have it, it won't run on new Windows, big deal. Windows 7 will STILL run on the new chips, they will still have the same instructions (and more added usually) and same features (and new features added - that Windows 7 won't be able to take advantage off but won't stop it running).

Chip makers don't just sell to Microsoft, they also sell to Apple, embedded and other buyers, much larger than Microsoft :)

You have it backwards.

[RRW359]

Originally posted by The Muppet Surgery Special:

Originally posted by RRW359:

Well all sources I can find that mention it say that asside from certain skylake CPU's, most CPU's going forward won't work on 7 or 8 (not that 8 really matters TBH), including blogs.Windows.com. Obviously security updates for Windows will keep going until 2020/2023 for existing hardware, but it clearly seems that MS doesn't want future CPU's to work with <W10.

It is the OS that works with the CPU, not the CPU with the OS.

On Windows this is the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer), on Linux this is the kernel.

You have it backwards.

IDK if this link will work on Steam, but here's the Windows blog:
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/01/15/windows-10-embracing-silicon-innovation/
From what I can tell, MS is saying that in order to work with 7/8, CPU's needed a lot of built-in emulation that they aren't going to include with newer CPU's, in order to put in more 10 features. It actually doesn't bother me too much, I just feel that if I'm running 7, I should max it out as much as I can.

[The Muppet Surgery Special]

Originally posted by RRW359:

Originally posted by The Muppet Surgery Special:

It is the OS that works with the CPU, not the CPU with the OS.

On Windows this is the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer), on Linux this is the kernel.

You have it backwards.

IDK if this link will work on Steam, but here's the Windows blog:
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/01/15/windows-10-embracing-silicon-innovation/
From what I can tell, MS is saying that in order to work with 7/8, CPU's needed a lot of built-in emulation that they aren't going to include with newer CPU's, in order to put in more 10 features. It actually doesn't bother me too much, I just feel that if I'm running 7, I should max it out as much as I can.

So what, they worked with Intel, so does Apple and others. Intel want to hear what their customers needs are, that is just good practice. To determine requirements.

Chip makers rarely (if at all, I cannot even remember such a case) remove features or instructions. Once it is baked in, it is there, forever, otherwise, it is a new instruction set (no longer x86/x64).

They will probably be forcing chips to have VT-x, AES, TBT and so on. VT-x allows hypervisors to function more performant. There will be new features, Windows 7 obviously will not know about them, so what, no change there, but Windows 10+ will take a hard dependancy on them, that means older chips without those features will not work. So what.

Apps do this already on Linux, for example VirtualBox, you CANNOT run a 64-bit guest OS on a 64-bit Linux WITHOUT VT-x chip feature. I just upgraded a CPU to add such a feature, to get that capability on Linux. This is not new nor specific to Windows.

[RRW359]

Originally posted by The Muppet Surgery Special:

Originally posted by RRW359:

IDK if this link will work on Steam, but here's the Windows blog:
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/01/15/windows-10-embracing-silicon-innovation/
From what I can tell, MS is saying that in order to work with 7/8, CPU's needed a lot of built-in emulation that they aren't going to include with newer CPU's, in order to put in more 10 features. It actually doesn't bother me too much, I just feel that if I'm running 7, I should max it out as much as I can.

So what, they worked with Intel, so does Apple and others. Intel want to hear what their customers needs are, that is just good practice. To determine requirements.

Chip makers rarely (if at all, I cannot even remember such a case) remove features or instructions. Once it is baked in, it is there, for ever, otherwise, it is a new instruction set (no longer x86/x64).

Well it also says towards the end "Going forward, as new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support". Even if 7 does work, it seems that it won't get all the features/work as well as it did on previous hardware.

Again, I don't look down on MS/Intel much for doing this. I understand why, even if it isn't that great for people like me who want 7 to be as useful as possible until support ends in a few years.