Football Manager and Windows 7 - real user experience please?

[celticfan]

Hi all,

with FM2011 coming around the corner I'm also considering an OS upgrade alongside installing FM11. I'd be going from Windows XP Professional to Windows 7 Home Premium.

What I'd like to know is what experience have other FM players had when they've upgraded to Windows 7. Along with any general observations I'd like to know;

1. Has the game been faster / slower to play since the upgrade (e.g. time processing fixtures, responding to button clicks?
   
2. Have you been able to play with more / fewer leagues?
   
3. Have you been able to play with larger/smaller databases size?
   

The main reason I am thinking of upgrading the OS is to take advantage of my 64 bit processor, as I am currently running a 32 bit operating system. Has anyone found any perceptible difference in playing due to using a 64 bit OS?

For reference my PC is;

• Mobo: MSI 770-C45 (AMD 770 AM3 DDR3)
  
• CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 (3.0GHz 512KB L2 Cache)
  
• GFX: Nvidia Geforce 9800 GT (512MB)
  
• RAM: 4 GB DDR3 1333MHz
  
• PSU: Corsair 550W VX
  

On FM10 with Windows XP Pro (32bit) I can play with this configuration;

• 4 nations, 12 leagues (Scotland, England, Spain, Italy)
  
• Large database
  
• Medium graphics detail (problems at high though it should be supported)
  

The various star ratings FM10 gives for performance with my PC and above configuration are;

• Computer performance rating: 5 star
  
• Game speed: 4 star
  
• Graphics rating: 5 star
  

[DJJOEYT]

i just bought a brand new pc , £800 .. and FM is awsome on it - speedy and great for the 3d match engine (windows7)

[SWaRFeGa]

... great for the 3d match engine (windows7)

Only if you have a good graphics card!!

Been using Windows 7 for a few weeks now - FM10 runs very smoothly indeed.

My only issue was with the in-built graphics card that came with my new Desktop unit. Match graphics were appalling.

Luckily my old desktop unit had a super graphics card I was able to shove into the motherboard.

The difference was staggering.

I cannot stress enough the importance of a decent graphics card!!

[Wijnand fens]

it's a perfect combination!!

[Chochip]

I found that the game does not work very consistently with 64 bit OS. But it does work through the compatibility mode.

[Scab]

There is no significant performance difference between Windows 7 and Windows XP. If anything, newer OS's tend to be slower due to added bells and whistles. The notable difference here is that Win7 allows for DirectX 10+ and more memory to be allocated thanks to being 64-bit, but I doubt either of those things are going to have much of an impact on your FM performance.

[Ginger]

Got my mackbook pro 17" i7 a few weeks ago and FM is fast and very smooth!

I had a Sony Vaio with 4GB ram and Intel Core 2 Duo running Windows 7 before and I have noticed a big difference in performance.

[trekman]

Hi all,

with FM2011 coming around the corner I'm also considering an OS upgrade alongside installing FM11. I'd be going from Windows XP Professional to Windows 7 Home Premium.

What I'd like to know is what experience have other FM players had when they've upgraded to Windows 7. Along with any general observations I'd like to know;

1. Has the game been faster / slower to play since the upgrade (e.g. time processing fixtures, responding to button clicks?
   
2. Have you been able to play with more / fewer leagues?
   
3. Have you been able to play with larger/smaller databases size?
   

The main reason I am thinking of upgrading the OS is to take advantage of my 64 bit processor, as I am currently running a 32 bit operating system. Has anyone found any perceptible difference in playing due to using a 64 bit OS?

For reference my PC is;

• Mobo: MSI 770-C45 (AMD 770 AM3 DDR3)
  
• CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 (3.0GHz 512KB L2 Cache)
  
• GFX: Nvidia Geforce 9800 GT (512MB)
  
• RAM: 4 GB DDR3 1333MHz
  
• PSU: Corsair 550W VX
  

On FM10 with Windows XP Pro (32bit) I can play with this configuration;

• 4 nations, 12 leagues (Scotland, England, Spain, Italy)
  
• Large database
  
• Medium graphics detail (problems at high though it should be supported)
  

The various star ratings FM10 gives for performance with my PC and above configuration are;

• Computer performance rating: 5 star
  
• Game speed: 4 star
  
• Graphics rating: 5 star
  

I'm using windows7 home premium 32bit and am currently running 23 leagues. I have the same amount of ram as you (although its only DDR2 and I only have 3.3gb available to me because I am using a 32bit OS) and a slightly slower processor (core 2 duo 2.33ghz) so if I can run this amount of league then you should be able to run a lot more leagues than you currently are. I have my graphics details on high but my graphics card has more ram than yours so thats probably why I can run it on high details.

I would disregard what the computer says about your computer performance and game speed ratings though as this system doesnt work correctly.

I've never had any problems with fm and windows 7.

[celticfan]

Thanks all

I found that the game does not work very consistently with 64 bit OS. But it does work through the compatibility mode.

Could you elaborate Chochip? This would be my biggest concern when upgrading.

On the other hand Scab's got what I thought would be the biggest benefit, though you feel it might not be as big a benefit as I'd have thought;

Win7 allows for DirectX 10+ and more memory to be allocated thanks to being 64-bit, but I doubt either of those things are going to have much of an impact on your FM performance.

[Scab]

To elaborate a bit, back in 2007 when DX10 started appearing in games a lot of sites did DX9 vs. DX10 benchmarks, and at that time DX10 was significantly slower. It's leveled out now, mostly thanks to improved drivers, and the difference is negligible, with one version being slightly faster than the other in one game and then the other way around in another.

Memory is a non-issue because FM simply does not use more memory than a 32-bit application can handle on sane settings. You'd need to load nigh-on every single league and player to hit the limit (after playing a while) in FM 2010. I obviously can't speak for FM 2011, but they'd have to enlarge the loaded database quite a bit for it to pose a problem.

[seagull84]

I'm thinking about upgrading too, form windows vista.

I'm a bit apprehensive though as right now everything runs fine, but if there were to be significant improvements with FM i would definitely do it - any experiences of FM playing after upgrading from vista to win7??

cheers

[mteeters]

I found that the game does not work very consistently with 64 bit OS. But it does work through the compatibility mode.

I've had no problems with this at all. What are you experiencing?

[TigerTime]

Hi all,

with FM2011 coming around the corner I'm also considering an OS upgrade alongside installing FM11. I'd be going from Windows XP Professional to Windows 7 Home Premium.

What I'd like to know is what experience have other FM players had when they've upgraded to Windows 7. Along with any general observations I'd like to know;

1. Has the game been faster / slower to play since the upgrade (e.g. time processing fixtures, responding to button clicks?
   
2. Have you been able to play with more / fewer leagues?
   
3. Have you been able to play with larger/smaller databases size?
   

The main reason I am thinking of upgrading the OS is to take advantage of my 64 bit processor, as I am currently running a 32 bit operating system. Has anyone found any perceptible difference in playing due to using a 64 bit OS?

For reference my PC is;

• Mobo: MSI 770-C45 (AMD 770 AM3 DDR3)
  
• CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 (3.0GHz 512KB L2 Cache)
  
• GFX: Nvidia Geforce 9800 GT (512MB)
  
• RAM: 4 GB DDR3 1333MHz
  
• PSU: Corsair 550W VX
  

On FM10 with Windows XP Pro (32bit) I can play with this configuration;

• 4 nations, 12 leagues (Scotland, England, Spain, Italy)
  
• Large database
  
• Medium graphics detail (problems at high though it should be supported)
  

The various star ratings FM10 gives for performance with my PC and above configuration are;

• Computer performance rating: 5 star
  
• Game speed: 4 star
  
• Graphics rating: 5 star
  

You wont see too much difference because it's really the actual hardware that affects the game mostly. But windows 7 does make better use of processing power and RAM I've found. Regarding this you might see a difference in the processing speed of the game but you wont see a difference to the number of leagues you can run.

[trekman]

I'm thinking about upgrading too, form windows vista.

I'm a bit apprehensive though as right now everything runs fine, but if there were to be significant improvements with FM i would definitely do it - any experiences of FM playing after upgrading from vista to win7??

cheers

I upgraded from vista and haven't encountered any problems. You should first check that you can get windows 7 drivers for your hardware (printer, graphics card and so on). I've never experienced a single problem since installing windows 7. Remember that if you decide to install the 64bit version of windows 7 though then you'll have to backup everything as it required a format of the hard drive and that is why I chose to install the 32bit version over the 64bit even though the pack contained both disks. I am considering installing a new hard drive as I am rapidly running out of space and if I do this I will probably install the 64bit version of windows7 then.

[SCIAG]

FM is a 32-bit application, so I don't think upgrading to a 64-bit OS will make much difference. It is the same with most programs.

[celticfan]

FM is a 32-bit application, so I don't think upgrading to a 64-bit OS will make much difference. It is the same with most programs.

That's a very good point SCIAG. I hadn't thought of that.

So it seems there is no real benefit, from the point of view of playing FM for me to upgrade to Windows 7. Here's hoping FM11 makes better use of my graphics card than FM10 does (since a Gefore 9800 GT is far beyond the "recommended" FX 5900 Ultra).

[h00x]

You would get a very slight improvement going to Windows 7... well being more specific any 64bit OS. Reason being 32bit operating systems cant use the 4gb ram (well it can be hacked and stuff but personally I think your better of just going 64 bit). I've been using windows 7 since beta playing mostly FM2010 on both my home PC and on my work laptop (a mix of different specs over Sony Vaio's and HP Elite books with everything from Intel Dual Core to I7's and everything from 3gb ram up to 8gb).

Now windows 7 has been out for a while and the driver compatibility has greatly improved..

as to your specific questions

1. Has the game been faster / slower to play since the upgrade (e.g. time processing fixtures, responding to button clicks?

2. Have you been able to play with more / fewer leagues?

3. Have you been able to play with larger/smaller databases size?

Answer to all of these for me has always been about the speed of the hardware and not the operating your system. A old 2GB Athlon system with 512mb ram running windows xp 32 bit is always going to be slower then a computer such as yours running windows xp.

still the only way your going to get more leagues / high graphics etc running is better hardware and a 64 bit operating system to take advantage of that.

If you need more info on the 3gb ram 32 bit limitation take a look here... its a bit techy

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/03/dude-wheres-my-4-gigabytes-of-ram.html

[Ishu]

FM is a 32-bit application, so I don't think upgrading to a 64-bit OS will make much difference. It is the same with most programs.

Would make a difference if you are running other applications besides FM

[celticfan]

You would get a very slight improvement going to Windows 7... well being more specific any 64bit OS. Reason being 32bit operating systems cant use the 4gb ram (well it can be hacked and stuff but personally I think your better of just going 64 bit). I've been using windows 7 since beta playing mostly FM2010 on both my home PC and on my work laptop (a mix of different specs over Sony Vaio's and HP Elite books with everything from Intel Dual Core to I7's and everything from 3gb ram up to 8gb).

Now windows 7 has been out for a while and the driver compatibility has greatly improved..

as to your specific questions

1. Has the game been faster / slower to play since the upgrade (e.g. time processing fixtures, responding to button clicks?

2. Have you been able to play with more / fewer leagues?

3. Have you been able to play with larger/smaller databases size?

Answer to all of these for me has always been about the speed of the hardware and not the operating your system. A old 2GB Athlon system with 512mb ram running windows xp 32 bit is always going to be slower then a computer such as yours running windows xp.

still the only way your going to get more leagues / high graphics etc running is better hardware and a 64 bit operating system to take advantage of that.

If you need more info on the 3gb ram 32 bit limitation take a look here... its a bit techy

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/03/dude-wheres-my-4-gigabytes-of-ram.html

Yes I suppose that's true, the better hardware is always going to trump the different OS, even when moving from 32bit to 64bit. And thanks for the reminder on the 3GB limit, I've seen similar articles to this too but never wanted (or needed) to try it out.

Possibly the only benefit of going Win 7 (or as you correctly say any 64 OS) is to get extra RAM in the machine but then again some of that gets taken up by the new OS.

In all liklihood I don't think I'll go Win 7. I don't even use it at work and I don't see it coming for a long time.

[Ishu]

In all liklihood I don't think I'll go Win 7. I don't even use it at work and I don't see it coming for a long time.

TBH XP and 7 are quite equal in performance. Microsoft did learn from vista mistake.

I upgraded and haven't noticed a diff at all.

[TigerTime]

XP with SP3 I would highly recommend, probably just as good as W7 and possibly cheaper.

[Chochip]

I found that sometimes the computer does nothing when I double click the icon to start the game. But that doesn't happen all the time and I am not perfected sure what causes it, but it never happens on my 32bit systems.