New computer operating system, xp or vista?

[Morvak]

xp. vista is simply crap

Not. You must be trolling for a flame war since you didn't back that statement up. Based on personal experience? Fine, at least say so.

Again, I've had Windows since DOS. My Vista experience has been the best Windows experience yet, hands down. I remember many, many days full of headaches with Windows 3.x, Windows 98 SE, And XP - let alone having to reinstall every year since the older OS's always seemed to get bogged down.

God.. remember Windows 98 or XP ( i forget now) how i think if it didn't recognize the IDE drive or something... the drive would just CRAWWWWWWLLLLLL....... i forget the exact reason now.... omfg been there.

Before, windows was always a forethought. BSOD's, hanging for no reason.. crashing for no reason.... even XP. Now Vista is an afterthought. Except for the UAC, which I like especially for those who are computer illiterate and need protection. But for us experts it's an extra step to disable, that's the only nitpick I have.

Vista has been out for how long now? IMO, it's running better in the short amount of time it's been out than XP did when it first came out.

 

[freakdiablo]

/threadjack

Sorry about this but I was thinking about upgrading to vista since Im upgrading to a dx10 card (started a thread in general gfx card section, so far an 8600GTS is in the lead), but unlike the OP I don't have a C2D in my main rig, and not 4gb of ram. So would it be worth the slight performance hit and $120 to order Home premium off of newegg?

/threadjack

 

[sasanac]

Not. You must be trolling for a flame war since you didn't back that statement up. Based on personal experience? Fine, at least say so.
Again, I've had Windows since DOS. My Vista experience has been the best Windows experience yet, hands down. I remember many, many days full of headaches with Windows 3.x, Windows 98 SE, And XP - let alone having to reinstall every year since the older OS's always seemed to get bogged down.
God.. remember Windows 98 or XP ( i forget now) how i think if it didn't recognize the IDE drive or something... the drive would just CRAWWWWWWLLLLLL....... i forget the exact reason now.... omfg been there.
Before, windows was always a forethought. BSOD's, hanging for no reason.. crashing for no reason.... even XP. Now Vista is an afterthought. Except for the UAC, which I like especially for those who are computer illiterate and need protection. But for us experts it's an extra step to disable, that's the only nitpick I have.
Vista has been out for how long now? IMO, it's running better in the short amount of time it's been out than XP did when it first came out.

I second that.. (apart from the windows 3.1 part.. I never had a problem with that, or 3.11 for workgroups, I actually quite liked them both!)

I've been using OEM Vista HP x64 with 2gbs of ram for a while now and aside from not being able to run 16bit programs (of which I only had one) it works well for me (oh and a little issue with my wifi which is now sorted).

In a nutshell it hasn't ruined my life, run off with my fiance, killed the dog, crashed my car or crapped in my bed unlike what it must have done to some folk or so you'd think from the hate it gets from some people!

A new OS is always going to throw up a few challenges which is no different to when XP et al came out (and I remember all the criticisms they got prior to the first updates and service packs etc!!). People spend hours trying to get Linux to work and still defend it to the last... Vista is no different really it just takes a little perseverance to get it how you want it and you''ll be fine... (plus no need to upgrade when more DX10 games come out). I've spent less time setting Vista up than any other OS I have ever installed (including Linux and OSX on a rebuilt mac).

If you've got XP already do a dual boot setup with Vista then you can learn it in your own time with no pressure and see how it goes. I do recommend Home Premium tho rather than Basic.. no clue about Ultimate it seems a tad pricey to me.

(ok so that was a big nutshell sorry!)

 

[johnz]

/threadjack

Sorry about this but I was thinking about upgrading to vista since Im upgrading to a dx10 card (started a thread in general gfx card section, so far an 8600GTS is in the lead), but unlike the OP I don't have a C2D in my main rig, and not 4gb of ram. So would it be worth the slight performance hit and $120 to order Home premium off of newegg?

/threadjack

Unless you have a specific DX10 game you want to play, I'd just stay with XP. Vista is nice (my favorite Windows so far), but it isn't essential for you to upgrade. XP is a great O/S, and It'll work fine until you have a more compelling reason to get Vista. If you want it to play with though, and have at least 1gb of ram it'll run fine on your system.

I guess it's up to you. Are you going to build a new computer any time soon? If so I'd definitely wait until the new system so you don't have any oem hassles. MS has been pretty good about letting you change mbs and other hardware with oem versions of Windows, but there's no guaranty that'll carry into the future, and they aren't obligated to according to the oem EULA.

 

[MRD]

Get XP. All Windows games currently out run on XP. A lot of games run on Vista, but not all. Also, all games run slower on Vista than they do on XP. If you get Vista, you will suffer some framerate loss. How much depends on the game, the card, and a lot of other factors.

Here are some benchmarks:
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTMzNCwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0

If you buy XP now, can you get a free upgrade to Vista? I'm not sure how that works, but if you can, I'd mail away for it, and put Vista on the shelf in case someday you actually want to upgrade... then you can do so at your leisure. If not, I'd still go with XP.

 

[Pinky]

Here are some benchmarks:
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTMzNCwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0

Here's a link that paints a much less ominous picture (as posted in the other thread), and the benchmarks are much newer:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3029&p=6

 

[Morvak]

Get XP. All Windows games currently out run on XP. A lot of games run on Vista, but not all. Also, all games run slower on Vista than they do on XP. If you get Vista, you will suffer some framerate loss. How much depends on the game, the card, and a lot of other factors.

Here are some benchmarks:
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTMzNCwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0

If you buy XP now, can you get a free upgrade to Vista? I'm not sure how that works, but if you can, I'd mail away for it, and put Vista on the shelf in case someday you actually want to upgrade... then you can do so at your leisure. If not, I'd still go with XP.

I think gaming is great on my 64-bit version. Sure, maybe there is some (keyword: some) framerate loss, but its negligible, at least for me. Of course I am using a 19" monitor and playing at a max res of 1440x900, with a GTS 640 and 4 gb's of RAM and I get phenomenal framerates in Call of Juarez, FarCry, Stalker, Lost Planet etc. etc. etc. I'm talking ~50 FPS.

 

[OkydOky]

XP.

Vista sucks... and for those who want a reason, it's simple: DRM.
Also... as mentioned above: It's a resource hog, though I will admit, so was XP when it came out, so this reason will fade away as hardware becomes better.

 

[jivetrky]

XP.

Vista sucks... and for those who want a reason, it's simple: DRM.
Also... as mentioned above: It's a resource hog, though I will admit, so was XP when it came out, so this reason will fade away as hardware becomes better.

I've been using it for a while now and have yet to run into ANY issues with DRM stopping me from doing what I need to do on Vista.

And if DRM is your reason to stay away from Vista then stay away from High definition television and probably many other future things as well.

 

[Morvak]

XP.

Vista sucks... and for those who want a reason, it's simple: DRM.
Also... as mentioned above: It's a resource hog, though I will admit, so was XP when it came out, so this reason will fade away as hardware becomes better.

Vista does not suck! Stop already. Sheesh. When it comes to DRM it's not an issue.

Maybe Vista sucks on 1gb of DDR RAM and a Geforce MX 4000.

 

[kayson]

People ask this question all the time, and the answer is always different on a case by case basis. Having used both Vista and XP, I ended up sticking with XP. For me, Vista didn't offer enough over XP to justify changing my OS. I also had some hardware compatibility issues. In my opinion, I would generally tell people to stick with XP. If you have any issues, the knowledge base for XP is far greater than Vista, so chances are you'll find a solution to your problem much faster. Once Vista is a little older, this won't be an issue.

For me, the only thing Vista offered was a shiny interface, and that's not worth the money. They supposedly redid networking and security, but 1: I didn't notice a difference, and 2: XP is secure enough for me.

Bottom line: get XP unless you want the shiny interface (or DX10, but I think that's just a ploy to move people to Vista)

 

[deathman20]

Well if you want DX10 it might be a ploy but it was stated that it was needed for the way the interface between the GPU and OS was handled with a certain standard which is in Vista.

Man I gotta start bookmarking these articles since I see them once and have no clue where I read it. Anyways if someone knows what im talking about please post the article for it. There was something published in the last 2 weeks, dealing with XP and it could have DX10 put into it now that MS basically said that a certain way for the video card memory to be handled wasn't nessisary for its standard. More or less nVidia was have a hard time trying to do it and they couldn't get it to work, ATI did it and basiccally got the short end of the stick in this deal. From the article it basically said that DX10 could exist in XP, not sure if that would require DX9 to be emulated at all or not but it was an intresting read.

Anyways I dont mind a new OS to implement new standards, weather its Video the supposid DRM that I haven't seen the OS interfer with or what not. Yes on the outside Vista is mainly XP with a IMO better interface. On the inside of it, its much friendlier IMO even to a tech savy person. Theres alot more diag tools at hand to understand whats going on in the OS and programs that are running.

Pinky: Thanks for posting that link.

 

[OkydOky]

DRM? Not an Issue?
Of course it is... The issue is that it's there, and that is the Problem.

It should not be. Whether it works or not is not the issue. It should not be there.
The only Advantage Vista has is DX10. And that may not be one in the future, as it will be implemented to XP eventually.

 

[johnz]

DRM? Not an Issue?
Of course it is... The issue is that it's there, and that is the Problem.

It should not be. Whether it works or not is not the issue. It should not be there.
The only Advantage Vista has is DX10. And that may not be one in the future, as it will be implemented to XP eventually.

DRM isn't an issue. You want to watch HD content in XP? Your not going to if the content providers decide to check hardware and software. It the same thing for Linux, if they decide to enable the flags you won't be watching HD-DVD with that either. You need DRM to watch this content. If you want to point fingers, point them at the movie studios, and record labels.

You'll be able to watch old DVDs and CDs in Vista, just like you would in any other O/S. To view fully protected HD content you must have Vista(and Probably OSX, I don't follow what Apples up to) to watch it.

 

[MRD]

Actually, SilverSinkSam had all kinds of problems just being able to watch DVD's at full resolution in Vista, to the point where I believe he took his Vista disk and shot it (literally).

The DRM in Vista is a lot more onerous and prevents you from doing a lot of things that XP lets you get away with. Also, if in doubt, Vista assumes you are doing something illegal, and blocks you, while XP lets you get away with it in most cases.

I wouldn't touch Vista with a 10 foot pole. Vista's DRM is the reason I stopped buying Microsoft products and migrated to Linux (Win 2K is the last Microsoft product I purchased).

 

[johnz]

I don't know. I've watched all kinds of movies and music, some without the purest pedigree, with no problems yet. I also read through a few forums, and SS is the only one that I've heard of that's had any problems at all. I'm still not convinced that it wasn't some kind of hardware issue.

 

[Karnal]

I am perfectly happy with Vista Ultimate, Im currently running it on my laptop which is only a P4 3ghz with 2gb of Ram and im do not have any complaints. Im actually looking forward to getting back to the states and loading it up on the new rig im building.

 

[Audioaficionado]

I'm deciding between XP64 or Vista64.

So far it's looking like I'll go with Vista.

$140 XP64 OEM (original machine limited) $280 for next new build, $420 for next, etc.

$220 Vista Ultimate Retail Upgrade (Newegg) only buy once (move to the newest machine as I continually upgrade)

I have the latest hardware so any Vista bloat won't be a deal breaker for me.

It all depends on what you want to do now and in the near future.

For me it's worth the extra $80 to get a retail version of the latest Windows I can reinstall as needed.

 

[johnz]

I'm deciding between XP64 or Vista64.

So far it's looking like I'll go with Vista.

$140 XP64 OEM (original machine limited) $280 for next new build, $420 for next, etc.

$220 Vista Ultimate Retail Upgrade (Newegg) only buy once (move to the newest machine as I continually upgrade)

I have the latest hardware so any Vista bloat won't be a deal breaker for me.

It all depends on what you want to do now and in the near future.

For me it's worth the extra $80 to get a retail version of the latest Windows I can reinstall as needed.

Good choice. A reasonable argument can be made for XP32 over Vista32, but if you want 64bit then Vista's the only way to go. XP is already an orphan. I think it was just a tech demo from MS to gauge the market for a 64bit O/S.

 

[Audioaficionado]

I'll run XP32 in a VM for that odd 16bit program that won't run under a 64bit OS.

When you run VM fullscreen, it looks just like that's what your computer is booted to.

I can even run my ancient stuff like MS-DOS and WFW3.11 on my C2D/C2Q LOL.

No serious 3D apps (fps gaming) run in VMWare Server TTBoMK.