Yup definitely this.
No point spending anything if you already have a copy of XP you can use, especially with Windows 7 around the corner.
But if you have to buy, then get Vista.
Well I DO use it frequently when switching between my monitor and HDTV.
There's no excuse for it not to be there in Vista , it SHOULD be an option.
ATI have managed it, why not Nvidia? :disgust:
That 's not a bad idea. Run it as a workstation for a bit until Win 7 is released.
I'd get those sealed copies of Vista sold pronto to get the best price now.
Once Windows 7 is out, they'll be worthless.
I would imagine you could run the repair, but would not be able to use the XP Home cd key when requested.
You'd probably have to use a Pro key and end up with XP Pro on the box.
Depends on your hardware.
There's some smaller lazy manufacturers that don't provide drivers, but fortunately for me I don't use their hardware. :D
Pretty much all the major vendors like Intel, ATI, Nvidia, Creative, Realtek etc provide good solid XP x64 drivers.
The actual OS itself...
I would use the latest official WHQL from Nvidia's site, as they will have the latest bug fixes etc.
You can use Driver Sweeper to remove all traces of old drivers if you wish.
Personally unless I'm switching between ATI and Nvidia cards I just tend to use add/remove.
I reckon most of these things are probably the 'placebo effect'.
I've got Vista SP2 installed on my test rig, but haven't noticed any major performance increases. Everything seems feels the same as before.
Same thing happened with XP SP3.
As has been said, you can usually get the server OS to act like the client with a bit of tweaking of services etc.
Anti Virus might be a problem though, as most regular home user ones wont install on a server OS.
The fact Win7 has a lot in common with Vista is why I think it wont be that bad at release.
At least nothing like the problems Vista had to start with.
A lot has been learnt with Vista, and that will only help with the development of Win7 imo.
If Win8 is a whole new redesigned OS, then...
I think migrating to Vista now is a waste tbh.
Vista is a two year old OS about to be superseded in 2009 by Win7 which will offer improvements over it and be supported that much longer.
I'm not saying Vista is crap, but I think the once the Win7 bandwagon starts rolling next year, then...
Installed SP2 on my Vista test rig. Installed worked fine, no problems.
Haven't noticed any speed increases in my limited testing using the OS, nor had any stability issues yet.
Yeah, thats correct.
Never used WU to get SP1, but if you use the standalone installer of SP1 then it installs a few patches first before going onto the main service pack.
Just a personal opinion, but I wouldn't go for early adoption.
Later steppings of i7 will fix bugs, probably reduce power consumption and be much lower in price.
Depending on what you do with your PC, I'd say a C2 quad would suffice right now.
I suppose it would depend if you're playing a more recent game that might not play as well if using an older driver.
The newer drivers can fix some bugs with the latest games.
That said, my old box with a 7900GT in is running 84.21 drivers, but gaming wise its only used for FEAR and Source...
As if Nvidia chipsets weren't bad enough, now more failing graphics chips.
Consumer confidence in Nvidia will be plummeting faster than the stock market has been.
In general use I've found ATI's drivers work better than Nvidia's in both XP and Vista.
Not to mention that ATI release regular monthly updates which cover a vast range of their GPU's.
Nvidia's updates are very slow in comparison, and I seem to remember waiting ages for new official...
Hi, the PC still crashes in Safe Mode. I even removed the sound and video drivers with driver sweeper but the problem still exists.
Nobody seems to have a definitive answer as the cause of the problem, so it looks like I will be rolling back to XP on Monday. At least that works.
I've just upgraded a clients PC from XP Pro SP2 to Vista 32 SP1.
He was adamant that he did not want to have to reinstall all his programs and apps so an upgrade was the only way to go.
Did the usual spyware, virus sweeps and removed drivers and incompatible programs like Nero.
Anyway...
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