Win7 SP1 RC now available for download.

As posted at MaximumPC.com

MaximumPC wrote: Here's something for all you early adopters who scoff at the notion of patience being a virtue. Provided you're rocking a legal copy of Windows 7, you can now download the operating system's first Service Pack in Release Candidate (RC) form.

Windows 7 SP2 includes both a roll-up of OS updates and several new goodies, including RemoteFX.

"Microsoft RemoteFX introduces a new set of remote user experience capabilities that enable a media-rich user environment for virtual and session-based desktops," Microsoft said in a statement. "RemoteFX can be deployed to a range of thick and thin client devices, enabling cost-effective, local-like access to graphics-intensive applications. RemoteFX also supports a broad array of USB peripherals to improve the productivity of users of virtual desktops."

Also included is Dynamic Memory, which enables servers running Hyper-V for server virtualization to make better use of memory.

Before you go and download the Release Candidate, there are some things you should know. The RC can't be installed over the beta of SP1, though you can install it on an evaluation version of Windows 7. Microsoft considers this a "high quality release," however once the final build of SP1 ships, you'll need to uninstall the RC version in order to upgrade.

Anyone going to install this? I installed the RC of SP1 when it was available for Vista, just for the fact it fixed multi-monitor support. Not sure if RemoteFX it worth the time to jump now or wait.

I learned before with the Beta Nvidia drivers not to trust beta's on my main computer, hell, I wouldn't even put it on the LanBox. I'll let other people deal with all the problems. Let me know when it hits for reals and i'll get it then. Glad to see a beta none the less.

Its beyond beta. Its RC that means its a candidate for release.. almost done. I ran the RC of Win7 and it was great.

Remember, RC2 of WinME was better than retail.

When Win7 SP1 comes out you will know because it will be in your update que.

From: technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/ff384134.aspx
Q. Can I upgrade from the RC builds to the final build of SP1?
A. No. You will have to uninstall the Service Pack or do a clean install of Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

If I could run the final/release SP1, I'd almost consider it. For the lazy, over & above the security & OS updates to date, here's what SP1 gets you:
- Additional support for communication with third party federation services (WTF?)
- Improved HDMI audio device performance (meh)
- Corrected behavior when printing mixed-orientation XPS documents (people use that format????? HAHAHAHA....)
- Fix behavior of "Restore previous folders at logon" ... (again, people use that???)
- Enhanced support for additional identities in RRAS and IPsec
- Support for Advanced Vector Extensions

Not anything real useful there for most users.

Reaper wrote: Not anything real useful there for most users.

Agreed!