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XP Home vs XP Pro

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There is really no difference except that Pro lets you use SMP and it has some extra scurity or something, defintly do a search on this since it has been asked and answered a million times.
 
In addition to what Tatuya said, the Professional version has some extra networking stuff in it. The two versions are based on the same code, so I don't think there would be measurable difference in performance. One of the goals Microsoft had with the development of XP is to have a single unified code, compared to separate camps for NT vs. 98
 
Yep, as mentioned, XP Pro just has a few extra features ie:

- Better networking tools
- Option to use domains as well as workgroups
- More than just simple file sharing
- Support for multiple physical CPUs. (up to 2 Physical, 2 Logical)
 
I've not used it because I have Pro, but I've heard people complain about lots of craptacular bugs in home. I'd like to give XP media center a whirl sometime though
 
The only times I have used home were on cheap brand name machines. So I can't really say that the bugs/instability I have witnessed were as a result of it being a cheap oem system, or because it's XP home.

On my system, and with proper updates and tweaks, I can say XP Pro and 2000 are the most stable MS OS's I have worked with. Some say 2K3 is really stable as well, but I haven't had a chance to get ahold of that yet.

Anyway- I would pick Pro over Home if I had the choice.
 
Home works just as well as Pro, 95% of the new machines that leave my shop for clients uses it, most users don't need the extra features that Pro offers. They both need some "tweaking" to get as responsive as my tastes prefer, but after that I just love them to death, definitely the best product M$ has ever put out.

Home works fine in a home networking enviornment also, so unless you have dual processors, want some better file encrypting options, or need more advanced networking abilities than home offers, I'd say save the $40 and get Home if money's tight.
 
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