Upgrading to vista towards the year end a bad idea?

[Mnx4]

I was looking to getting a graphics card update at the end of the year, along with 4 GB ram and Vista 64. But, I keep heaing about windows 7 coming out next year and just having second thoughts with upgrading my OS. I know there'd be a problem with the 4GB of ram if I stay with XP, nor do I really have a reason to HAVE vista at this point.

So what do all of you think? I mean, was vista just a giant beta test bed to get some ideas for windows 7? Was it like Windows ME, or has it been a solid OS upgrade? I'm not trying to make a flame war for the bulk of "cautious" XP users out there who swear vista is buggy as hell, broken, etc. I'm just honestly asking is it worth it at this point?

 

[Catweazle]

So what do all of you think? I mean, was vista just a giant beta test bed to get some ideas for windows 7?

No. Vista is the 'major' change to the Windows OS. Windows 7 will inevitably be a rather minor change in comparison.

You'll see some stuff smoothed out a bit, and some new glitz 'n' glamour added, undoubtedly. But Vista was (and is) the release where a new layer of code was added to the underlying structure and a lot of stuff which was previously optional for software developers has now been made mandatory. Windows 7 won't change that.

Vista is consumer-ready, and has been for quite some time. Apart from corporate users who have trouble configuring older, multi platform networks, the only people who really have 'problems' with Vista to any major extent are those people who fiddle wityh the bloody thing, thinking that they somehow 'know better' than the developers, or those people who blindly install every program (version) they used before and try to do everything exactly the same way they did under XP. Let Vista be Vista and be prepared to update/upgrade/replace a few programs in your software library where necessary. And learn how to actually USE Vista. That's the key to success with it.


With 4Gb or more RAM in a rig nowadays it makes little sense to stick with 32-bit Windows, and for 64-bit Windows computing it makes very little sense to use anything other than Vista 64-bit. It's the consumer-oriented 64-bit Windows version, straight and simple.

 

[abcdelight]

Vista was what - 34 yrs late? I wouldn't wait for Windows 7 if you want to upgrade now. Plus the way the economy is going they will be printing money like crazy and Windows 7 will probably cost something epic.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Points to ponder...
*Will Windows 7 really be on schedule?
*Don't forget..a major new OS release usually doesn't get decent until the first service pack is out. Minimum another 9 months. So now you're looking at at how many years to wait?

 

[DeaconFrost]

Asking if Vista is ready for prime-time use is a question that's been stale for about a year and a half now. If you want full usage of your RAM, you'll need either Vista x64 or XP x64. Considering the age and cost, Vista x64 would be the most likely choice there.

Besides, not only will Windows 7 be delayed, as is customary, but then you'll deal with a year or so of the "Windows 7 sucks and is bloated, Vista is better" crap that always happens. You can get a full copy of Vista Home Premium x64 for about $100 now, so it isn't that big of a commitment.

 

[Zayla74]

I used to have issues with Vista 64 when it came to gaming.
BUT .. Since SP1 .. theres really no reason NOT to go w/Vista 64, especially if you have 4gb or more of RAM. Just make sure to get all the 64 bit drivers you need ahead of time.
Its at the point now it runs games as well .. and in some cases better than XP.

Vista 32 bit however IMO is a waste. If your staying 32 bit .. may as well stay XP. But thats just my thoughts.

My major issue with Vista was the fact my X-Fi card didnt work properly.
Creative FINALLY fixed the drivers and X-Fi cards work again if thats a issue for ya.

Bottom line .. Vista 64 has shaped up very nicely. No complaints here at all.

 

[Serpico]

I was looking to getting a graphics card update at the end of the year, along with 4 GB ram and Vista 64. But, I keep heaing about windows 7 coming out next year and just having second thoughts with upgrading my OS. I know there'd be a problem with the 4GB of ram if I stay with XP, nor do I really have a reason to HAVE vista at this point.

So what do all of you think? I mean, was vista just a giant beta test bed to get some ideas for windows 7? Was it like Windows ME, or has it been a solid OS upgrade? I'm not trying to make a flame war for the bulk of "cautious" XP users out there who swear vista is buggy as hell, broken, etc. I'm just honestly asking is it worth it at this point?

Vista SP1 is fine, you shouldn't have any reservations about putting it on a new machine.

Windows 7 is still a little ways away (I'd put money on late late 2009/early 2010). We should have an idea of a rough release area when it is about a year out.

 

[Serpico]

Also, I would say that security alone is the main reason to upgrade from XP to Vista. That is a massive advantage that it has over XP.

 

[Catweazle]

Besides, not only will Windows 7 be delayed, as is customary, but then you'll deal with a year or so of the "Windows 7 sucks and is bloated, Vista is better" crap that always happens.

Amen.

You wouldn't think so from all the rose-coloured-glasses "XP just works!" crud that gets posted on forums nowadays, but a year and a half after XP's release there will still lots and lots of people posting on forums about how XP sucked because it was too bloated and buggy, and about how people were sticking with Windows 2000 or Windows 98SE or whatever. Same deal is happening with Vista. Same thing will happen with the next Windows version, and the one after that.....

Pay too much heed to the internet whinings and you'd never get around to actually using anything until after it's already become a discontinued product!

Vista SP1 is fine, you shouldn't have any reservations about putting it on a new machine.

Vista has been fine since long before SP1 was released. The Service Pack added very little which hadn't already been made available via Windows Updates. I've a couple of machines here which have been in Vista operation since the original release, for example, and thoise I allowed to web update with the Service Pack. About a 60Mb download that way, on a machine already up to date, and about the only perceptible difference the SP made was a wee tad more improvement to network transfer speed. Everything else had already been working fine.

 

[griffinhart]

I was looking to getting a graphics card update at the end of the year, along with 4 GB ram and Vista 64. But, I keep heaing about windows 7 coming out next year and just having second thoughts with upgrading my OS. I know there'd be a problem with the 4GB of ram if I stay with XP, nor do I really have a reason to HAVE vista at this point.

So what do all of you think? I mean, was vista just a giant beta test bed to get some ideas for windows 7? Was it like Windows ME, or has it been a solid OS upgrade? I'm not trying to make a flame war for the bulk of "cautious" XP users out there who swear vista is buggy as hell, broken, etc. I'm just honestly asking is it worth it at this point?

I have a couple of comments...

I seriously doubt we will see a consumer launch of Windows 7 until 2010 at the earliest. That's assuming there aren't any delays.

Vista is definitely not a Beta for Win 7, nor is it another ME. While not every Vista user may be happy, the vast majority of negative comments have been from people that either never used the OS or tried it for a day prior to, or just after release when there were still some driver issues.

Ultimately, if you want to run a PC with 4+GB of RAM and you want to access that RAM, you are limited to XP64 and Vista 64. Of those two, Vista is simply the better choice for a number of reasons.

 

[Mnx4]

Alright, thanks for the input. I wasn't worried about vista being viable, I just didn't want to put down 100 bucks only to have windows 7 come along 6 months later and dethrone it. I actually can't wait to upgrade to vista towards the end of the year. I usually wait it out for new hardware and software to see if it's worth it, and the gripes about vista seem to be the same gripes people had about xp when it came out, so I'm glad to see that vista is worth it after the "teething phase."