If I Purchased a Desktop, XP or Vista?

[Andrew2]

I really need some better hardware, Gonna work my *** off and post some sales...
Question is though, XP or Vista? I hear complaining all the time about Vista, but hello.. Everyone seems to be buying it regardless. :-/

[nina]

I would go with XP, even though vista's gorgeous.
Apparently vista is super slow and a lot of programs don't work with it? Or so my friends say.

[kirah]

i have vista, and granted sometimes i hate it and think it's the devil, it's a fairly decent operating system. i've never had any trouble with slowness or programs not working.

if you're getting a laptop that's going to have a wireless connection, watch out because you might have some trouble getting the connection set up and keeping it up.

edit: oh, my bad, i didnt see that you were getting a desktop. you can ignore my rant about laptops/wireless connections :)

[jrw64]

I just had to buy a new computer myself..I had XP now I just bought a Dell vista. Here is my opinion..vista has alot of cool features and things seem more modern..the folder that pics are stored in are cooler and the set up of everything is so different then XP..but seems to run slower..pages freeze. I am still trying to get use to it..but I am missing my XP. :(

p.s. Having a hard time getting some plugin to install with vista also..but I heard others had the same problem!

[nsmchris]

I have both and trust me, don't screw around with Vista. Go with XP Pro.

[Ajay]

i have vista on everything, and haven't had any problems. I'm sure if i go back to play a game from 1995 i'll probably have some issues, but vista does well on new computers. Also you need it for dx10 games... just get 4gigs of ram and everything will be ok.

[Jen]

Take XP anyway you can get it.

Vista sucks donkey balls......

[Andrew2]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm still so very hesitant though.
I heard you can stop the freezing and crashing with ram replacements [vista] but also heard that its so buggy.. Like, I understand that it's annoying but is it really worth completely avoiding :-s

I like XP since its obviously not as buggy, I already know what's what and where's where, and for visual enhancements I can simply install windowblinds or another visual enhancing software..

XP is also limited in new computer sales, this is gonna be tricky to even go out of my way to find parts that come with XP. I really appreciate the opinions and thoughts though, if anyone else can share their experiences I want to just make sure I make the right decision because I take this sort of thing seriously, I look into things before I buy them 90% of the time :P

I will be mainly using my computer to store mp3/raw format images/graphics and will be using graphic creating software most of the time is one better for that than the other?

[Nora]

I never had any problems using vista.. I did have to download a patch to get msn to work but for me Vista works better than XP.
XP used to hang all the time, hasn't happened to Vista a single time. I don't notice any bugs either :)

[marshall_26]

I like vista, but you really need a computer that was built for it though, so sometimes upgrading can be a hassle "probably most of the complaints come from attempted upgrades".

The only downfall is wow! it takes a lot of HD space, and alot of video cards are not compatible, but if your buying a new PC it shouldn't matter since it's probably built for it. Be sure to get lots of ram anything under a GB isn't worth running vista on :)

[applebooty]

I really like vista. It's got some serious bugs, most of which I have (thankfully) yet to experience. Like Marshall said though, you should be fine if you're buying a new computer.

Apple is still the best though. :D

[ladyborg]

In light of all the troubles i have been having, either get XP or wait until the vista service pack is released and re-evaluate.

If you can afford it, get a Mac. You will love it for graphics. Just keep an old pc around for testing sites in IE.

Edit: I can't spell.

[SamOwen]

Go with XP but buy hardware strong enough to handle Vista so when the time is right upgrading will be easy; that's what I did with my new computer.

[Mixi]

at first vista bugged me but now its okay after I bought some extra ram. The problem is half of my design programs dont work so I still have my XP. So I'd probably go with XP for design purposes. The only computers that I see now that you have the option to use Xp are dells since just about all computers now come with Vista unless you have an XP CD.

[MastaGrillz]

I would go with vista, there are still some programs that dont work with it yet but XP is pretty old man, Ive had vista since it came out and I dont think I would ever go back to XP, vista is so much cleaner looking than XP in my opinion

[Taghyra]

Can't you just make like a partition and have both?

http://lifehacker.com/software/dual-boot/dual-boot-windows-xp-on-a-pre+installed-vista-pc-248936.php

[MastaGrillz]

thats new to me, i might have to try that.

[Taghyra]

yup yup it's pretty cool...

[Greg-J]

I've had extensive experience with about half a dozen machines (desktops and laptops) that all came with Vista and I've put XP on every one of them, and every one of them has run much faster with XP. The functionality I did like in Vista I found (better) in 3rd party apps.

All-in-all, I don't think there is a very compelling argument for Vista at all...

[Aleisha]

I've had extensive experience with many machines that all came with XP and I've put Vista on every one of them, and every one of them has run much faster with Vista. i really like the functionality with Vista

Everyone jumps on the "Vista sucks" bandwagon.. because all the geeks post about it day in and day out.

I just got a new laptop and I decided to go with Vista. As long as you have at least 2gb of RAM, Vista will pur like a kitten. (1gb is the minimum recommended but I'd definately go at least 2gb)

You can even disable the vista theme and get it looking exactly like XP. You won't notice the difference, except you will have better features.

[itbejake]

Do you have an XP Re-installation disk? If you do; what I would do is go with the computer with Vista and make sure it comes with a re-installation disk. Then once you get the computer just reformat it over to XP and once Vista isn't as buggy then you can reformat back onto Vista if you wanted to, plus that will get rid of all of the stupid OEM's that the manufacturers put on your computer.

That's just what I would do.

[Ajay]

what programs don't work for you? i'm guessing probably the 3d rendering ones like 3d studio etc. As far as other designing programs, all the adobe products work on vista for me. I've never had an issue.

at first vista bugged me but now its okay after I bought some extra ram. The problem is half of my design programs dont work so I still have my XP. So I'd probably go with XP for design purposes. The only computers that I see now that you have the option to use Xp are dells since just about all computers now come with Vista unless you have an XP CD.


So true...



Everyone jumps on the "Vista sucks" bandwagon.. because all the geeks post about it day in and day out.

[Greg-J]

My primary notebook has 2GB of RAM and a mild 2.0GHz Core2 Duo. In every-day applications as well as benchmarks it runs 20% to 25% faster and uses far fewer resources. My desktop is a quad core 2.8GHz with 6GB of RAM (only 3.5 of which are addressable by XP installation) and it too runs considerably faster (about 15%) and - dare I say it - more stable in XP.

You won't notice the difference, except you will have better features.
Depending on your equipment you will most certainly see a substantial difference between the two. The only thing in Vista I like more than XP is Aero, running without it would be pointless to me.

I'll argue against Vista simply because I absolutely cannot stand it. I don't dislike it because I'm a geek or because I read geeks posting about it though. I can't stand it because it's bloated software that consumes more resources than its predecessor with little to no practical benefit.

[Felipe]

I can't stand it because it's bloated software that consumes more resources than its predecessor with little to no practical benefit.

It looks pretty fly. Most users will just edit their holiday snaps, do some instant messaging, surf some websites, write a book report, so they'll never notice.

[Greg-J]

It looks pretty fly. Most users will just edit their holiday snaps, do some instant messaging, surf some websites, write a book report, so they'll never notice.
Indeed.

Most users - or at least a good many - that are members of this forum do much more than just check email though. DreamWeaver for instance will tap an entire core if you let it. Sitting idle it uses 25% of my CPU. FireFox will eat nearly a gig of ram and so does PhotoShop. I'm probably not in the minority running all these apps and more all day every day, so when all the big stuff adds up with the little stuff, 15% starts to really mean something.

[Aleisha]

Cool features like

System Resume, alot more options in the control panel for an everyday user who just uses photoshop, emails, MSNs, and does website work, vista is fine.

We're not all benchmark junkies.

I have Firefox, Dreamweaver, and Photoshop and I'm running smooth as with 2gb of ram and a X2 AMD

[Connections]

i would just go with xp for the moment,

and get vista in a year or 2 when it gets more stable and more adaptive imo

[Aleisha]

Stable? It's running fine here, never a glitch.

Andrew, just get vista and try it out, if you don't like it reinstall XP

[black&white]

ive only ever had XP and its been doing well for me, so i vote for that :)

[spotlight-shure]

I heard people are having too many problems with Vista and if you are a big video game fan, alot of the older games or older versions of the games don't work with vista. That's one reason why i would never get vista. I'd stick with XP.

[CharmRoyal]

Pshhh I say Vista, I love it

[Andrew2]

Thanks for the feedback, seems to me like the complaining is somewhat over-rated with vista... Like, those who know how to properly install and run it have had no problems and the ones who don't have vista say to get XP..

I'm really leaning towards just settling with vista, because most computers have vista with it... and in order for me to get XP I'd have to spend an additional 200-300.00 to downgrade :-/ Like Aleisha said, I could get vista and if I don't like it I could get XP again.. I have a while to make my final decision as I have like 100.00 saved up for a computer so far. lol

[CharmRoyal]

Vista's not bad... everything works on it for me

My XP is about the slowest thing ever since I just bought my brand new computer
I don't know why people don't like Vista... probably because they don't like change

But it's worth it, I love it

[spotlight-shure]

I've never personally tried it. Just what i've heard. I would like to try it but then again, i like sticking to what i know. But maybe vista really is the way to go.

[offthedome]

I got a laptop w/ vista, and I had such a bad time managing it that I thought it was a bad install. Turns out me and vista just don't get along.

Go with XP.

[Sergio]

XP ftw.
http://i31.tinypic.com/a3ca69.jpg

[offthedome]

XP ftw.
http://i31.tinypic.com/a3ca69.jpg

That just made my day ROFL

[minnseoelite]

The only reason people want Vista is because its "new" and they believe the microsoft hype about it being more secure. Last I checked there was over a few hundred vulnerabilities and exploits waiting to be patched by MS for Vista.

If you don't need the cool extra eye candy then stick with XP.....oh and have you looked at any lists of hardware and software programs that don't work with Vista....not saying you would have any of them but what a joke. XP also takes ALOT less resources to run which means you can multi task and have more programs running under XP before things start to slow down.


The only real advantage with Vista will be when DirectX 10 is released and they start making games and programs that take advantage of DX10 (currently there are none probably a year or so away). Other then that and the aero glass interface there are no real advantages to Vista

[Andrew2]

The only reason people want Vista is because its "new" and they believe the microsoft hype about it being more secure. Last I checked there was over a few hundred vulnerabilities and exploits waiting to be patched by MS for Vista.

If you don't need the cool extra eye candy then stick with XP.....oh and have you looked at any lists of hardware and software programs that don't work with Vista....not saying you would have any of them but what a joke. XP also takes ALOT less resources to run which means you can multi task and have more programs running under XP before things start to slow down.


The only real advantage with Vista will be when DirectX 10 is released and they start making games and programs that take advantage of DX10 (currently there are none probably a year or so away). Other then that and the aero glass interface there are no real advantages to Vista

So you have vista?

[Ajay]

i found a review that microsoft probably paid for, which says vista is actually kinda good!

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/vista-under-the-hood.ars/1

anyway, i think im going to go play my company of heroes in it's semi-full directx 10 glory.

@minnesota world in conflict, crisis, company of heroes, age of conan, bioshock, ut3 ... http://www.novatek.com.au/news/confirmed-dx-10-games.html

[Ammy]

I'd go with XP... I have vista and everything is all glossy and pretty... but I hate everything about it that's different from xp :( there's always a billion processes running, and with a 2gb ram mine has trouble running 5+ big programs simultaneously while it was fine on XP with a 1gb ram.... and I realllly hate that there's no picture viewer for animated gifs... it opens animated gifs in internet explorer... I really liked xp's photo gallery viewer thingy where you could scroll through images in a folder with the big preview up the top... I used that alot :(

[minnseoelite]

So you have vista?

no i don't have it. i know several friends that have it. and i've followed Vista since the first Beta was released in PC Mag, Maximum PC, CPU, and independent websites. as i said and ammy verified Vista is slower then XP at multi tasking even with a faster PC and i am assuming you probably run something like PS, Flash MX, ImageReady, IE, Trillion, and maybe another program or two all at the same time like alot of people here do.