Help In Choosing OS

[PEH]

Like many others on this forum I am a noob to computer building and, of course, have questions. My computer is not yet built and is, if fact, enroute from NewEgg. My question however, has to do with the OS. As a preface I should state that this computer will be used primarily for gaming. My original plan was to wait for Vista to be released. However, after reading about driver problems, and other and various opinions on this forum, I am not sure if that is the best decision. In short, my question is - should I forgo Vista and install XP Pro and let microsoft work out the bugs before installing Vista?

 

[apt403]

yeah, give vista some time, wait until the first service pack is out. It'll be alot more stable by then.

 

[Zorak]

You pretty much hit the nail on the head, PEH. Like any good wine, vista will only get better with time (at least that is the hope ), so wait a while before you decide to install it.

 

[chunkymonster]

In short, my answer is - yes.

 

[zjohnr]

In short, my question is - should I forgo Vista and install XP Pro and let microsoft work out the bugs before installing Vista?

Why XP Pro and not just XP Home??

Is this a Vista upgrade coupon concern or some other reason??

-john, the redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[sailer]

Pretty much what the others said. I plan to migrate to Vista sometime in the spring, after it has been out a few months and the initial patches are out to swat the bugs.

Other than XP Pro, you might consider XP 64 Pro. Since its also a 64 bit OS, you can be loading the computer with various 64 bit programs, drivers, etc before making the switch. And who knows, someone may figure out how to port DX10 into it and you could have a 64 bit OS without having to pay the Vista premium. Just a thought, may not work.

 

[sruane]

ye, just go for xp although like others have said, why pro? not wanting to sound patronising but i hope it aint because you think dual cores won't work on it. remember, it is only for mulitple sockets that you need pro, not multiple cores.

Why pro? For me its because I serve drive shares off the computers on my home network and I don't want to share "My Documents" - rather real drive shares.

 

[sruane]

and you name is peh how. I WAS NOT ASKING FOR OPINIONS ON PRO AS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED IN COUNTLESS THREADS AND ARTICLES OVER THE YEARS, I WAS ASKING THE OP FOR HIS REASONS AND HIS REASONS ALONE IF THAT WAS NOT OBVIOUS.

Oh, get over yourself, already.

 

[PEH]

Actually I was considering Pro over Home because of the dual core issue. Thanks for setting me straight on that one. Since the concensus appears to weigh in favor of waiting on Vista I have another question related to OS installation. The mobo I will be using is the ASUS P5N32-E-SLI (680i) which is suppossed to natively support SATA. I will be using a Segate 320 Gb SATA HDD. When I install XP Home will I have to load drivers doing the F6 routine or will it install without having to go through that step?

 

[mitch074]

You may consider a real OS: Linux.
- can be upgraded at will, without even need to reload as long as you don't upgrade the kernel
- provides a real 3D desktop, even on entry level versions
- uses your hardware efficiently (it includes very efficient caching, making hybrid drives redundant and useless; 3D desktops run on hardware of shader 1.1 class)
- comes with many apps already installed (productivity, multimedia, programming, gaming...)
- older apps run without problems - at most requiring a recompile
- it is already rock stable
- does away with virii and spywares
- costs very little (down to nothing if you're the do-it-yourself type)
- you can use it whatever way you want.

Please note:
- Upgrading from XP to Vista almost always require a full reinstall
- entry level versions don't come with a 3D desktop
- you need hybrid drives, gigabytes of RAM, a multiple gigahertz CPU and recent graphics hardware to ake it run satisfactorially
- you get a poor text editor and a media player at most; anything else must be bought.
- Vista will need at least a service pack to be considered mostly stable
- it's not really out yet, and virii and rootkits already plague it
- cost starts at a hundred bucks for crippled versions
- if you run it on another machine than the one you bought it for (even if that machine went up in flames) you have to buy it again; if you own a piece of hardware without a driver for Vista, this piece of hardware is lost - end of story.

 

[linux_0]

Here's a better idea: Dual boot :-D

Put your favorite version of Linux, BSD or whatever on one partition and XP on another for games.

http://lunapark6.com/?p=2454

Hey Linux can look good too ;-)


Regarding Vista I would say wait for as long as possible because vista will make your shinny new PC run like a 386SX-25 @ 16MHz

All joking aside, Vista is a major resource hog and you will need a lot of power to run it!

Live long and prosper! :-D

 

[linux_0]

Mitch074 beat me to it while I was typing :-D

A very eloquent post I must say :-D

 

[mad-dog]

Yep, just get XP Pro w/SP2 and upgrade to Vista next year after any unseen bugs are worked out..

 

[zjohnr]

When I install XP Home will I have to load drivers doing the F6 routine or will it install without having to go through that step?

I believe the important factor here is to have SP2. I'm not sure, but I believe the SATA driver support in pre-SP XP was either missing or suffered from delusions of adequacy. With SP2 a Windows installation should recognize a (non-RAIDed) SATA port without any need to provide a SCSI driver via F6 at the beginning of the install.

But of course the easiest and best way to check this out is to simply do the install. If your SATA drive is recognized, then you've got proof it works. If not, you go back and reconsider the driver thing, no?

(BTW, if your Windows install CD does NOT include SP2 that can be fixed. Google for instructions on creating a new bootable Windows install CD that streamlines/includes SP2).

-john, the redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[mitch074]

Yes, if you feel like shelling out 99 bucks for an OS that is 5 years old and obsolete, so that you need to pay 100 more bucks for something hardly better (and which will, in fact, turn your brand new PC into a laggard), well, do so.

What I find funny is how people say Linux is hard to install and use, when to install WinXP you need:
- to spend a long time in a DOS window to integrate the SP2 in a boot CD,
- to extract a CD boot sector,
- to re-build a CD image manually,
- to edit a text configuration file,
- to extract files in a hardly documented directory structure (because otherwise you need a floppy drive) in order to support your new disk drive,
- to partition your hard disk with a non-explicit, text-mode utility which is unable to recognise drives over 128 Gb,
- the install itself takes at least 45 minutes,
- you need to reboot it at least twice on install (count an extra reboot for any piece of hardware you have which is less than 2 years old),
- and ONLY then can you install your applications.

Nice.

 

[apt403]

i love linux, but linux doesnt love games. and several oc-ing utilitys.

 

[fishboi]

PRAAV - People's Republican Army Against Vista.

They just want to gouge us again. No real games for Vista, no real improvements (at least not yet). I mean, how much in the real world with Vista increase performance. We should all be patient. Wait until its out, prices come down, its stable, and their are apps and games out that take advantage of its capabilities. DONT BUY INTO THE HYPE (DX10 and 8800GTX being a great example).

Where is Chrysis? Oh there you are, in Q3 of '07. Geeeeeeeez.

 

[Mousemonkey]

When I install XP Home will I have to load drivers doing the F6 routine or will it install without having to go through that step?

I cannot speak for XP home but pro SP1 will install on a SATA only system without the need to go anywhere near the f6 key, strue honest dude, I've done it twice

 

[GhostX]

I am more than happy with my XP Home setup. I will wait a good deal of time before I take the Vista plunge in lew of DX10.

Its just the tech in me.. having to deal with Windows products all day with servers and laptops etc etc.. I am a bit timid to try the new new NEW!

 

[mitch074]

true: to be fair, XP needs a driver only when the boot disk is installed on a RAID volume; it can access single SATA drives in IDE compatibility mode.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Indeed my friend I just wished to dispell any myths that you need a driver on a floppy *...shudders...* to be able to install XP, why people keep asking this is beyond me that others recommend that this is what is required beggars belief so I just like to stick a hand up now and then to remind the masses that things have moved on a bit.

 

[RU_469]

Not sure if your buying a new processor too but I noticed this on NewEgg, and I'm ordering it just in case I want Vista (which I doubt I will).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16832116169

 

[Zorak]

Here's a better idea: Dual boot :-D

Put your favorite version of Linux, BSD or whatever on one partition and XP on another for games.

http://lunapark6.com/?p=2454

Hey Linux can look good too ;-)


Regarding Vista I would say wait for as long as possible because vista will make your shinny new PC run like a 386SX-25 @ 16MHz

All joking aside, Vista is a major resource hog and you will need a lot of power to run it!

Live long and prosper! :-D

I was trying so very hard to avoid recommending Linux to PEH since he is completely new to the computer building scene (and therefore probably wants a dedicated game machine), but seeing as how my good buddy Linux_0 has decided to make his recommendation I would like to completely retract what I said earlier about vista and recommend that you use linux if you want a cool and secure operating system FOR FREE and stick to winXP if you want your games (or dual boot). I wasn't too sure whether or not my fellow linux enthusiasts would come out to play on this thread, which was why i didn't say anything about it earlier ;D. Anyways, I hope I haven't done too much damage to my reputation, haha.

-Zorak

 

[locky28]

I had to use the Floppy from my GA-K8NS Ultra 939 when I was installing XP PRO SP1 on my Sata/150 74g raptor. I think your pretty game saying that XP install definetely doesn't need a floppy for sata drives right after saying 'trust me, i've done it twice'

 

[k2gremlin]

umm it doesnt.. worked fine on my P5N32.... however I did need a floppy for my raid, but NOT the SATA Controllers.