Vista or XP?

Vista or XP

  • Vista

    Votes: 139 77.7%

  • XP

    Votes: 40 22.3%
  • Total voters
    179
D

Deimos

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Messages
1,195
I just got my new system together, primed and tested the watercooling last night, so when I get home from work today I will finish the build and install Windows.

Specs:
Core 2 Duo E6600
Asus Maximus II Formula
Radeon 4870
4GB Corsair XMS2 PC6400
2x Seagate 250GB Barracuda ES

I was intending to install Vista, got a free copy from a MS conference, but now I'm completely torn between XP and Vista, and I refuse to dual boot.

Here are my pros and cons so far:

XP Pros:
damn fast (cause its so old)
I know it like the back of my hand
all my software and hardware will work
don't really care about DX10

XP Cons:
No DX10
No Aero
damn old OS

Vista Pros:
DX10 (Although this could be a con - Crysis on XP with ultra high hack runs faster)
Aero
shiny new fancy looking OS

Vista Cons:
Some of my software may not work
Some games run slower
unfamiliar menus/control panel etc
way more annoying shit needs to be disabled (UAC anyone?)

The reason I am so torn is because I love XP so much, maybe I should just bite the bullet.

I'm going to let the poll decide.
 
Oh yeah, is my Audigy going to be a problem? anyone had experience with this?
 
Vista. With that hardware it will run just fine. You probably wouldn't even notice a difference from XP. I'll just address the Vista cons you had:

Deimos said:
Vista Cons:
Some of my software may not work
Some games run slower
unfamiliar menus/control panel etc
way more annoying shit needs to be disabled (UAC anyone?)
Click to expand...

-I doubt you have software that you won't be able to get working.
-Game performance is virtually the same as in XP.
-I didn't find it hard at all to transition to Vista. And now that I'm used to it going back to XP is a downgrade because I love what I'm used to.
-Disable UAC if that's not your thing. Other than that, what else is there to disable?
 
If you have a free copy of Vista, I say use it. I still have XP on my 4 desktop systems, but my laptop came with Vista and it's working just fine. Games play nice and fast, no issues or hassles at all so far. After hating it for a while, I think it's just fine now. I won't be running out to buy it for my desktop PC's, but for free I'd do it.

My understanding of the audigy issue is that they have now enabled full functionality. Took them forever, but that's my understanding of how it is right now.

Good luck... ;)
 
Don't believe the people who claim you should disable Superfetch and the search indexer etc. - yes, they do mean the system is a bit more active in the background after you first set up the computer, but that will die down and the system will be the better for it. Vista is best left alone to sort itself out.

I don't personally advocate disabling UAC either - it's a pain when you first set up the computer and maybe you want to disable it during that period, but in day-to-day use there are minimal UAC popups and thus negligible cost for the added security.

Vista x64 will let you use all of your RAM and the DirectX 10 features of your graphics card, and once you get over the superficial differences from XP you'll hopefully find that Vista works largely the same, but in most ways a little better (such as easier folder navigation using the clickable and drop-down breadcrumb list rather than the "up" button, and Start Menu search, which is fantastic in my opinion).
 
AMD_Gamer said:
Vista 64
Click to expand...

This. With the amount of RAM you will have installed, you won't be able to take advantage of it all with a 32-bit OS. Yes, I am aware that there is a Windows XP x64 version as well. As a matter of fact I run it as my main OS, but I would recommend against it. It's not a terrible OS (I personally think it has a lot going for it since it's based off of Server 2003) but the driver support is rather lacking compared to Vista x64.

Edit: Oh, and even though the 32-bit version of Vista SP1 will report all 4GB of system RAM it won't take advantage of all of it.
 
Mithent said:
Don't believe the people who claim you should disable Superfetch and the search indexer etc. - yes, they do mean the system is a bit more active in the background after you first set up the computer, but that will die down and the system will be the better for it. Vista is best left alone to sort itself out.

I don't personally advocate disabling UAC either - it's a pain when you first set up the computer and maybe you want to disable it during that period, but in day-to-day use there are minimal UAC popups and thus negligible cost for the added security.

Vista x64 will let you use all of your RAM and the DirectX 10 features of your graphics card, and once you get over the superficial differences from XP you'll hopefully find that Vista works largely the same, but in most ways a little better (such as easier folder navigation using the clickable and drop-down breadcrumb list rather than the "up" button, and Start Menu search, which is fantastic in my opinion).
Click to expand...

I agree with everything here, aside from that I run with UAC disabled because I do continue to find it annoying... but it's as simple as running msconfig from the start menu, going to the common tasks tab (or whatever it is) and selecting "Disable UAC". No worries.
 
OK I borrowed a copy of Vista x64 off my boss, I just hope my promotional key will work when I install it.

Computer is nearly done, only thing is I just found out that I managed to pull the wire of my power button so I have to fix that then I'll get on to the main event, installing the OS and some overclocking :p
 
P.S. I will post some pics in the case modding section if anyone is interested.
 
If you know whats good for you dont install that vista crap on your pc. Go with xp x64, you will thank me later. I've never run into any "driver" issues with xp x64 and with your hardware you won't either.
 
mobusta1 said:
If you know whats good for you dont install that vista crap on your pc. Go with xp x64, you will thank me later. I've never run into any "driver" issues with xp x64 and with your hardware you won't either.
Click to expand...

Hello. Please stop making completely baseless statements and wasting everyone's time. Thanks.
 
mobusta1 said:
If you know whats good for you dont install that vista crap on your pc. Go with xp x64, you will thank me later. I've never run into any "driver" issues with xp x64 and with your hardware you won't either.
Click to expand...

Then why your signature lists you use Vista?
 
I was resistant to Vista when it first came out, but at this point I couldn't go back to XP. Now that the drivers have matured it is the better choice. I haven't had any recent issues with any Audigy or X-Fi cards. Also on the subject of UAC, I used to be one that disabled it as annoying, but have converted to running it after doing much reading on security forums. It stops most rootkits, and your AV isn't going to do that. And XP has nothing comparible. I turn it off on the initial setup of the machine, and then turn it back on.
 
I went with Vista with my new build after debating the same thing and was going to do a dual boot later with XP. After spending the week with Vista, I won't bother going back. I'm sure XP will be a little faster, but my new machine already screams, so I am not worried about that.
 
UAC annoyances and minor incompatibilities with software I use were enough to make me un-install vista
 
cnick79 said:
And why would somebody build a new PC and put a dated soon to be obsolete OS on it? I'm not sure why people are so afraid of Vista.
Click to expand...


Well, some people don't want to spend the extra money. XP still works fine for most people. As I stated above, I have no problems with Vista. When I bought my new laptop and it came with Vista 64, I was at first hesitant, but after using it for a couple of weeks I like it. I don't, however, like it enough to go buy it for my desktop PC's. If I had a free copy I would put it on my desktop computers. I would even do so if I could get it for $50 per copy for a full version. Anything more then that and I'll pass. While I like the OS well enough, I'm certainly not going to pay $100+ to replace an OS that is still doing just fine.
 
I use XP currently just because I havent spent the money for Vista yet. Once I get some cash Vista x64 and 8 gigs of memory are near the top of my list. There isnt much sense is spending money on a 32 bit OS. IMO
 
:( the Vista key I have didn't work with pre SP1 Vista x64 so had to install the 32 bit version.

I will upgrade later if I can find Vista x64 SP1 media

Also, I am totally blown away, I accidentally overclocked my CPU to 3.5Ghz when fiddling with my BIOS settings, no extra volts, it actually booted in to windows and I'm testing it now with Prime95 holy crap!! :eek:
 
Vista Cons:
Some of my software may not work
Some games run slower
unfamiliar menus/control panel etc
way more annoying shit needs to be disabled (UAC anyone?)
Click to expand...

I think the poll results speak for themselves but anyway

-All my software works, and I use quite a bit of obscure software like a really old version of Dreamweaver plus some music apps and synth plugins

-Some games run faster, too. Even on my modest rig, I was unable to notice any difference between XP and Vista. Sure, some game might run at 49 FPS instead of 50, does that really matter?

-You could also say. Better user interface. Explorer in particular is a huge improvement over the messy, cartoon-ish XP explorer. Love the context sensitive bar at the top and the breadcrumb navigation

-I would recommend leaving UAC on. If you want, you can disable it while you're doing the initial installations of software and drivers but after that, I'd recommend turning it back on. Other than that, nothing needs to be disabled in Vista. If you buy Vista only to strip it down to the bare minimum, you might as well use XP - or Win98...Maybe you can find an old copy of DOS 5.1 somewhere..it doesn't even have a GUI - bloatware free, guaranteed.
 
I'm for Vista 99%.

The other 1%, I hate the fact that MS has made it mandatory for drivers to be signed.

This means... no unsigned videocard drivers (like the Omega drivers), no working XBCD (XBox controller drivers, original XBox). There's no easy way around it and you have to pay to get drivers signed.
 
Dual Boot between Vista 64 Bit and 32 Bit XP Pro, there, problem solved...

and, Um, you can use unsigned drivers, just disable UAC and when it asks, click "Use anyways"..
 
I am absolutely hating the new start menu, more specifically the all programs menu, it is a huge downgrade, especially because of the way I used the old menu, it is now pretty much unusable for me, is there any way to go back to the old XP start menu?
 
Blueagle87 said:
Dual Boot between Vista 64 Bit and 32 Bit XP Pro, there, problem solved...

and, Um, you can use unsigned drivers, just disable UAC and when it asks, click "Use anyways"..
Click to expand...

I don't think dual-boot is a very convenient solution for most people.

Driver signing has nothing to do with UAC, and on Vista x64 it's not possible to make it load unsigned kernel-mode drivers. I believe user-mode drivers can still be loaded. Vista x86 doesn't require signed drivers at all.

Deimos said:
I am absolutely hating the new start menu, more specifically the all programs menu, it is a huge downgrade, especially because of the way I used the old menu, it is now pretty much unusable for me, is there any way to go back to the old XP start menu?
Click to expand...

I think it's a huge upgrade, myself, because I always search the menu now, and never go through All Programs - have you tried that? You can't get the XP Start Menu in Vista, but you can get cascading folders with the classic start menu - right click on the Start button and choose Properties, Start Menu tab.
 
This sucks ass, whoever said I wouldn't have problems with this hardware was talking out thier ass, I have major sound issues with the soundcard I got with the motherboard AND the audigy. :mad::mad::mad::mad:

I have been messing around with it all night and I am ready to go back to XP already.

Sound was the last thing I thought I would have problems with, I don't think I am ready for Vista just yet unfortunately.
 
Deimos said:
This sucks ass, whoever said I wouldn't have problems with this hardware was talking out thier ass,
Click to expand...
Having patience doesn't equate to talking out their ass. I have three Audigy's, and they all work fine on both platforms of Vista. How about giving some information as to what the actual problem is, instead of just a rant.

As for switching to a new OS, you have to apply a little common sense. Most people that I know, will always install a new OS once, to test drivers and play around with what combination works, then they'll wipe the drive clean, and start over. I've done that since the days I switched from WFW 3.11 to Windows 95, because you are going into uncharted territory for your setup. I always laugh when I see someone jump head first into a new OS, migrate all their data, start loading it up with crap, and then complain about an issue.

That being said, what issue are you having with sound? With all of my Audigy's, I simply downloaded and used the drivers from Creative, and they've all worked fine.
 
Well I have analog 5.1 speakers and for the life of me I can't get the sub working correctly.

The surround mixer pretty much doesn't work, and changing speaker settings does nothing.
When I do a sound test on the Audigy surround mixer it only comes out of 2 speakers and when I do a sound test on the windows audio all channels except for front L/R are almost inaudible with no obvious way of adjusting it.

I loaded the Audigy drivers from creatives website, it is an original Audigy DE (the very first one to come out).

The sound card I got with the motherboard is worse, there is distortion coming from the subwoofer channel, I managed to get rid of it somewhat but it still sounds wierd, the bass is poppy like the sub is clipping (it isn't). and if I load the latest drivers from Asus the X-Fi software stops working and the controls in the updated audio software do nothing.

I spent 6 hours on this, and then 1 hour installing XP again, no sound problems what so ever on XP.

After tomorrow I won't be able to screw around with it for 10 days, so I CBF messing with Vista.

Oh yeah, and as far as new OS and hardware is concerned, I never had issues like this when upgrading to XP, in fact, moving to XP solved heaps of issues!
 
This may be a dumb question, but did you set the speaker properties to 5.1 in Vista's control panel? I had to do this to get my 5.1 surround working, but once I did, everything was fine.
 
DeaconFrost said:
I always laugh when I see someone jump head first into a new OS, migrate all their data, start loading it up with crap, and then complain about an issue.
Click to expand...

For the record, I havn't jumped head first in to anything, I havn't migrated anything, the only thing I did was run prime for 12 hours to test stability, ran a couple of synthetic benchmarks and try to get the sound working, EPIC FAIL.on the sound which should be the least of my worries.

I have a domain at home so going back to XP is too easy since my profile settings are stored on my server.
I have given up on this attempt already, when I get back from my holiday I will make an effort to find a 64bit copy that works with my S/N and try again.
 
DeaconFrost said:
This may be a dumb question, but did you set the speaker properties to 5.1 in Vista's control panel? I had to do this to get my 5.1 surround working, but once I did, everything was fine.
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:

Yeah, that was another thing, it was already on 5.1, if I changed it to anything else it would produce a clicking noise and then immediately revert to 5.1
 
A couple items of hardware that I own do not work with Vista and over HALF of my programs that I use at work or home do not. To say Vista is the next WinME is an insult to ME. All IMO, of course.

It does not matter how solid an operating system is. What matters is what it can run. If we only cared about how advanced an OS was, we'd all use Linux or Mac. But I need to actually do work on my PC. But if Vista works for you, great. Vista would only work for me if I started over from scratch, or just surfed the web.
 
Deimos said:
I am absolutely hating the new start menu, more specifically the all programs menu, it is a huge downgrade, especially because of the way I used the old menu, it is now pretty much unusable for me, is there any way to go back to the old XP start menu?
Click to expand...
the new menu is a lot better, especially with the integrated search bar.

you can change it back to classic start menu, but it is worse.
 
Vista all the way, once you go you won't want to go back to XP. At least I didn't.
Vista Home Premium 64 bit here and love it. :p

Have not really had any issues to speak of. Everything works just fine and now that superfetch is tuned up Vista is very fast.
 
ChingChang said:
the new menu is a lot better, especially with the integrated search bar.

you can change it back to classic start menu, but it is worse.
Click to expand...

How is the new start menu better? I used it for a while on my Dad's laptop and it only ever pissed me off, but maybe I didn't use it for long enough to get used to its charm that you all seem to think it has.

I find the old style start menu was best, chuck something into the start menu, then at most it was a couple of clicks away, how do you improve on that? On Ubuntu I use AWN to get a mac style dock, but honestly I only use it because I can :p Its no more convenient than using the start menu (or whatever the ubuntu equivelant is called).

I'm tossing up whether or not to get Vista too, though for me it would be purely for games (LOTRO Dx10, more than anything, I've also heard conflicting stories that its more stable than XP). I couldn't give a rats arse about anything else, XP works fine for me. I use Ubuntu with all the bells and whistles, but to be honest its mostly just to impress friends :p The only fancy ubuntu feature I actually make use of is the desktop cube (4 desktops arranged on a cube) to make it easier to arrange my windows.

Still not sure if its worth upgrading. Especially since I have a digiTV PCI card and I'm not even sure it'll work in vista 64.
 
Tudz said:
How is the new start menu better? I used it for a while on my Dad's laptop and it only ever pissed me off, but maybe I didn't use it for long enough to get used to its charm that you all seem to think it has.
Click to expand...

Old Start Menu:
Start > All Programs > search through a long list, which might vertically scroll; move the mouse to the correct folder > slide across (don't make a mistake!) and slide up/down to the program > click.

New Start Menu:
Start > type the program name > Enter.

Even if you use the folders through the All Programs link at the bottom of the new Start Menu, it's much the same except you don't risk moving the mouse the wrong way and closing the tree you're in - not a huge problem for experienced users, true, but I've seen new users very frustrated. I almost never use it now though.

(I actually thought the XP Start Menu's All Programs list was a big step back from Windows 2000's, which took a trick from Office to only display recently-used folders at first. That made finding things far easier.)
 
Mithent said:
I don't think dual-boot is a very convenient solution for most people.

Driver signing has nothing to do with UAC, and on Vista x64 it's not possible to make it load unsigned kernel-mode drivers. I believe user-mode drivers can still be loaded. Vista x86 doesn't require signed drivers at all.
Click to expand...

Its the only way they can experience both OS's.

Odd, works for me..
 
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