8800GTS 512MB and Vista 64 Upgrade

[bhaltair]

My current computer was built October 2006 (15 months ago). Here are the specs on it

OS: XP Professional
CPU: E6600
Memory: 2GB DDR-800
Video Card: ATI X1950XTX
Mobo: Asus P5B Deluxe

With some extra money in my pocket thanks to Christmas I figured it would be a good time to upgrade. After doing some research I decided to buy a new video card and another 2GB of RAM (since it was so cheap). Finally I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to Vista to see what it was like. Anyway I wanted feedback on this decision to see if there are any serious issues or bottlenecks that will make me return this and save my money for something else.

I bought the EVGA 8800GTS 512MB card since it was basically the same price as the 8800GT when you factored in the mail in rebate, the free Crysis game and the fact that it was actually in stock. I decided Vista Ultimate 64 after reading threads about how most driver issues are solved and that in the memory limitations of a 32bit OS (am I right on this? or did I completely misunderstand this concept). Then I bought the same exact RAM I have running in right now albeit much cheaper.

Should I have done this upgrade? Are there any better options? Do I need to upgrade my BIOS or anything for Vista and the new hardware? Are there any bottlenecks anywhere?

 

[nullpointerus]

Most people will see no benefit from Vista Ultimate (given the added cost over Home Premium).

Can you actually make use of the extra features?

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4 GB RAM and 64-bit is a good investment; however, some boards/drivers have trouble with this combination. I would do some research on my chosen hardware (especially peripherals) to make sure that each device has reasonably stable 64-bit drivers available. Any driver will have some issues; the important thing is to see if people have been able to tie 64-bit + 4 GB (specifically) to a reproducible problem.

 

[jedisponge]

Agreed. As nice as it is to have Ultimate, I have next to no need of the extra features, other than peace of mind in the oft-chance that I would need them in the future.

Well now that I think about it, it did have the 64bit dvd's in the box, which was nice. But otherwise... Just make sure you will be using the extra features enough to justify the cost. I also was able to get two extra home premium keys when Microsoft had that deal, so with that factored in, it was a great deal for me.

Edit: Also, there shouldn't be any real changes that you have to make at the bios level. I have the same build with a P5W and nothing, other than compatible drivers, was necessary. Plus it runs fine and any performance variations have been at an acceptable level, if they are even noticeable.

 

[bhaltair]

Thanks for the responses guys. If I do run into any problems with Vista 64, is there any drawbacks to making another partition for XP and just dual booting whichever one I want to use? I have tons of hard drive space, wondering if there would be any compatibility issues or performance drawbacks.

 

[VooDooAddict]

I've actually used enough of the Ultimate features to be satisfied with it. (Joined and unjoined work domains with VPN, Burned video training DVDs, and I use Media Center with the 360.) I still wish there was simply 1 SKU "Vista" and possibly an Enterprise.

So many screw ups simply in marketing vista.

 

[JustaGeek]

Shadow Copy in Ultimate is awesome. You have access to previously created files, in case you damage, or overwrite the file you need.

You can run the MS Virtual PC on Ultimate.

If needed, you can be protected with BitLocker, or use the built-in BackUp software.

Otherwise - no difference.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
Shadow Copy in Ultimate is awesome. You have access to previously created files, in case you damage, or overwrite the file you need.

You can run the MS Virtual PC on Ultimate.

If needed, you can be protected with BitLocker, or use the built-in BackUp software.

Otherwise - no difference.

Ultimate has remote access server as well.