Microsoft Windows 7 review

We’ve poked and prodded, ruminated and cogitated, we’ve debated its worth, and benchmarked it to within an inch of its life. We’ve installed it on a huge variety of machines, from netbooks to luxury laptops, low-powered PCs to gaming rigs – and now, we’re ready to deliver the PC Pro verdict on Windows 7.

Without giving too much away, you’ll be happy to discover the news is good. We like Windows 7 a lot – so much so, that the disappointment that was Windows Vista has already become a distant memory – and during the course of this extended review we’ll be detailing exactly why.

Over the coming pages you’ll find detailed analysis and ratings of Windows 7’s ease of use, its new features and how it performs. More importantly, we deliver our final verdict on whether Microsoft’s new baby is worth the upgrade.

Use the links below to jump straight to the various sections of the review:

EASE OF USE
Jump Lists, HomeGroup and an improved search tool give Windows 7 a huge usability boost.

FEATURES
Touchscreen technology, new media features and more – but are the new features worth paying for?

WINDOWS LIVE ESSENTIALS
We see how Movie Maker, Mail and Photo Gallery have changed, and welcome a newcomer.

PERFORMANCE
A change in Windows 7’s display driver model means it’s the most responsive OS since XP.

OVERALL
Should you upgrade? Will businesses take the plunge? And which version should you buy?

To return to this index at any point, just hit the Page 1 button, below.