Should I buy Vista?

[joejccva]

My pc specs are in sig, and I'm still loving XP Pro but I'm curious if I should go ahead and do the Vista upgrade. I still only have 2 gigs of RAM and I heard that Vista runs optimal with 4 gigs. I mostly game with my PC.

So, would you guys recommend me going the Vista route and if so, which edition should I buy? I also run a small network at home (3 pc's).

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[lxskllr]

If you like experimenting with new software, then yea, go ahead and get it. Vista's nice, and a great change from XP. I would suggest getting 2gb more ram, and Vista64 Home Premium. Vista doesn't /need/ 4gb of ram, but it will use it. In XP if you had more ram than needed it would go to waste, in Vista more ram adds snappiness to the system.

 

[RebateMonger]

If you buy Vista, make your purchase decision on what features you will need. Microsoft. Vista Edition comparison.

Unless you have a specific reason for wanting the x64 version, I'd stick with the x32 version. While Vista x64 is getting better on device support, I wouldn't want to have to re-buy perfectly functional hardware unless I had a really good reason to want the 64-bit capability.

 

[George P Burdell]

If you plan on using 4+ GB of RAM anytime in the future, get a 64bit Vista. What flavor of Vista you get is up to your needs.

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

If you're inclined to do so after all the horror stories, then go for it. You'll be pleasantly surprised. If your network is a workgroup, not a domain, and you don't plan on setting up domain anytime soon, then Home Premium might do, but bear in mind that it lacks some of the administrative tools and features of Business or Ultimate (or even XP Pro, for that matter). For example, you can't remote TO a Home Premium box, though you can still RDP from it to another (non-Home Prem) one.

I'm generally running business on most of my PC's, though I did ante up for a copy of Ultimate.

With RAM so cheap, you may as well spring for an extra 2GB. I have 2 laptops, one running with 2GB and one with 4GB, and it does make a difference, though 2GB should be "enough". Considering you mentioned gaming, I'd lean more heavily towards 4GB total.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: joejccva
So, would you guys recommend me going the Vista route and if so, which edition should I buy? I also run a small network at home (3 pc's).

Suggestions?

Normally, I recommend Vista HP, which is functionally equivalent to XP MCE (except Vista HP works better) but...

In your case, you might want to get Vista Business instead. Why?

Vista Business has everything Vista HP has (except parental controls) but also includes faxing & scanning features, and more importantly...

SHADOW COPY

If data backup and recovery is important to you and/or you're a XP Pro fanatic, Vista Business might be a better fit!

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
If you buy Vista, make your purchase decision on what features you will need. Microsoft. Vista Edition comparison.

Here's a good comparison chart too!

Not pimping for ZZF, just trying to clarify things...

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
Vista Business has everything Vista HP has (except parental controls) but also includes faxing & scanning features, and more importantly...

Well, Vista Business doesn't have Vista Home Premium's Media Center functions. Nor does Vista Business come with a DVD Decoder. You have to obtain the decoder separately.

 

[Scotteq]

I've had a good experience with Vista, and - (speaking as one who remembers XP when it was released) - am quite frankly mystified at the extent and depth of the vitriol towards it... Far far better than XP was at the same point in that OS's development cycle.


Anyways - Regarding 'which edition' - I lean towards the 64 bit version for it's comparitive robustness. My particular installation has been perfectly bulletproof from it's creation last August. Drivers have not been a problem, with the exception of my old Creative sound card. Heartbroken about that, really... <rolls eyes>. But if you have devices more than a couple years old which you are very attached to, it may mot be a good fit.

Regarding Home Premium or Business: Do you use your own applications for Video/Audio? For example, HP does have Media Center and that app is adequate. But it's functionality is pretty basic. If that's good enough, then great!!

But if you would likely use 3rd party products for audio/video instead, then I'd recommend Business. You get pretty good data backup, Fax/scan, and some pretty nice, albeit basic, management/diagnostic tools.

My $.02

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Vista is a decent OS.
Networking is really disorganized on it, though.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: Scotteq
I've had a good experience with Vista, and - (speaking as one who remembers XP when it was released) - am quite frankly mystified at the extent and depth of the vitriol towards it... Far far better than XP was at the same point in that OS's development cycle.


Anyways - Regarding 'which edition' - I lean towards the 64 bit version for it's comparitive robustness. My particular installation has been perfectly bulletproof from it's creation last August. Drivers have not been a problem, with the exception of my old Creative sound card. Heartbroken about that, really... <rolls eyes>. But if you have devices more than a couple years old which you are very attached to, it may mot be a good fit.

Regarding Home Premium or Business: Do you use your own applications for Video/Audio? For example, HP does have Media Center and that app is adequate. But it's functionality is pretty basic. If that's good enough, then great!!

But if you would likely use 3rd party products for audio/video instead, then I'd recommend Business. You get pretty good data backup, Fax/scan, and some pretty nice, albeit basic, management/diagnostic tools.

My $.02

I complete agree with all of this. Go with the x64 Business edition, there's little reason not to be on x64 these days, and if you're technically proficient enough to be on this forum in the first place, you very likely will use what Business offers and won't use what Home Premium offers.

 

[alm4rr]

i was thinking vista hp for gaming, but only b/c i can get the academic for $72... i want to build a rig in jan '09 (anticipating gta4: Pc) but i won't get the discount then...

 

[Griffinhart]

Actually, the Media Center application that comes with Home Premium is a lot more than basic. But, you aren't going to come close to using it's full functionality without TV tuner cards.

My suggestion is usually Vista Business unless you specifically want the Media Center stuff. Business still has all the same media capabilities that XP home and Pro had. As mentioned, you will need a DVD Decoder to play DVD;s on it, but you can get one pretty cheap ($20) or even free if you search around the web. But you do get a couple of features that Home Premium doesn't have like "Previous Versions" which makes it all worthwhile.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: Griffinhart
Actually, the Media Center application that comes with Home Premium is a lot more than basic. But, you aren't going to come close to using it's full functionality without TV tuner cards.

My suggestion is usually Vista Business unless you specifically want the Media Center stuff. Business still has all the same media capabilities that XP home and Pro had. As mentioned, you will need a DVD Decoder to play DVD;s on it, but you can get one pretty cheap ($20) or even free if you search around the web. But you do get a couple of features that Home Premium doesn't have like "Previous Versions" which makes it all worthwhile.

I can't say enough nice things about Previous Versions. If you know why people get excited over Time Machine in Leopard, much of the same thing applies here, the only thing missing is the glitzy interface. It was Time Machine a year before Apple released Leopard; to this day I do not understand why Microsoft limits it to Vista Business, it should be on every copy of Vista.