Which OS is better (at this time)???

[mlaporta]

I was deciding between:

XP SP2

XP 32 SP2 (does it come in 64 and is it worth-while to get)

or

Vista 64 Business

I heard the best or stable version of Vista is Business...

What is everyone's opinion???

Just don't know about applications that are supported, drivers and stuff like that.

 

[roadrunner197069]

Vista Ultimate 64 if your hardware is pretty new. Check for 64bit drivers for any printers or other equipment before going 64. Otherwise Vista 32 is fine.

 

[andytg7]

If you have a new PC hardware, then either Vista 32 or Vista 64 will be fine. If you have old hardware, XP should be your choice.

Vista's application and driver support has improved greatly since it's release date and with Vista SP1 on the horizon, it should only get better. I doubt you need to speed time worrying about support issues at this point, unless it's old PC hardware like I said above. Instead you should consider the pros and cons of each operating system and decide which you like better.

 

[mlaporta]

My Build:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
-
ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
-
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK
-
EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
-
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
-
CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply
-
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
-
Seagate Barracuda ST3250310NS ES.2 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200.11 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
-
2-Samsung SH-S203B SATA
-

 

[Dooyas]

Vista Home Premium 64bit if you want to go with a 64bit OS.

Do not get Ultimate, it is a waste of an extra $100 or so. The only difference really between Ultimate and Home Premium is you get Texas Hold'em, Dreamscene desktop (So you can have movies as your desktop) and bitlocker.

 

[purplerat]

Ultimate also comes with 32bit and 64bit.

 

[roadrunner197069]

Ultimate has a better backup utility also. You can put a restore image on your HDD with ultimate. Well worth it IMO. $189.00 for Ultimate OEM.

 

[mlaporta]

What about Business Edition???

 

[roadrunner197069]

Same as Ultimate but Ultimate has a couple of extras.

 

[tlmck]

You might wish to read this also. http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/02/15/vista_workshop/

 

[mlaporta]

That seems to have more to do with memory usage in Vista?

 

[michiganteddybear]

Business is basically the vista version of xp pro. has the features of ultimate, but no media center.

 

[tlmck]

That seems to have more to do with memory usage in Vista?

Yes, but it also applies to the differences between 32bit and 64 bit, whether Vista or XP. Pay attention to the part on memory "footprint".

 

[mlaporta]

Okay thank you tlmck!

 

[chuckm]

Hey Mike,
Have ya got everything except the OS?
PM me if you want to

 

[mlaporta]

Well it looks like I'm just going to go with XP Pro SP2 because with Windows 7 looming around the corner no reason to go to Vista and then have to jump-ship to Windows 7...

 

[mlaporta]

Hmmmm Vista Business sounds good...

 

[andytg7]

Windows 7 is still about a couple of years away. Basing your decision on when Windows 7 is going to arrive doesn't make too much sense. Whether your going from XP SP2 to Windows 7 or Vista to Windows 7, they both are going to seem like your jumping ship. If you have the hardware to support either XP SP2 or Vista, you just need to look at what each operating system has to offer. They both have their pros and cons, you simply need to decide which is more in your favor.

Also, when it comes to the different Vista versions. Vista Business and Enterprise are equivalent to XP Pro. Vista Home Basic and Home Premium are like XP Home and Media Center Edition. Vista Ultimate is just like it sounds, everything all the different Vista versions offer put together into one version.

 

[ddrum2000]

Well here is another question I have? I need to wipe and reinstall windows and was going to upgrade to Vista. The question I am not sure about it to go 32-bit or 64-bit.

I currently have:
Athlon X2 3800
Asus M2NPV-VM (Nforce 6150)
2 x 1 GB Corsair PC6400 CAS 4
and other irrelevant stuff for the purposes of this post

I may upgrade to 4 GB of RAM in the future and don't want to reinstall windows if I don't have to. I looked at the Vista RAM article and it wasn't clear to me 4 GB (~3.5 GB) RAM and Vista 32 or 4 GB and Vista 64 makes more sense. i also may upgrade to an 65 nm Athlon X2 5400 or there abouts soon too. I use the box some lite gaming, HTPC, and general office use. I am also thinking of picking up a Radeon 3650 or Geforce 9600 when they come out.

Opinions of the OS?

 

[rodney_ws]

Vista Home Premium 64bit if you want to go with a 64bit OS.

Do not get Ultimate, it is a waste of an extra $100 or so. The only difference really between Ultimate and Home Premium is you get Texas Hold'em, Dreamscene desktop (So you can have movies as your desktop) and bitlocker.

That and a pretty fancy mechanism that automatically backs up your documents and saves multiple revisions of them.

 

[bobbknight]

Well heres the scoop:

Vista Ultimate with 8GB of ram is as good as XP Pro with 3GB of ram.
But Windows 7 comes out next year, so why spend a huge pile of cash on Vista, when XP will do the job.
And you will be able to upgrade to Win 7 and get it's 64 bit version when it comes out.
So get XP Pro oem and save some bucks.


Rattus Viola: Sino non they quisnam operor non have scientia futurus vestri rector.

 

[homerdog]

Whatever you do, do it 64 bit.

 

[mlaporta]

Are there any draw-backs to using XP Pro 64-bit such as applications support or anything like that???

 

[nukchebi0]

For all those Windows 7 people, Vista was supposed to come out in early 2006, and it came out in early 2007. Don't be so sure of Window's 7's release.

 

[mlaporta]

Worried about application support on 64-bit OS...