Vista or XP

[sammyunltd]

Hi!

I will probably buy a computer in the following weeks. I was wondering if it was worth it to switch to Vista 64 Bit right now?

Thank you

PS: Since my current computer is an HP, I'll still have to buy an OS

 

[lxskllr]

Why 64bit? If you don't need to see over 3gb of ram now, I'd get Vista32, then buy a separate 64bit copy from MS for $10. Lots of people here have been using Vista64 without problems, but if you don't need the extra memory, then why open yourself up to needless compatibility problems?

 

[sammyunltd]

Well... it's 150$ CAD. I don't wanna buy it two times. Might as well buy it one time and keep it for awhile.

 

[n7]

Honestly, there are very few issues w/ Vista 64. Usually the only problems are with old peripherals (getting drivers for them), & unless you run ancient stuff, there simply is no reason to not get 64-bit.

I can't say enough how impressed i've been with it.

I would not recommend 32-bit Vista to anyone but n00bs these days, as it's a dead future.

 

[Rottie]

never mind

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: Rottie
I would wait until service pack come out to iron out problems Vista might have with old programs/peripherals.

What makes you think that a service pack will address those problems?

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: Rottie
I would wait until service pack come out to iron out problems Vista might have with old programs/peripherals.

What makes you think that a service pack will address those problems?

Apparently he feels it's Microsoft's responsibility to write drivers for companies now

Hate to say, but if HP hasn't written a functional Vista driver for that 6 yr. old printer yet, it's not gonna happen.
A service pack isn't going to help with the compatibility issues that currently exist, since they aren't Microsoft's issues in the first place.

For people with devices w/o 64-bit drivers who need those peripherals, cannot upgrade them, etc, then i'd suggest sticking with XP/Vista 32.

 

[gizbug]

Originally posted by: sammyunltd
Hi!

I will probably buy a computer in the following weeks. I was wondering if it was worth it to switch to Vista 64 Bit right now?

Thank you

PS: Since my current computer is an HP, I'll still have to buy an OS

Try SEARCHING the forums. as this question is asked daily.

 

[Modelworks]

Make a list of all the software that you use daily and make sure all of it is vista compatible.
I have way too much software that has problems with vista to make the switch anytime soon.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Get Vista Business or Ultimate and you have free downgrade rights to XP, so you can use it now and then change to vista later when you are ready

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: Rottie
I would wait until service pack come out to iron out problems Vista might have with old programs/peripherals.

What makes you think that a service pack will address those problems?

never mind

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: Rottie
I would wait until service pack come out to iron out problems Vista might have with old programs/peripherals.

What makes you think that a service pack will address those problems?

Apparently he feels it's Microsoft's responsibility to write drivers for companies now

Hate to say, but if HP hasn't written a functional Vista driver for that 6 yr. old printer yet, it's not gonna happen.
A service pack isn't going to help with the compatibility issues that currently exist, since they aren't Microsoft's issues in the first place.

For people with devices w/o 64-bit drivers who need those peripherals, cannot upgrade them, etc, then i'd suggest sticking with XP/Vista 32.

never mind

 

[JackMDS]

Vista x64 is great.

However make an inventory of software and hardware that you have and going to use with Vista and make sure that you can make it work.

In general it is a fallacy to think that more drivers for previously realesd hardware would come out.

Microsoft does not write 3d party drivers, it just adding to the installation CD drivers that were submitted by 3rd party vendors.

There was ample of time to write drivers for Vista. If drivers are not available by now it means that the hardware cannot be made to be Vista compatible, or (which is a lot of time the real reason) the manufactures deliberately do not write drivers for previously released hardware coz they want you to buy New Hardware that is released with Vista Drivers.

 

[Deadtrees]

Originally posted by: Rottie

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: Rottie
I would wait until service pack come out to iron out problems Vista might have with old programs/peripherals.

What makes you think that a service pack will address those problems?

My friend told me he had some issues with Vista pre-installed on Laptop so I assume there will new service pack. Vista is not so perfect yet.

Your logic and reasoning is quite strange.

Who is this Friend of yours? How much knowledge does he have on those issues?
What kind issues does he have with Vista? And how can you claim that because your friend's got issues with Vista, there'll be a new service pack?

 

[Cutthroat]

I like Vista x64 so much I have stopped using XP. There was a fairly steep learning curve to get used to it. And I have had some compatibility problems, but I have worked them out. My only remaining issue is the lack of maturity with some drivers, a couple of manufacturers just can't get it right yet.

 

[nageov3t]

just installed vista x64 tonight and no problems yet (though I did leave a small partition free in case something comes up and I need to dual-boot with XP)

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: Deadtrees

Originally posted by: Rottie

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: Rottie
I would wait until service pack come out to iron out problems Vista might have with old programs/peripherals.

What makes you think that a service pack will address those problems?

My friend told me he had some issues with Vista pre-installed on Laptop so I assume there will new service pack. Vista is not so perfect yet.

Your logic and reasoning is quite strange.

Who is this Friend of yours? How much knowledge does he have on those issues?
What kind issues does he have with Vista? And how can you claim that because your friend's got issues with Vista, there'll be a new service pack?

never mind

 

[McLovin]

Originally posted by: Cutthroat
I like Vista x64 so much I have stopped using XP. There was a fairly steep learning curve to get used to it. And I have had some compatibility problems, but I have worked them out. My only remaining issue is the lack of maturity with some drivers, a couple of manufacturers just can't get it right yet.

My biggest question has always been about the learning curve, so I'm hoping since you have learned said curve, if you would be so kind to enlighten the rest of us! (mostly me but I didn't want to come across as selfish )

 

[Cutthroat]

Well I'm not about to write a book on Vista, nor would I be able, I'm still learning new things about it every day. I experiment a lot with it.

I can give you a couple of tips that I found the hardest to deal with:

1. Get some imaging software, image your root partition regularly when you first install and are installing new drivers and software. As I said I experiment a lot, I installed quite a few things that totally messed up the system that only reinstalling would fix. It was much easier to go back with images, and more reliable than system restore which is no good if you can't boot.

2. UAC sucks, I have really tried to keep it enabled, but it did not let me install some software and drivers, no matter the settings. It was also way too annoying.

3. Don't over-tweak, I made that mistake way too much, if you turn off some services and functions that seem to use up system resources you will also lose some functionality. Be careful and informed about what you are doing before turning things off. You may think Vista is using too much resources when you see the HDD activity and watch your system monitor, however virtually everything runs at low priority. If you launch an app or a game Vista will stop it's unnecessary processes and give as much system resources as it can to what you are doing in the forefront. I have played around a lot with vLite to try to speed up the system, all I ever achieved was a smaller installation with less functionality, it was never faster. My current installation is virtually default with some performance enhancements turned on, it's just as fast, and works better.

Check out this guide for a lot of basic info about Vista, it's quite good to get you started with Vista.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'd go with xp tbh. Wait at least a year to go vista. Don't know why people are all jumping on it like crazy to have the latest. The latest is not always the greatest. Wait till they sort out the major bugs, and that hardware vendors writing vista drivers before releasing hardware. Drivers that did not originally come with the hardware don't always perform as well.

A friend went vista and half his hardware does not even function to the fullest extent since only basic vista drivers were available. I only went XP like last year and have no issues at all and have no reason to change. I'd still be on win2k if it was not for game compatibility. That will be an issue with vista though, unfortunately lot of games will be vista only.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
I'd go with xp tbh. Wait at least a year to go vista. Don't know why people are all jumping on it like crazy to have the latest. The latest is not always the greatest. Wait till they sort out the major bugs, and that hardware vendors writing vista drivers before releasing hardware. Drivers that did not originally come with the hardware don't always perform as well.

A friend went vista and half his hardware does not even function to the fullest extent since only basic vista drivers were available. I only went XP like last year and have no issues at all and have no reason to change. I'd still be on win2k if it was not for game compatibility. That will be an issue with vista though, unfortunately lot of games will be vista only.

For a new PC with modern hardware, there should be little to no hardware compatibility issues in Vista.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah better chance that everything will work, though even new hardware is not all 100% compatible. My friend built the PC with the most modern parts and still lot of stuff did not support vista. How to consider it had just came out then too so devs need some time to write the drivers from the point they have access to vista. Before vista came out devs could only guess at the environment based on betas.

 

[Cutthroat]

Honestly I have less problems with Vista than I do with XP especially since I got my P5K Deluxe. I cannot install XP properly on my dual RAID config, but Vista works perfectly.

Now that Vista has been out for 6 months if you can't find a driver for a piece of hardware, you never will. A lot of manufacturers have decided not to support their older hardware on Vista, but everything that has been released in the last 6 months is going to work fine. As I said there are still a couple of companies that have troubles with immature drivers. Nvidia and ATI drivers have a way to go before everything works perfectly, such as SLI or crossfire on DX10, and they are slightly slower, not as bad as some people would have you believe. Also Vista still does not like Logitech drivers, although they work mostly OK, Vista complains about code integrity problems in the event log.

Vista is nothing like XP, it works completely differently, esp 64bit. It took me a while to understand what worked and what didn't, and to understand all the new stuff in Vista and how it works, but now I have a way more functional and stable system than I ever did with XP.

Yesterday there were a lot of Windows updates for compatibility problems, should fix quite a bit of problems with older software people were having. Also SP1 beta is to be rolled out any day now, that should bring it up to the stage everyone is looking for.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah from what Ive seen it really is state of the art though. Just have to have the machine for it. I've always been a MS basher but I'd have to say in the past couple years MS has been coming up with very decent stuff. 2k and up including server OSes are rock solid compared to the crap they rolled out before. (like Win ME lol)

 

[zig3695]

nice to see people are finally waking up to what microsoft is doing. im actually proud of the big monopoly