Hello,
I am getting a new desktop and it has windows 7 on it now. However it only has 2gb of DDR3 ram. I am wondering if putting Windows 10 on it is possible or even suggested? And if it is possible, which version should I try??
From Microsoft -
RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit.
Those are the minimum requirements.
2GB RAM is the minimum spec for installing 64-bit Windows 10.
Microsoft | Windows 10 system requirements
When you say 'a new desktop' I assume you mean new to you. Windows 7 and 2GB RAM sounds like it may be quite an old machine? If so, exactly what CPU does it have? Some older cpus can run Win7, but do not support running Win10.
Although the minimum spec is a 1.0GHz processor, that would really struggle, as would anything with a single logical processor. A dual core processor would be my minimum practical spec, ideally with two logical processors per core.
If you cannot upgrade the RAM to at least 4GB, and especially if you have a lower power cpu, then I would recommend using 32-bit Windows 10.
The next question is how would you activate Windows10? The easiest way to get a digital licence for Windows 10 it to upgrade its existing Windows 7, assuming of course that the W7 is already activated. Once you have an activated W10, whether it is 32 or 64 bit, you can clean install the same edition you got in the upgrade (Home or Pro) if you want to change from a 32 bit W10 to 64 bits (or vice versa).
Upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 for Free
RAM is cheap.
Add as much as the system specs say it can handle.
Use Crucial's scanner to determine that when you get the system.
Crucial US | DRAM, Solid State Drive (SSD) & Memory Upgrades
You'll have a much better experience.
Your options are to upgrade the memory to 4GB for Windows 10 64 bit or install Windows 10 32 bit which will be happier working with 2GB RAM than the 64 bit version.
Steve,
Your idea has solved my issue. Thank you so much!
Quote
