Upgrade from Win98SE to what ?

[vjain]

Hi, I have Win 98SE running on my PC which has Duron 600, Asus A7V, 320MB PC133 RAM, Nvidia TNT2 M64 32MB gfx card, 10GB HDD, Creative webcam go plus etc. I use my PC mainly for surfing (IE5) and voice chat. The PC performance is ok, but I sometimes feel that my PC is not using RAM effectively.

Should I upgrade ? If so, to win2k, win ME or Win XP ? pls guide. I want to upgrade only if it improves my PC performance. thanks.

 

[corkyg]

I have the same system that has had 98SE, ME and now XP Pro. It is built on a Asus K7M mobo, and performance is rock solid.

None of the OS changes made much difference. But, increasing the RAM from 256 to 784 MB made a lot of difference, and changing the video card to a Radeon 8500 made even more difference.

You could also use a larger HDD and set up a fixed swap file. That also will make things run smoother with less HDD trashing.

 

[Geoffrey]

If you can copy your important files or back them up on another computer, then I would just format your hard drive and do a clean install of some version of XP...home edition is a lot less expensive, but I would suggest pro if you do a lot of networking...if you don't need the thick manual on how to use the OS, then I'd buy it from a website called newegg.com...they sell xp home edition for $88, which isn't bad at all...its just the cd, though.

 

[vjain]

thanks. But could somebody tell what are the pros and cons of upgrading to win2k or win XP ? I have read that win XP spies on the disk and requires a lot of CPU power.

 

[swifty3]

2k is based on ntfs file structure and win nt technology. better file security, and a really solid os. easy to use, many user features, and can setup networks, user accounts very easily. great os. don't know anything about xp, but don't need to.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Just make sure you can get drivers for all your hardware before taking the xp plunge.

 

[Macro2]

Get Windows 2000. Wait a couple years to get XP... if they take the spyware off that is...
On the other hand, Win98 SE isn't all that bad. Or ME if you set it up to look like 98.

 

[sak]

Hey i would think that if u want to upgrade then i would go with an XP OS. just because it is soo stable that you think that MS has dont a deal with the devil.. anywhoo yeah man go with XP...

its going to be an almost painless upgrade once u have all the latest drivers needed for ur Hardware...check for ur hardware drivers b4 u upgrade although...

 

[gil11542]

I game more than anything on my computers and IMHO WIN98SE is still the only OS that is aceptable for this. I have tried them all but ME, I run pretty hot machines and XP seems sluggish compared to 98SE. Maybe I dont have it setup right, I dont know. But it should be somewhat ready to go without a bunch of tweaking. It just doesnt seem as SNAPPY as 98SE, I am using a 8KHA+ mobo, XP1800 proc, GF 3 vid. card. XP is more gamer friendly than W2K but 98 is still my OS of choice. As far as stability go's I dont have much complaints with 98SE once it is setup properly, Maybe the fact that I shutdown at nightand reboot everyday has something to do with it, but I am not running a server or anything. I have grown to like some of the features of XP pro and the fact that is is very user friendly, but I am not gonna give up 98SE and totally convert until it matures some or something better comes down the pike.

It kinda pisses me off though that ATI doesnt support 98SE with there AIW 8500, so I had to go with a V8200 VIVO card. So far this is the only draw back I have found for sticking with 98SE.

Again this is MHO, dont flame me cause I have a problem with change.

I agree with corky-g you will notice better proformance out of Hardware upgrade versus OS upgrade. I have found XP to be pretty HW hungry so you may even notice slower proformance with the OS upgrade, As I did.

 

[vjain]

thanks to all for very helpful responses. I have decided to continue with Win98SE. An upgrade is not at all justified.

 

[tboneuls]

I think Xp is better than some of these people think

 

[Mem]

I would upgrade to WinXP,it has been rock solid for me and IMHO the best OS by Microsoft.I would recommend a clean install of any new OS on your system.