Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (
More info?)
Correct, XP takes off where NT started for reliability
o However verify all your h/w is *properly* supported under XP
---- in the early days there were no drivers for XP
---- MSFT is the friend of h/w makers - no driver = obsolete h/w
o In particular many USB modems do not work well under XP
---- some will work fine under Windows 2000
---- some seem to only work fine under Win98/ME
Re hyperthreading:
o Win2k -- not properly supported
o XP -- is properly supported
However, hyperthreading doesn't buy you a great deal:
o As usual you will find more of a benefit in benchmarks
---- it is 10-15%
o Than you will typically find in general tasks
---- it is probably 10% for those that utilise it
Hyperthreading is not Dual-CPU or Dual-Core-CPUs.
It is a step closer to improve interactiveness & usability, however
anyone who has used a dual-CPU knows the responsiveness when
doing multiple tasks is a vastly different & better experience.
A compromise on stability is to use Windows 2000:
o It is a good stable O/S - much improved over NT4SP6a
o It is generally supported - older h/w has more support
XP Home will support 1-CPU, XP-Pro will support 1-2 CPU.
That is nothing to do with HT, but actual *dual* CPU. Unless
you need domain capability, dual-CPU & remote-desktop you
can save a little with XP Home. Windows 2000 isn't much cheaper.
You need to consider s/w stability under XP:
o Office 97 is fine under Win98/NT4
---- under XP you will find parts of it cause problems (eg, Excel)
o Photoshop 4.1 is fine under Win98/NT4
---- under XP you can't work on jpg files, it crashes
So upgrading to an operating system can also trigger upgrades
to both software & hardware originally not envisaged. That can
be expensive where the added functionality isn't a requirements.
Those cheap Branded PCs are being done for a reason:
o Partly supply-demand inconsistency = price benefit = cheap product mix
o Partly to lock in upgrade capability & obsolescence including in O/S
Thus Branded PCs introduce some limitations:
o MSFT are moving to a more secure model - major implications
---- eventually implications in hardware, not just software
o White-Box & Branded once bought support that O/S not always later
---- upgrading to a later O/S may lack drivers
o White-Box & Branded ship with latest O/S
---- so on changing a PC your old s/w & h/w may not be supported
---- going back to a previous O/S may not be supported
---- which generates a new upgrade cycle to /maintain/ functionality
This is most severe with a laptop - where upgrade is limited, so you
are forced to replace vs upgrade, and so hit the compatibilty problems.
Laptops are great for generating more secondary upgrades per unit time.
Architecture wise, Win98 is vastly inferior to Win2k/XP.
o Whereas Win98 can manage just about a day of uptime in heavy use
---- plus crashes tended to take down the entire machine
o XP can manage several days if not weeks under the same conditions
---- of course, XP may force you to upgrade the s/w to achieve this
So the issue isn't hyperthreading, it's verifying what the u/g breaks.
The benefits from an NT-derived O/S are however well worth having.
The main limit to using NT4 now is security if net connected, a few
bugs there are not correctable - but not present in Win2k. NT4W on
a laptop may a stable entity, Win98 made it a rebooting entity
--
Dorothy Bradbury
www.dorothybradbury.co.uk for quiet Panaflo fans