Vista Ultimate vs Business

Vista Business or Ultimate?

  • Vista Business

    Votes: 20 37.0%

  • Vista Ultimate

    Votes: 17 31.5%

  • Other OS (Home, etc.)

    Votes: 6 11.1%

  • Sure I'd kill a man for a Klondike Bar

    Votes: 11 20.4%
  • Total voters
    54
daphatgrant

daphatgrant

Fi-yah!
Joined
Jun 15, 2003
Messages
18,564
I'm sure that there are slew of "what version of Vista should I get?" threads but I'm not finding one right off the bat so here's mine.

I am looking at upping the RAM in my desktop to 8gbs (currently have 4gb) and am going to need to move to a 64 bit OS (currently have XP-Pro 32bit) so it is a logical time to move my desktop to Vista.

I currently have Vista Business 64 on my laptop and after turning most of the "pretty things" I off am quite happy with it. This is where my question comes in;

Are there any major differences between Vista Business and Vista Ultimate that a pretty regular user will notice? For example I know that XP homes doesn't (that I know of) have a backup option like Pro has (Right click on C:\ - Properties - Tools - Backup Now). Little tools like that and what not.

So there's my question.

Thanks for any suggestions :).
 
I'm a pretty regular user who plays games on a vista business x64 machine, and I have never said "I wish I had Ultimate." If there's anything special in Ultimate, either its useless, or there's a better third-party program offering the same/more features.
 
Media Center would be the biggest difference to me. For those that are into it Media Center is THE killer app, I can't live without it. Yes there are plenty of third party apps of this nature but Media Center is one of the best.
 
Whoops, I must have voted Vista Business - I meant to vote for Ultimate. Media Center is useful, among other things.
 
heatlesssun said:
Media Center would be the biggest difference to me. For those that are into it Media Center is THE killer app, I can't live without it. Yes there are plenty of third party apps of this nature but Media Center is one of the best.
Click to expand...

devil22 said:
Whoops, I must have voted Vista Business - I meant to vote for Ultimate. Media Center is useful, among other things.
Click to expand...

Interesting, didn't know that it was integrated into Ultimate. I currently have an HTPC with Media Center on it so I should be all set in the viewing/listening area. Thanks for the heads up on this :).

Also devil22 would you mind listing a few of the other useful differences? You don't have to go into detail, just a few that you would commonly use or would like to have the ability to use

Thanks to everyone so far that has voted or thrown in a comment :).
 
Basically, home = Media Center, business = back-up, ultimate = both.

Those are the major standouts for home users.
 
All Vista editions are fundamentally the same. Can run the same apps, it's just a difference between the pre-installed apps.

Home Basic- Lacks Aero and lots of the features: Networking, Laptop support, Media Center, Backup, DVD Maker, etc.

Home Premium- Pretty much has everything minus the business stuff, like hosting Remote Desktop sessions, joining to the domain, things of that nature.

Business- Has all the business stuff, minus Media Center.

Ultimate- Everything.



Most people around here would agree Ultimate is a waste of money if you're buying it. It fits a very small niche market (Home users with their own servers, that need Media Center).
Really the only thing you're missing in Business is Media Center. If you don't have a need for that, then you're really not missing anything.
 
I would recommend Vista Business.

Vista Ultimate is bloated with features that you'll never use, unless you want Media Centre.
 
Ultimate Edition if you want Media Center (a must have if you have a TV Tuner card), Bitlocker, DVD Maker, Ultimate Extas (Dreamscene, Texas Hold'em, basically "Plus! for Windows Vista") and everything the Business edition has to offer.

If you can live without those features and settle for Remote Desktop, IIS 7.0, fax support, physical dual CPU support (Note: NOT the same thing as Dual Core or Hyperthreading), and the ability to join a Domain, Vista Business is right for you.

OTOH, if you can live without those Business features but you still want Media Center, Parental Controls, and DVD maker, then Home Premium is your best choice.

All editions of Vista support DX10, all have 64-bit alternatives (though max supported RAM varies), and all with the exception of Home Basic include Aero.
 
Ultimate: Has everything.

Business: Has everything except the Media Center and the Ultimate extras (which are few).

If you don't need the couple of things not included with Ultimate there is no reason to use Ultimate.

 
I would agree on not paying retail price, but there are a lot of options. One good option is TechNet. For $350 (you may be able to find a lower price if you shop around) gives you multiple copies of all Windows OS'es and Office, and with Windows 7 no doubt shipping within the year you'll get all versions of Windows 7 at no additional cost. And you can still use the software after the year runs out.

For $350 its really a good deal I think. If you have multiple computers and spend a lot of time with Windows its worth it.
 
TechieSooner said:
Home Basic- Lacks Aero and lots of the features: Networking, Laptop support, Media Center, Backup, DVD Maker, etc.
Click to expand...

o_O What kind of "Networking" feature is missing from Basic? Last time I checked it could still connect to the Internet, join Workgroups (not domains), and share folders and printers. And what do you mean by "laptop support"?

If the OP is going to do nothing more than play games, browse the web, listen to music, IM, watch videos, and e-mail on a system with 8GB of RAM or less, then Vista Basic is all he needs.
 
GushpinBob said:
o_O What kind of "Networking" feature is missing from Basic? Last time I checked it could still connect to the Internet, join Workgroups (not domains), and share folders and printers. And what do you mean by "laptop support"?

If the OP is going to do nothing more than play games, browse the web, listen to music, IM, watch videos, and e-mail on a system with 8GB of RAM or less, then Vista Basic is all he needs.
Click to expand...

Can't join a domain and active directory stuff which probably isn't important unless you're using the machine in a domain.
 
GushpinBob said:
o_O What kind of "Networking" feature is missing from Basic? Last time I checked it could still connect to the Internet, join Workgroups (not domains), and share folders and printers.
Click to expand...
Search engines abound, and they truly are your friend. But to name a few off the top of my head...

PC to PC sync, Meeting Space, No automatic network backup, No PC-to-360.


GushpinBob said:
And what do you mean by "laptop support"?
Click to expand...
Windows Mobility Center, Tablet PC support, SideShow (though few notebooks have the hardware to support that anyway).
 
daphatgrant said:
Interesting, didn't know that it was integrated into Ultimate. I currently have an HTPC with Media Center on it so I should be all set in the viewing/listening area. Thanks for the heads up on this :).

Also devil22 would you mind listing a few of the other useful differences? You don't have to go into detail, just a few that you would commonly use or would like to have the ability to use

Thanks to everyone so far that has voted or thrown in a comment :).
Click to expand...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/default.aspx has a chart, but some of the entries aren't too specific. I for instance enjoy the ultimate extras, like dreamscene or whatever it's called.
 
From the sounds of it I'll probably go with Business and save $40. I have an HTPC setup with Media Center on it and that takes care of all my media needs.


Thanks for all the input :), I do have to say that there are more people that are willing to kill for a klondike then I originally thought :eek: :p.
 
Home Premium is the best value. The backup stuff in Business is complete garbage, its very limiting with what you can do with it and when you actually will need to use it you wont be able to.

Ultimate sucks because the "ultimate extras" are pretty much nonexistent.
 
I got ultimate only because of the $50 off bundle with HDD on the egg, which left ultimate at $120
 
Heh, is Media Center useful at all outside of HTPCs? I've never bothered with it (on Vista or otherwise), setting up a new rig here and I've got a Vista Business key... Was wondering if it was worth me bothering to get a Home Premium one instead. AFAIK MC s just sort of a front-end for navigating your media on a large screen no?
 
Version_3 said:
I'm a pretty regular user who plays games on a vista business x64 machine, and I have never said "I wish I had Ultimate." If there's anything special in Ultimate, either its useless, or there's a better third-party program offering the same/more features.
Click to expand...


My sentiments exactly.

Edit: Sorry I didn't see that this thread was bumped,my bad.
 
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