In an age where lightweight, undersized netbooks are all the rage, Microsoft is most definitely wise to manufacturers’ game. That game, of course, is to keep netbook pricing as low as possible while slowly but surely raising the bar where specs are concerned. One of the many ways manufacturers can keep netbook pricing down is by taking advantage of a cheaper edition of Microsoft’s OS, which means less revenue for Redmond. As such, Microsoft instates a set of maximum specifications a PC must not exceed in order to offer its base OS. Above to the right, you’ll find said maximum specs for Windows 7 Starter Edition. As compared to XP/Vista’s max specs, we can see that processor speed has been doubled and 90GB has been tacked on where HDD space is concerned. Nice. On the flip side of the coin, max display size has been cut from 12.1 inches to 10.2 inches. Not so nice. In the end we’re certainly left with a pretty capable netbook but if you’ll be looking for a netbook that raises the bar without breaking the bank in the near future, it probably won’t be running Win 7.
Maximum specs for Windows 7 Starter Edition revealed
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 6:20PM EST
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
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