Vista vs XP

[shortylickens]

I have two Athlon 64 systems, a dual-core 939 and a 754.
Vista seemed to run slower on both. Also would not run any of my old apps.

I dont think I'll be paying money to upgrade to it soon.
Since I dont like most Windows games anymore it is very likely I will switch over to Linux someday and only use Windows at work.

 

[mb]

I've got Vista on my main PC and I like it.

 

[wirednuts]

Originally posted by: Looney

But i'm migrating to Vista asap. Still on the fence about x64 or 32bit for my HTPC though... 32bit because most XP drivers actually work fine in Vista, but x64 for the possibility of better 64 bit performance when more software comes out for it.

im trying to confirm this, but i believe your vaild vista key works for both 32 and 64 versions of the os that you have.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I'm not going to touch vista for at least 1 or 2 years so I can't really fairly vote here as I've never used Vista.

 

[DLM]

if you read the Editorial by Will Smith in Febs edition of MaximumPC, he says...

quote"During the last nine months, I've spent a ton of time testing, using and writing about Vista. For testing and review purposes i've run Vista on most of my rigs for the last half of 2006. Now that i'm wrapping up our first wave of Vista coverage, I'm not sure what to do next. If you read this months '10 Reasons You Don't Need Vista Today' you'll know i'm not particulary impressed with the fledgling O/S. I'm sure that at sometime in the not too distant future i'll install Vista -- in order to play games and work on stories for the magazine, if nothing else. I just don't need it now.

Since I have 5 legal store bought versions of Win2K & XP, i think i'll follow his lead, and wait til i really njeed it.

 

[neutralizer]

I'll wait until MSDNAA has it. I don't see a reason to upgrade yet since WinXP works just fine. Don't fix what ain't broken. I haven't tried Vista yet so I can't really make an argument for which is better though.

 

[43st]

I like Vista a bit more than XP at this point...

Vista :thumbsup:

- 25% faster TCP/IP stack (by initial benchmarks, and feel)
- Included software (Partition utility, Advanced Firewall, Photo edit/resize, Snipping, Performance monitor, more in-depth Admin tools, DVD burning, etc.)
- Faster performance at the desktop, probably because more RAM is being used to cache apps. ReadyBoost, SuperFetch, etc.
- Awesome new power saver settings, can actually throttle down the CPU multiplier when not in use to save power and can allow the BIOS to throttle down the fans.
- Search actually works.
- Hyperlink style in regular control panel elements. This makes it very easy to just jump to an associated app without tracking it through the start menu. Not a big deal, but a nice touch.
- New networking topography and layout, nice that it includes routers, etc. now.
- New memory/RAM subsystem, noticeable in games where XP would usually chug or stutter (initial load, map change, alt-tab, etc.)

Vista :thumbsdown:
- A bit unstable with the Nvidia and Creative drivers. Not as bad as the Win98 to WinXP jump though.
- The UAC and the new 'run as admin' features. I understand it completely but sometimes it's hard to track down some little sub program that needs admin to run properly, Punkbuster for example.
- Aero is interesting but ultimately just eye candy and extra CPU cycles.
- DRM... though this likely won't effect me since I don't copy HD movies on my PC.

I like it to be honest. Vista is to XP what XP was to 98. I can't imagine going back, having to load hours worth of service packs, install a ton of third party programs just to make the machine usable. And on top of all that is the new, faster responding, memory.

 

[Lemon law]

For me, better security would be the only thing that could get me to upgrade the existing OS---and I am somewhat guessing that without changing hardware---that is keeping hardware
as an experimental constant---XP will be faster.

But new PC's will come with Vista---and in a number of years---we will all have to go that way.

 

[Rottie]

I can't vote even though I have XP Pro but I prefer W2k pro because it is more stable than XP from what I have experienced. XP often crash I think 3 or 4 times in a year and w2k never crashed on me.
Vista is unfair it forces you to upgrade everything cost too much I am hoping that my old generation X850 graphic card to work perfect well with Vista and Aero?
If not it is not fair I have to upgrade to X1950 Pro card.

Vista OEM cheaper than retail? Prefer Utlimate version

 

[Xyclone]

Vista

 

[Aikouka]

Vista.

It may be a bit annoying sometimes, but I really enjoy the changes that were made... although some were from other OSes (like Windows Explorer's breadcrumb path display... was quite used to it in Linux and I love it being in Windows).

Aero is also the first skin for an OS that I've used. It has a bit more of a sleek and professional look than XP's blocky Fisher Price look.

 

[AllGoodNamesAreTaken]

I can't vote yet since I haven't tried Vista. I will probably wait until my next PC upgrade unless someone confirms that Vista addresses:

1. The taskbar showing itself and refusing to go away until I click on it whenever a background application calls FlashWindow().
2. Background applications allowed to call SetForegroundWindow()/BringWindowToTop(), thus stealing my keyboard input when I'm happily typing in the foreground application.

If those issues are resolved, it is entirely worth an upgrade for me.

 

[Hadsus]

If I change to Vista there is not going to be an easy way to backup/restore all the stuff I have going on now in XP, right?

 

[skisteven1]

I get a copy of vista for free through work, but I'm sticking with XP for now.

There's some cool features in Vista (aero, improved firewall and multi-network detection, etc), but the fact that networking doesn't seem to quite work yet, and my (albeit optional) VPN client doesn't work so well will keep me off. Plus, it slows all of my machines down compared to XP (even my brand new C2D). I know I'll move eventually, but I'll probably wait for SP1 to make some improvements to networking first

 

[Mem]

I would have to say Vista,the stability is much better compared to when XP was first released,it takes awhile to find things if you are new to Vista but few days playing around and you'll get the hang of things.


Looks nicer,better stability(see above) and some nice added features.

UAC you'll either like or hate,but at least you have the option to turn it off.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: 43st
I like Vista a bit more than XP at this point...

Vista :thumbsup:

- 25% faster TCP/IP stack (by initial benchmarks, and feel)
- Included software (Partition utility, Advanced Firewall, Photo edit/resize, Snipping, Performance monitor, more in-depth Admin tools, DVD burning, etc.)
- Faster performance at the desktop, probably because more RAM is being used to cache apps. ReadyBoost, SuperFetch, etc.
- Awesome new power saver settings, can actually throttle down the CPU multiplier when not in use to save power and can allow the BIOS to throttle down the fans.
- Search actually works.
- Hyperlink style in regular control panel elements. This makes it very easy to just jump to an associated app without tracking it through the start menu. Not a big deal, but a nice touch.
- New networking topography and layout, nice that it includes routers, etc. now.
- New memory/RAM subsystem, noticeable in games where XP would usually chug or stutter (initial load, map change, alt-tab, etc.)

Vista :thumbsdown:
- A bit unstable with the Nvidia and Creative drivers. Not as bad as the Win98 to WinXP jump though.
- The UAC and the new 'run as admin' features. I understand it completely but sometimes it's hard to track down some little sub program that needs admin to run properly, Punkbuster for example.
- Aero is interesting but ultimately just eye candy and extra CPU cycles.
- DRM... though this likely won't effect me since I don't copy HD movies on my PC.

I like it to be honest. Vista is to XP what XP was to 98. I can't imagine going back, having to load hours worth of service packs, install a ton of third party programs just to make the machine usable. And on top of all that is the new, faster responding, memory.

Sweet post. Thanks man :thumbsup:

 

[brikis98]

Vista seems like the better OS, but in my experience, the drivers/software are not mature enough yet. Games and certain apps run (sometimes significantly) slower and certain software/hardware just doesn't work. Although Vista isn't a big upgrade from XP - in fact, MS should be ashamed of taking 5 years to put out such a minor upgrade - it will be worth switching to after ~1 year (possibly when the first service pack comes out ).

 

[Maximilian]

Wheres the windows 98 option? I like it best :frown:

Anyways, ill get vista when im sure i can run games 100% stable on it. Im pretty exited about it as ive had xp for a long time, its time for a change although i think that when people say vista is to xp what xp is to 98 is a tad dramatic. So it was designed from the ground up apparently, its still got a lot more in common with xp than xp had with 98.