Vista or XP

[Davegod]

I'm thinking of giving my sister the components from my old system (AMD 3700+ single core with 2gb of good ram) and sticking a 7600GS card in there.

I'm trying to decide what OS to stick on it. I think the hardware will be a bit on the minimal side for Vista HP and would run faster on XP, but on the other hand she'll probably use this PC for a long time (her current PC is from 2002, a 2ghz Northwood with 256mb ram, and she's only just thought about upgrading).

She'll only use it for web, light wordprocessing and maybe some light gaming (i.e. Sims).

 

[Peter]

It'll be OK with VISTA. The one thing you really need to do is check driver availability for EVERYTHING that's going to be in this box - onboard the mainboard, or on cards.

 

[C1]

I agree. For what you describe it being used for, VISTA will be satisfactory (if you get all the drivers). Also, use of VISTA will help ensure future compatibility. You will want her to be knowledgeable in the most current OS as when the time will inevitably come to upgrade she will be getting VISTA or Wndows 7. Hopefully though, there isnt any issue regarding some legacy software (eg, old games that she wants to run) that for some reason wont work in VISTA.

 

[Net]

i wouldn't put vista on a 3700+
why not run the os that won't bog down your system? i'd pick xp, hands down.

 

[Rhonda the Sly]

I just tried Vista last night on a PC with a 3400+, it works just fine.

 

[Net]

too slow for me. sorry.

 

[Davegod]

well she's currently using a 2ghz northwood with 256mb ram for XP so I think this will still be a big step up. If it was just for a year I'd go with XP but she could have this thing when they stop updating Vista...

I just have to work out if the Epox 9NPA+ will be ok with it.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Davegod
well she's currently using a 2ghz northwood with 256mb ram for XP so I think this will still be a big step up. If it was just for a year I'd go with XP but she could have this thing when they stop updating Vista...

I just have to work out if the Epox 9NPA+ will be ok with it.

I'm using an Epox 9NPA+ board with Vista x64,no problems to report.

 

[Davegod]

nice, thanks.

 

[wiin]

I have Ultimate running on 1600+, 512mb RAM with no problem so a 3700+, 2gig RAM would certainly work.

Originally posted by: net
i wouldn't put vista on a 3700+
why not run the os that won't bog down your system? i'd pick xp, hands down.

 

[Scotteq]

Older components = XP

Not even worth discussing, really.

 

[bruceb]

She currently has XP, correct ? If it is a retail copy, then keep it
and use it on the new system. Why pay for something you do not
need to ? And I agree, a system like that will be marginal with Vista, but
will run like a scalded cat with XP and that amount of RAM

Edit: Even if you need to get a new XP OEM it would be much less
costly than buying Vista.

 

[Davegod]

unfortunately she's currently got a prebuilt.

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: net
too slow for me. sorry.

I have a hard time believing that Vista is too "slow" on a 3700+ with 2GB of ram, especially since "slow" is such a general term. I could have a computer with bleeding edge electronics, and then throw in a HDD with a 5 MB/s read/write speed and the computer would be "slow".

How is it slow?
What features are you using?

In short, unless you are going to provide details about it being slow don't come in here and thread crap.

 

[Peter]

Exactly. There are only two things that make a computer be slow in normal home/office applications: Not enough RAM, and a slow harddisk. Processor and graphics speed are totally - they might make the computer feel faster, but it's not usefully faster for this taskset.