Windows 7 vs Windows 10 – A Technical Comparison

After 10 years, support for Windows 7 is nearing the end.

Starting January 14th, 2020, Microsoft is dropping support for Windows 7.
This means a few things:

• Security Updates will no longer be released.
• Microsoft will no long be providing technical assistance.

In order to provide clarity on the difference and benefits of  Windows 10 and Windows 7, our resident shop expert has put together this technical list of pros and cons.

Windows 10

Pros

• Greater protection against malware and viruses with stricter enforced security on Windows services.
• More reliable crash recovery after a power failure or an accidental shutdown with Automatic Startup Repair feature.
• Better gaming performance with DirectX 12, including increase in frame rate for smoother gameplay.
• Windows 10 automatically compresses system files, reducing the storage footprint of the operating system by up to 50%.
• Critical OS improvements which make modern graphics applications run more efficiently.
• New accessibility resources provide solutions, tools, and features for people with vision, hearing, neurodiversity, learning, mobility, and mental health disabilities.
• Login using facial recognition, fingerprint, or PIN for a fast and secure way to unlock your PC.
• Secure boot feature helps prevent malicious software from loading during the system start-up.
• Businesses can take advantage of Windows 10 Enterprise Advanced Threat Protection which helps protect against ransomware and zero-day exploits.
• OneDrive desktop sync app functionality is built into Windows 10 and supports connecting to OneDrive for Business to sync Microsoft Office 365 files.
• Microsoft Office 2019 not compatible with windows 7.

Cons

• Some learning curve due to the slight changes in interface.

Windows 7

Pros

• Some older software will only function on Windows 7, though this is becoming less and less the case as Windows 10 evolves.

Cons

• Will become more and more vulnerable to infections after support ends.
• No technical support from Microsoft will be given which means activation will become increasingly difficult and existing issues may not be repaired.
• Repairs will become more difficult and more expensive as software vendors stop providing Windows 7 tools.