Vista 64 vs. XP 64

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SirMoby

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Oct 3, 2006
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I'm really interested in the advantages of Vista.

I'm building a new PC next weekend and I'm torn between operating systems. I'm going to go duel boot with a 64 bit OS
and regular XP. I won't be gaming doing mostly video editing and PhotoShop type stuff. I checked all my hardware, MOBO and my virus protection and it all supports XP 64 as well as Vista 64.

I know that in 2 years I'll probably be on Vista 64 but I'm concerned with what happens between now and then. Other then support from Microsoft, what does Vista buy me today?

I stayed on Windows 2000 until XP SP2 had been released and I didn't have any problems. I know a number of people in my industry that have tried Vista and many moved back to XP. I don't want to install Vista 64 and spend most of my time in XP 32 because of issues. I don't need a new user interface, a different side bar and my network is pretty tight right now.

I know that DirectX 10 would be nice but is there more?

Does Vista 64 really buy me anything now?
 
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Are you aware that Vista BY DESIGN aggressively loads frequently used code into RAM so that your usual programs will start faster? It's called superfetch, google it before you go on and on about RAM hogging. Vista has a higher RAM footprint than XP but it's not all THAT much higher.

My Vista 64 machine is 'using' 4.7 gig!! of my 8 gig, this is not hogging, it's Superfetch and it speeds up my PC considerably.

BTW: Retail machines come with all sorts of crap software and applets of dubious value pre-loaded, it's called 'crapware' and you really need to uninstall it - www.pcdecrapifier.com. This is the number 1 way to speed up all new PCs with any version of Windows on them.

Vista is running fine now, don't listen to the stale FUD echoing around, you will find that enthusiasts who know what they are doing kind of prefer Vista64 over XP at this point.
 
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Thanks for your input. Didn't think I was going on & on...;o)

The first thing I did was stip out the CRAPWARE and review articles on speeding up Vista. To my dismay, The $3k sign design rip, print & cut softare package I've supported & used for 14 years (FlexiSign Pro) does not support Vista. Not a Vista problem I know.

I had a love hate with XP vs 2k for about a year. Finally realizing xp was the better deal.

I guess I was hoping my 8 gigs would blow me outta my chair. But what am I bitchin about, these days 8 gigs cost me under $100.

I'd appreciate any other tune up tips to make Vista rock my world. Not much else does it for this 58 year old geezer...

 
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from their website:



February 6, 2007

Compatibility with Windows Vista

Microsoft Windows Vista became available on January 30, 2007. W indows Vista comes in five editions – Enterprise, Business, Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate. Microsoft has also released a 64-bit version of Windows Vista.
Testing shows that SA International (SAi) products are NOT compatible with Windows Vista. The software will not properly detect the key and other problems might occur. It may be possible to adjust the application settings to work around several of the issues, but this may cause further problems with the software. SAi does not recommend installing any of our software on the new Vista OS and will not support any software installed on Vista.

Many cutters, printers, and spectrophotometers rely on manufacturer-supplied drivers—especially devices that use USB, FireWire or SCSI connections. These devices will not work in Vista until an updated driver is available from the manufacturer.

SAi is in the process of developing future releases of its products which will be compatible with 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows Vista.




I'll bet it will cost another $1000 to go from 8.2 to 8.6...when will it end?
 
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I have vista 64 and love it. I upgraded from 4g of ram to 8g. It flies! I don't do much gaming. So i can't tell you much about that. The only problem I have had is IE locks up every few days (Not enough to be annoying). I tried firefox. It works fine but I like the IE features better.

In my opinion the people that are in love with XP are afraid of change. Vista is a change for the better. So, your 8 year old program will not work with vista. I think you should find a better program.

If I were you, instead of buying 2 os I would invest in a little better video card. I plugged my system into a 42" hdtv and I can't go back to a small moniter.

Good Luck.
toad
 
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As we all use our PC's for different things, many of us are going to have different experiences during things like OS upgrades. I built a new PC near the beginning of 2008 and Vista was the obvious choice. I didn't like some of the things so I turned them off. All my kit was new so I had no compatibility issues whatsoever.

If you're running specialist or professional hardware or software, i.e. sign making equipment, which you blatantly cannot do without and it has compatibilty issues then there is simply no point in pulling you hair out over the issue.

The answer is run both OS's, new and old, side by side, whether that be dual boot or two machines. There are obviously advantages and disadvantages to both options, which depending on your circumstances will suit differently.
 
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to be honest, I just went from vista down to xp, for lots of reasons. one thing everyone here goes on about is the fact that vista supports DX10, but if most of them looked around properly, they'd find ways to use DX10 on xp also, it really isn't hard. Another thing i'm hearing are driver problems not coming up, when alot of people have figured out now that when you look through vistas files, you have yet to find a decent amount of older windows architectures, they even admitted they were trying to start a new OS from the basics, without having to use older windows frameworks, problem that came with that was microsoft in turn ended up pumping us full of updates to try and make up for their sad problems. game requirements on xp are usually at least 1/4 less than that of vista, why is that? vista uses aero and other useless effects made for people who'll go "OHH LOOKS IT'S SHINY!", I'm not 5 anymore, visual effects dont intrigue me like they used to, I'm more looking forward to how the thing functions itself. The fact that I get graphics drivers crashing in games, my computer is quieter now with xp, and the fact that unlike vista, xp boots in about 5 seconds, oh and lets not forgot the entire truth that microsoft has already made a new windows to replace vista, it's kinda hard to support vista at this point, when even microsoft realized their mistake and released Windows 7. My opinion, go with XP until windows 7 is fully available to consumers
 
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I'd just like to point out that ME still provides me with all the RAM I need (128 MB, more than enough for high end games like Myst without so much as a skipped frame) and doesn't take up too much space on may big 20GB HDD.
 
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It's funny because Microsoft claimed that windows ME is the most unstable OS and is prone to security risks. But in reality, they just said that because ME was so damn perfect, you didnt need to worry about anything. No crashes, no viruses, and no risks. But microsoft wanted money so they made XP and vista for it to crash and get viruses so you have to buy another computer (which has windows) and put MORE money in microsofts pocket. Well played Microsoft.
Click to expand...


So true...
 
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