New build - XP Pro SP2 or Vista Ultimate

Juardis

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Messages
310
Sorry to ask what probably has been asked a thousand times now, but I just don't have the stamina to research yet another aspect of my new build. So I hope y'all can help me out here.

I have both XP Pro SP2 and Vista Ultimate.

What I'm getting:
Mobo - 680i LT version (not sure which yet)
CPU - Intel e6600 or e6700
Video - nVidia 8800 GTX or GTS
memory - Patriot Extreme Performance DDR2-800
hdd - WD SE16 500GB

so.....is Vista ready for this or should I stick with XP Pro? I was given a full retail version of Vista, so I really don't know anything about it, but I've heard that Vista + nvidia = don't play nice together. So what would you do?
 
memory
1gb = XP
2gb+ = Vista

with a new build like that, I would for sure go Vista
unless you have some old peripherals and/or old games you like to play.

I have no issues with my Vista at this point. Works great, nothing has been broke yet.

:edit
I take that back.
Hauppage is working on the driver for my TV card, still not working.
 
What will you be doing with your PC? How often do you re-install Windows? How quickly do you get frustrated if something isn't "just so?"

I've been happy with Vista Ultimate x64. Has it been perfect? No, of course not. But for me, the minor headaches haven't been too onerous. Drivers have been getting better and better, so it's a question of if you can live with a few quirks right now or if you have no patience. If it's the latter, stick with XP.
 
I would do a dual boot with xp and vista on different partitions.Thats what I did with mine. Works like a charm. Make sure you install XP first, then Vista (new Install in a different partition). That way if you decide you don't like or your computer is not completey ready for Vista, you can just wipe the partition thats installed on and XP will continue to work.
 
I tried vista and I like it so far, only things I don't like some have fixes are the prompt every time you try to do something, even when logged as administrator, this can be disabled. A good ammount of programs wont work with it or are not backwards compatible, I have tried battlefield 2 crashes, gta sa does not recognize dvd, stalker crashes when saving, HL2 ep 1 crashes if you save, Nvidia vista drives are incomplete specially if you pack a 8800gtx, my epson printer refuses to work with vista and it's listed as vista compatible, ATI 650 tv turner I've installed the vista drivers, does not help.
I am running a E6600, 2gb ram, 8800gtx, x-fi plat, this system is nowhere near outdated or cheap. Experience has been good but it feels a little broken, you spend less fun time on vista and more time doing other things. There's also a little thing that MS has more control of what you do, if they wanted to if your pc finds a bootleg program it can actually uninstall it. Good luck man, you might still need vista when the good stuff comes through.
 
A big issue right now is that, in a lot of ways, things that work for some people just don't work for others due to some weird variables. So while there are some things that outright don't work with Vista...others are a lot odder. (Not at all unlike XP when it first came out.)

Taking the previous post: on similar hardware (though not completely identical) - GTA SA works great for me. HL2 (including episode 1) works great for me. STALKER works great for me. Once HP got around to releasing drivers, my networked Officejet is wonderful. My ATi TV Wonder 650 works as well as it did in XP. I still have one application issue in Vista x64 (NeatReceipts), but that's because they're still using a 16-bit installer and aren't using the scanner vendor's signed driver.

If you don't want any issues like this, stick with XP for now. If you re-install Windows every few months or so: next time, flip through here again and see how many "Vista sucks" posts there are. :D (eventually, you'll feel forced to go to Vista to take complete advantage of the shiny new DX10 video card...but it'll be a while until anything really needs the DX10 functionality...)
 
If you install Vista, you *might* consider putting XP on it instead.

If you install XP, at some point you *will* want to change to Vista.

So it depends on whether you like re-doing your PC. One is a chance, one is a given.
 
The hardware is perfectly compatible with Vista. The problem with these threads however, is that no one can answer this question but you.

Take a look at the apps you use and research their compatibility. I know you said you don't want to research anymore, but sometimes you don't have a choice. It's better to do extra research, and be sure of a decision. No one knows all the software and/or games you run, so it's just easier to look them up and make a decision.

The only issue I've run into with Vista in a home environment is with the History Channel game, Civil War. It runs for 30 seconds and locks up. All my other games and apps work fine, and I am loving Vista.
 
OK, thanks for all the advice so far.

I play games (Oblivion, Warcraft III, Heroes of M&M IV, various and asundry war games like Combat Mission and soon to be released Theater of War). I photoshop and edit RAW files. I'm going to buy some video editting software to convert all my old home VHS movies into DVDs. I run MS Office apps, Tax software, MacAfee, Zone Alarm, and SETI at Home. My kids use IM and Myspace and Utube constantly.

And the last sentence is the rub. My kids (teenagers) are on the puter more than me, so I don't have complete control over this thing anymore, which is quite the headache when something goes wrong. "What you do?" "Nothing" "Well, you had to do something or I wouldn't be looking at a blue screen" "Nothing, I just clicked and it did this"....well, you get the idea.

I think XP Pro is it then and I'll wait on Vista until it matures a bit (or I kick my kids out of the house, whichever comes first :D)
 
OK, thanks for all the advice so far.

I play games (Oblivion, Warcraft III, Heroes of M&M IV, various and asundry war games like Combat Mission and soon to be released Theater of War). I photoshop and edit RAW files. I'm going to buy some video editting software to convert all my old home VHS movies into DVDs. I run MS Office apps, Tax software, MacAfee, Zone Alarm, and SETI at Home. My kids use IM and Myspace and Utube constantly.

And the last sentence is the rub. My kids (teenagers) are on the puter more than me, so I don't have complete control over this thing anymore, which is quite the headache when something goes wrong. "What you do?" "Nothing" "Well, you had to do something or I wouldn't be looking at a blue screen" "Nothing, I just clicked and it did this"....well, you get the idea.

I think XP Pro is it then and I'll wait on Vista until it matures a bit (or I kick my kids out of the house, whichever comes first :D)

Actually...depending on how much you trust the kids, Vista might make more sense (it's easier to keep them out of things where they don't belong, such as monkeying around with settings or the like, which would allow you more control over the thing. That might be worth a few random headaches *shrug*).

Of the software you've listed, only thing I know is a definite problem right now is ZoneAlarm - they have a beta version out that supports Vista but it's what you'd expect from a beta. The other things listed "should" work.
 
with Vista ..you do have more control over your computer than xp ..or at least it's easier to control.

so in that regards .. your kids are less likely to mess up your computer provided you set them up as limited users and dont give them admin rights or your admin password .. if they want to install something or change something , they will have to run it thru you .. ;)


[F]old|[H]ard
 
One of those options is mature, has stable drivers for everything and is likely quite a bit cheaper. One of those options uses more system resources, has inconsistent drivers and is in need of a service pack. Unless you're looking for the media center functionlity, hands down go XP.
 
One of those options uses more system resources, has inconsistent drivers and is in need of a service pack.
Actually, it's quite the opposite for the majority of people. It uses more resources in a good way. Put the Pentium IIIs to bed, and this won't be a problem. Drivers are actually pretty good, considering how recent it was released. The OS is very stable right now, and snappier than XP for many of us. I don't see what a service pack would need to fix.
 
Actually...depending on how much you trust the kids, Vista might make more sense (it's easier to keep them out of things where they don't belong, such as monkeying around with settings or the like, which would allow you more control over the thing. That might be worth a few random headaches *shrug*).

Of the software you've listed, only thing I know is a definite problem right now is ZoneAlarm - they have a beta version out that supports Vista but it's what you'd expect from a beta. The other things listed "should" work.
Thanks. I assume Vista has a firewall that can replace Zone Alarm?
 
Depends on the purpose. I'll just discuss the firewall portion, and hopefully the more knowledgable folks can fill in any blanks.

In XP SP2, the built-in Windows firewall is only one directional. In Vista, the firewall can be configured to monitor both directions. However, by default:

The default behavior of the new Windows Firewall is to:

• Block all incoming traffic unless it is solicited or it matches a configured rule.

• Allow all outgoing traffic unless it matches a configured rule.

You can change the default settings, if so inclined. For a more "intellegent" firewall to watch outgoing traffic, you would need a third party solution (either hardware or software). Eventually, ZoneAlarm would fit the bill (the current beta is okay, but only works in 32-bit Vista environments right now). Kaspersky's Internet Security, McAfee, and Norton all have working solutions, but I'm not a fan of any of them. I am interested to see how NOD32's new package will work (also in beta right now), seeing as their AV solution draws such (I think deservedly so) rave reviews.
 
My kids use IM and Myspace and Utube constantly.

And the last sentence is the rub. My kids (teenagers) are on the puter more than me, so I don't have complete control over this thing anymore, which is quite the headache when something goes wrong.
Dude, for this reason and this reason alone I urge you with much vehemence to get Vista for that computer. Also, give the kids a separate logon. You will thank me later for this.
 
unless you have a real need to use xp (ie older programs, etc.) go with vista. the chances are pretty good that machine will see vista in the near future if not now, so you might as well save some money and the headache of reinstalling everything by going with vista now. the drivers are improving, software support is getting better, for a new build there's few reasons to choose xp nowadays.
 
Sorry to ask what probably has been asked a thousand times now, but I just don't have the stamina to research yet another aspect of my new build. So I hope y'all can help me out here.

I have both XP Pro SP2 and Vista Ultimate.

What I'm getting:
Mobo - 680i LT version (not sure which yet)
CPU - Intel e6600 or e6700
Video - nVidia 8800 GTX or GTS
memory - Patriot Extreme Performance DDR2-800
hdd - WD SE16 500GB

so.....is Vista ready for this or should I stick with XP Pro? I was given a full retail version of Vista, so I really don't know anything about it, but I've heard that Vista + nvidia = don't play nice together. So what would you do?

As has been mentioned in numerous other posts here, Vista is a departure from XP in many ways. There is a leaning curve, slight to dificult depending on your patience and willingness to do the research.

The answer is in your own question. You don't want to do the research and that WILL be necessary if your going to move on to Vista.

So, for all you asking the same question take note, you already have the answer.
 
As has been mentioned in numerous other posts here, Vista is a departure from XP in many ways. There is a leaning curve, slight to dificult depending on your patience and willingness to do the research.

The answer is in your own question. You don't want to do the research and that WILL be necessary if your going to move on to Vista.

So, for all you asking the same question take note, you already have the answer.
Yeah, I thought it would be a simple question, but you're right. It appears I'm going to have spend time reading up on the pros/cons of Vista.
 
with Vista ..you do have more control over your computer than xp ..or at least it's easier to control.
OMG that's so not true! MS and the MPAA have more control over your computer, not you! DRM, DRM, DRM!

On-topic and serious, there really shouldn't be any show-stoppers for the rig you're planning to build. Both Vista and XP should work, they're both solid OSes. Thus, it will come down to your personal preference.
 
Or you can just dual boot... that's what I did.. installed XP, created a partition on the same HD and then installed Vista Premium and now I have both..... I can go to Vista and enjoy it and go to Xp to run progs I got that wont run on Vista.
 
Or you can just dual boot... that's what I did.. installed XP, created a partition on the same HD and then installed Vista Premium and now I have both..... I can go to Vista and enjoy it and go to Xp to run progs I got that wont run on Vista.
that's a really good idea if you're still unsure of what to use considering you already have both operating systems. i'm currently running a dual boot to with xp pro and vista ultimate. i'm slowly getting myself acquainted with vista, but i just don't seem to have the greatest luck with drivers and stability so i still use and game with xp for the most part.
 
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