[Win7/8] What's the most suitable version of Windows for Intel Atom N45

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1GB of RAM is the problem here. These days, it's typical for a web browser to use half a gig easily.

Up the RAM to the max amount you can afford to.

SSD would also help greatly (200MB/s vs. 50MB/s (for a mechanical hard drive)).

The OS doesn't matter in this case, but if you install more than 3GB of RAM, you'll need 64-bit.

The next bottle neck is the processor. It only scores 275 on PassMark.

Alternatively, install a Linux distro with LXDE as the window manager (such as Lubuntu).

[spaceelf]

SSD would also help greatly (200MB/s vs. 50MB/s (for a mechanical hard drive)).

Those scores are kind of irrelevant to casual users.

The relevant one is the fragmented file reads, which for most HDs is less than 1 meg a second.

[medhunter]

1GB of RAM is the problem here. These days, it's typical for a web browser to use half a gig easily.

Up the RAM to the max amount you can afford to.

SSD would also help greatly (200MB/s vs. 50MB/s (for a mechanical hard drive)).

The OS doesn't matter in this case, but if you install more than 3GB of RAM, you'll need 64-bit.

The next bottle neck is the processor. It only scores 275 on PassMark.

Alternatively, install a Linux distro with LXDE as the window manager (such as Lubuntu).

And yet, we are back to suggesting Linux

[IntegralDerivative]

I personally think that XP will be perfect for slow machines like that. Or maybe even 98SE

[ingramator]

Oh, I'd go for XP. But 8 is fine.

I would stay away from anything x64 on 1GB RAM.

8 is FAR better than XP in terms of performance on identical hardware.

[Growled Member]

Xubuntu 32 bit version.Just my 2 cents

I am a big fan of Xubuntu but it's not for everyone. When mom and dad comes home from Best Buy with their Bejeweled CD and it won't run, they won't have a clue as to why not. I always advise noobs to stick with Windows.