Vista tweaks?

[Zake202]

I've never used vista before.

I'm considering buying the 64bit version for my new rig.

Is it worth buying or should I use XP?

Also, does it run fast or will I need to tweak a ton of stuff to have it run well?

[chinesepiratefood]

It doesn't need any tweaks

There are some annoying "security" features like User Account Control that should be turned off, but that is it.

Most things you hear about Vista just aren't true, it runs great (I dual boot XP and Vista Ultimate 64)

I installed it for DX10 support mainly, since other than that(and my 4gb memory) I have no REAL reason to upgrade from XP.

But really you can't go wrong.

USB transfer rates are def. slower, that is its only problem. My Vista install loads faster than my XP, and because Aero is GPU accelerated, it feels much snappier than XP does IMO.

[Zake202]

It doesn't need any tweaks

There are some annoying "security" features like User Account Control that should be turned off, but that is it.

Most things you hear about Vista just aren't true, it runs great (I dual boot XP and Vista Ultimate 64)

I installed it for DX10 support mainly, since other than that(and my 4gb memory) I have no REAL reason to upgrade from XP.

But really you can't go wrong.

USB transfer rates are def. slower, that is its only problem. My Vista install loads faster than my XP, and because Aero is GPU accelerated, it feels much snappier than XP does IMO.

What is Aero?

Still not sure if I should install XP or spend the 110 on Vista 64.

[Diablo2K]

What is Aero?

Still not sure if I should install XP or spend the 110 on Vista 64.

Aero is a Windows theme. Like Windows XP has 3 default themes, Blue, Grey, and Olive, and also windows classic. Aero has semi transparent titlebars and startbar. It also includes a couple options other thems dont have, Like the 3d Windows View. It requires a faster system to run it because of the tranparency and 3d view so it checks your system and if it thinks its not fast enough it will not allow you to use Aero.

Switching from XP to Vista takes some time due to its differances. Alot of things have been moved or are accisable in differant ways. I agree the User Account Control is very annoying so I have it turned off. also there some issues with Adminstrative privilages, but once you learn how to set that its not really an issue.

I am really glad I have Vista, and won't be looking back.

[ryan_975]

Aero is a Windows theme. Like Windows XP has 3 default themes, Blue, Grey, and Olive, and also windows classic. Aero has semi transparent titlebars and startbar. It also includes a couple options other thems dont have, Like the 3d Windows View. It requires a faster system to run it because of the tranparency and 3d view so it checks your system and if it thinks its not fast enough it will not allow you to use Aero.

Switching from XP to Vista takes some time due to its differances. Alot of things have been moved or are accisable in differant ways. I agree the User Account Control is very annoying so I have it turned off. also there some issues with Adminstrative privilages, but once you learn how to set that its not really an issue.

I am really glad I have Vista, and won't be looking back.

Aero isn't just a theme like Luna is. There's actually new technology behind the theme. It uses any DX9 capable GPU to render the desktop instead of the CPU like previous version of Windows did.

[Azhar]

It doesn't need any tweaks

There are some annoying "security" features like User Account Control that should be turned off, but that is it.

Most things you hear about Vista just aren't true, it runs great (I dual boot XP and Vista Ultimate 64)

I installed it for DX10 support mainly, since other than that(and my 4gb memory) I have no REAL reason to upgrade from XP.

But really you can't go wrong.

USB transfer rates are def. slower, that is its only problem. My Vista install loads faster than my XP, and because Aero is GPU accelerated, it feels much snappier than XP does IMO.

You shouldn't go around telling people that they should turn off a security feature, but rather say they can turn it off.

The OP says he's unfamiliar with Vista. The last thing you want a new user to do is to shoot himself in the foot.

To the OP. There's nothing to tweak at all. Even services you never use should never be disabled because they're not doing anything anyways and disabling them will result in no gain in speed and might end up hurting you when you use programs or hardware that calls for these services. Superfetch and Search index will take a couple weeks to finalize and learn your pattern and your Vista set up will be quite snappy as your XP set up was, if not more (superfecthed program will start up much faster than in XP for instance).

As Joe Average would say if he posts here, leave it alone. Microsoft already tweaked Vista for you.

[Joe Average]

Someone mention me? :)

Leave it alone.

As far as Microsoft, I'd say it's Vista that tweaks itself...

Slower USB eh? Works the same or somewhat faster in my experience and testing... interesting.

[SuperSubZero]

What is Aero?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Aero

Still not sure if I should install XP or spend the 110 on Vista 64.
If you don't have access to a Vista machine, either a friend or a local computer store or something.. you must live on Mars.

[Zake202]

Hmm, would anyone here say its worth the $110 price tag? the 64bit that is?

If I use XP, it will be a torrented version =(

[Stoly]

It doesn't need any tweaks

There are some annoying "security" features like User Account Control that should be turned off, but that is it.

Most things you hear about Vista just aren't true, it runs great (I dual boot XP and Vista Ultimate 64)

I installed it for DX10 support mainly, since other than that(and my 4gb memory) I have no REAL reason to upgrade from XP.

But really you can't go wrong.

USB transfer rates are def. slower, that is its only problem. My Vista install loads faster than my XP, and because Aero is GPU accelerated, it feels much snappier than XP does IMO.

Why dual boot?

[ryan_975]

Hmm, would anyone here say its worth the $110 price tag? the 64bit that is?

If I use XP, it will be a torrented version =(

Why even bring that up? It's a surefire way to get you thread locked, and may even earn you a short vacation.

At any rate, since you don't already have an OS, then it wouldn't hurt to go ahead with Vista.

[Zake202]

Why even bring that up? It's a surefire way to get you thread locked, and may even earn you a short vacation.

At any rate, since you don't already have an OS, then it wouldn't hurt to go ahead with Vista.

Sorry, didn't know =/

Yea debating about buying it.

[SuperSubZero]

Eight months here and you completely missed the very first stickied post in this forum?

Yeah, we're about done here.

[Zake202]

I haven't posted here in a very long time.

I missed the sticky.

[YeOldeStonecat]

If I use XP, it will be a torrented version =(

Ahh another victom of a "specially tweaked" pirated operating system that someone placed a few unwanted "surprises" in.

[sdotbrucato]

If you're building a new rig, get Vista x64, there's no reason not to on new machines.

Since you don't have an OS, buying Vista makes the most sense, instead of buying XP.

Also Vista will run just as fast and most likely faster than any install of XP, after Vista adapts to you of course.

Also there are no "tweaks" that will get you any noticeable performance increases, you might shave 2MB of RAM usage but that's not going to help you do anything, and will probably more than likely cripple the machine and cause more headaches than it's really worth

[TechieSooner]

Most things you hear about Vista just aren't true


There are some annoying "security" features like User Account Control that should be turned off

LMAO- Pot, kettle???

OP: Leave Vista ALONE!!!! Install and enjoy... If you went through a logical process here, wouldn't Microsoft want to have Vista run as fast as possible from the start? So, why would they do things to slow Vista down???
Unless you start stripping out some of the core components of Windows- anything you disable is never going to use any resources unless you actually need it.


Hmm, would anyone here say its worth the $110 price tag? the 64bit that is?

If I use XP, it will be a torrented version =(

Yes- for the love of God... Buy a licensed copy.
If you think about what you get with Windows- $110 isn't anything. Considering there is plenty of software out there that is several HUNDRED dollars and does a single function- the fact you can buy Windows for $110 is pretty dang good.

[Zake202]

This is the copy I want correct?
Home Premium?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Guessing it isn't cheaper anywhere else?

[sdotbrucato]

That'll do it. You might be able to find it cheaper but thats about the average price of it.

[Lenny_D]

LMAO- Pot, kettle???
Yes- for the love of God... Buy a licensed copy.
If you think about what you get with Windows- $110 isn't anything. Considering there is plenty of software out there that is several HUNDRED dollars and does a single function- the fact you can buy Windows for $110 is pretty dang good.

Some might argue that getting it for free is better.

[metril]

About torrenting Windows...........DON"T DO IT!!!

A friend of a friend of mine torrented XP. The story goes that the guy installed it and used it for pretty much everything like online banking, accessing forums, etc. He pretty much typed all the passwords he ever used on that install of XP. I get a phone call from my friend saying that one of his friends was having computer issues. He told me that the guy couldn't get into any of his bank, forum, etc. accounts and thought he had a keylogger. Antivirus and Antispyware scans returned nothing. I was puzzled, so I asked him where he got his version of XP from and he said that he torrented it. I took a good look through his system and I found something that made me chuckle.

Internet Explorer was hijacked in the sense that it was altered to track passwords. Every single time it loaded a password box, it started to record the password and then after an hour or so, it would connect to some uknown server to deliver what it recorded. Mind you, I had to monitor the connections that IE was making to figure out what was happening. And oh, this guy wasn't running the latest version of IE. He had version 5.5 or something, but I really don't know how 5.5 was on XP. IE 5.5 doesn't even support XP.

Well yeah. That's why you should never torrent Windows. In fact, don't even torrent OSX.

[cditty]

I would say pretty much leave it alone. Vista 64 runs great on both my laptop and main pc. If you are a more advanced user (as most of us on the [H] are, you will probably want to disable uac. Personally, I only leave it on if I am configuring a Vista pc for someone in the workplace.

[ryan_975]

I would say pretty much leave it alone. Vista 64 runs great on both my laptop and main pc. If you are a more advanced user (as most of us on the [H] are, you will probably want to disable uac. Personally, I only leave it on if I am configuring a Vista pc for someone in the workplace.

Just leave it on. It's there for a reason.

[TechieSooner]

Some might argue that getting it for free is better.

True, but obviously OP can't.

[Joe Average]

Some might argue that getting it for free is better.

Some might point out that advocating warez or acquiring commercial software by downloading it "free" is against the rules of this forum and can lead to the loss of your account.

Of course, some would then counterargue they could care less, and typically do end up losing their accounts, only to come back with a newly created one and being the same ignorant fool(s) they were on the previous incarnation.

Go figure.

[Azhar]

Some might point out that advocating warez or acquiring commercial software by downloading it "free" is against the rules of this forum and can lead to the loss of your account.

Of course, some would then counterargue they could care less, and typically do end up losing their accounts, only to come back with a newly created one and being the same ignorant fool(s) they were on the previous incarnation.

Go figure.

I got Vista free. Yay for the Microsoft Feedback Program ;)