Hate to ask again XP or Vista?

devizes18193

The problem with this is horses for courses , it depends on what the op wants to to and his buget , the problem a lot of people have is the learning curve and this applies to both vista and linux , both are suitable for surfing and documents as we all know it depend's on how much the op wants to get the brain in gear . The argument on one system is faster then the other is largely rubbish , as more often then not there will be 0.54 secondsdifference to run the same page on the same pc with a differnt system ,
I speak as someone with 3 pc's a desktop with win 2k , a lappie with vista preminum and a 2nd lappie that duel boots between umbthu and xp home , all 3 will work in word and play i player etc

Marty_J

devizes18193 wrote: »

The problem with this is horses for courses , it depends on what the op wants to to and his buget , the problem a lot of people have is the learning curve and this applies to both vista and linux , both are suitable for surfing and documents as we all know it depend's on how much the op wants to get the brain in gear . The argument on one system is faster then the other is largely rubbish , as more often then not there will be 0.54 secondsdifference to run the same page on the same pc with a differnt system ,
I speak as someone with 3 pc's a desktop with win 2k , a lappie with vista preminum and a 2nd lappie that duel boots between umbthu and xp home , all 3 will work in word and play i player etc

That's reasonable to a point, but there's nothing wrong with exploring all your options. Perhaps Vista would be better for the OP than XP, but they might like Mac OS X or Linux even more. They have no way of knowing until they try it.

People have such an irrational decision making process when it comes to buying computers which would be seen as pretty silly when buying something else. It's a little like buying a Ford because your last car was a Ford, you're worried the buttons in a different car will be in a different place, and the car dealership nearest your house sells mostly Fords.

The fact is, most people have only ever used Windows, and so most people really have no idea what operating system they like best. Using something different usually never really enters the equation. But regardless of what they eventually decide, they'll make a better decision if they have weighed up all the options. I'm not interested in pushing a Mac on someone against their will, but I am interested in pointing out that using one is an option. If someone tries Vista, Mac OS X or even Linux and they prefer Vista, then good for them. They've made an informed choice based on their needs and personal preferences and they'll be rewarded for it.

However, I really don't see how ignorance of the facts helps someone make the right decision.

aaranj

chickmug wrote: »

I am looking at getting a new home PC low spec as use for email, internet, phetos, Word Docs and such. No videos, music or games. Am I safe to get Vista as last time the forum seems to be split in two?

how about linux? it's free! :money:

GunJack

..another point being overlooked in this discussion is that of familiarity/compatability.

For instance, if in work you are using XP and are pretty familiar with it, chances are you'll want XP at home, so if you need to either do some work at home (I know, to be avoided if at all possible !!) or to make routine tasks easy (as you are already familiar with the way it works), would it not be better for you if your home and work systems were readily compatable ??

Whilst I find vista unobjectionable for surfing, e-mailing and other basic tasks, once delving a bit deeper/doing some work at home/specific favourite software, etc. then XP wins for me hands down...and I don't like the fact I can't see the progress of the defragger on vista

save-a-lot

GunJack wrote: »

Whilst I find vista unobjectionable for surfing, e-mailing and other basic tasks, once delving a bit deeper/doing some work at home/specific favourite software, etc. then XP wins for me hands down...and I don't like the fact I can't see the progress of the defragger on vista

The higher versions of Vista give the option to "downgrade" to XP, and, it is well recognised that Vista does not support a whole raft of business applications and other more niche softwares, hense Microsoft offering their Virtual PC freeware enabling XP to be run within Vista.

exup

From various friends who run lots of different applications, most use XP pro but the ones that use vista all agrree that the best value is Home Premium -
all the extra stuff on ultimate doesnt really seem to do a great deal compared to the amount of cpu useage it eats.
I would probably go for vista HP just for the practice with vista inline with my studies otherwise XP while waiting for the next operating system
(which alot of big business are doing rather than spend money on vista upgrades - but thats besides the point of the thred)

savemoney

Vista may also not work with some legacy hardware that are a few years old so also bare that in mind.

Vista looks nice I have it but tbh I rarely use it, I am quite happy with XP faults and all. XP is so well established now, its matured and many of its faults have gone, sure other faults can reappear. Vista although we are now on SP1 which does address some of its faults it doesn't run very well on a low spec pc. You need at least 2gb of ram to get the best out of it.

I have a friend who works in trade mainly business IT and most of there customers dont want Vista he even said some of the companies who he sells pcs now offer a downgrade path to XP.

I been using windows since version 3, and used there OS since beta and I must admit this is the first time I never warmed to there OS. I am sure in the years to come I may be proven wrong.

I just find XP does all that I want of a OS. I mainly use Vista to play around with tbh.

banger9365

i have 3 pc's all runing vista,two are running vista home premium and one vista 64 ultimate
and they have no problems at all put i will say you need atleast 2gb ram to run vista put if your bying a prebuilt pc there is nothing stopping you adding some more ram later or using a usb flash drive to get on with now ,has that will acted like ram (basicly)

my spelling is bad sorry

BillScarab

If you want a windows PC to use at home I would say go with Vista every time. It looks better than XP, has better security and better functionality. The opnly proviso is to check any existing hardware you have works with Vista and if you have any unusual software check that as well.

There's no point in discussing business use as that is a totally different issue and the OP stated they wanted a pc for home use. As an example I work in IT and we are currently just completing a project to upgrade all of our Windows servers from 2000 to 2003! Businesses are always going tobe more cautious.

Linux and Mac OSX may be worth considering, especially Mac OSX. Linux still requires a bit of fiddling about with so if you just want to buy a ox and switch it on I'd go for Windows Vista or Mac OSX. The only problem with Macs is Apple don't make any cheap machines. They're not particularly over expensive for what they are nowadays but they don't compete in the cheaper end of the market.

One other point, yes Vista is different to XP and there will be a small period or adjustment but it's not that different.

sweetnskint

i think vista its been out a while now.....but my brother disagrees and says xp the best!sorry split in two again!!!