Vista vs. Windows 7

[dantrona]

So, I am building a new rig sometime in December, Christmas present to myself and my first build. And I have my hardware mostly picked out and some of it will probably change as things become available. What I need to know is if I should buy Vista Ultimate x64 and maybe later upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate x64 once more drivers, compatability, and so on are issued. That is my main concern is compatability with my games and hardware, as well as if Win7 would be faster out of the gate than Vista would be after its been out for a few years. Just so you can look over it all, I wil post what my current rig is (I am still searching for an audio card)

Processor: Intel i7 920
Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
Ram: G.SKILL Trident 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB (Getting two)
Hard Drive1: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM
Hard Drive2: Samsung 1TB 7600 RPM
Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W
Headphones: Roccat Kave Solid 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset

 

[mi1ez]

none of your newegg links work. Even If they did, it would be much easier to have product names.

What games are you planning on running? I haven't had any problems with any steam games when I ran b2 but didn't install anything else. Hardware compatibility is very unlikely to cause you problems.

 

[dantrona]

The main game I play is Counter Strike: Source, Then probably Crysis (I like the game and it pushes my computer) I play the Half-Life games from time-to-time, and games such as Sims 3, World of Warcraft, Aion, And games such as that. Editing my links a bit now.

Edit: Fix'd.

 

[Herr_Koos]

There is no reason to buy either Vista or Win 7 Ultimate editions. They are way overpriced for very little additional value. You mostly get extra features that you as a home user will never be interested in.

If you have a legal Windows XP, you qualify for the Windows 7 Upgrade editions. Buy yourself Win7 Home Premium Upgrade and forget about Vista.

 

[dantrona]

Fair enough, Thank you mi1ez and Herr_Koos. Currently I am running 64-bit Vista Home Premium, But this computer is getting handed down when I get my new one which is why I was asking about the OS. I will go ahead and just skip to a 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium.

 

[ibnsina]

The main game I play is Counter Strike: Source, Then probably Crysis (I like the game and it pushes my computer) I play the Half-Life games from time-to-time, and games such as Sims 3, World of Warcraft, Aion, And games such as that. Editing my links a bit now.

According to some reviews there's not much difference between Windows 7 and Vista in gaming performance, with an exception here and there. Read more here http://www.guru3d.com/article/windows-7-vs-vista-vga-game-performance/1

You would still want go for Windows 7, because is faster over all, it has faster boot time, generally faster file transfer, better User Account Control (less irritating alerts & messages), better power management, better troubleshooting etc. Read more here http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2352179,00.asp

 

[JackNaylorPE]

So, I am building a new rig sometime in December, Christmas present to myself and my first build. And I have my hardware mostly picked out and some of it will probably change as things become available. What I need to know is if I should buy Vista Ultimate x64 and maybe later upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate x64 once more drivers, compatability, and so on are issued. That is my main concern is compatability with my games and hardware, as well as if Win7 would be faster out of the gate than Vista would be after its been out for a few years. Just so you can look over it all, I wil post what my current rig is (I am still searching for an audio card)

Windows 7, to me, is what Vista should have been. Drivers really aren't expected to be a major issue as with previous OS's as Win7 is essentially Vista "fixed".

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-7-vista-upgrade-image,8323.html

Be careful of "you don't need Pro / Ultimate" advice if you have more than 5 PC's around. All Windows Home versions limit the number of network connections to 5 or less. We have 6 laptops, 5 desktops and an NAS. Luckily, we have as yet never had that 11th simultaneous connection as Pro tops out at 10. If ya a student, you can grab the Pro Version for $19.

Also, keep in mind that if you are worried about compatibility issues, the Ultimate, Pro and Enterprise versions come with XPM .... essentially "XP Built in" so that you don't need to buya copy of XP to dual boot or even be bothered dual booting.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-windows-xp-vista-win7,7631.html

"Indeed, Windows 7 comes with "compatibility mode" but XPM isn't the same. XPM is actually built on the same platform as Microsoft's Virtual PC 7 product. This isn't the same as running an XP environment through a hypervisor. It was previously believed that XPM would be a Hyper-V client for Windows 7, but it is not."

 

[sminlal]

Also, keep in mind that if you are worried about compatibility issues, the Ultimate, Pro and Enterprise versions come with CPM .... essentially "XP Built in" ... XPM is actually built on the same platform as Microsoft's Virtual PC 7 product.

...was that first "CPM" a typo and should have been "XPM"? If not, can you tell me what it stands for?

 

[xaira]

people actually pay for software?

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Yeah, because that's the only right way to do it. If you aren't buying your OS software, you should not be using it. Unless you are running Linux or something open source that is legitimately free.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

...was that first "CPM" a typo and should have been "XPM"? If not, can you tell me what it stands for?

Looking at my keyboard I see that my typing was one key off to the left.


Q-W-E-R-T-Y
A-S-D-F-G-H
Z-X-C-V-B-N

OOPS ....now fixed.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

people actually pay for software?

For open source and freeware, no. But when people expect to get paid for their labors, yes, most of us are uncomfortable stealing from others.

 

[xaira]

steal is such a hefty word, i prefer to call it testing before purchase, and since it will be an investment, substantial testing is required, and usually, by the time testing is completed, the next big thing is being released, so its the creators own fault, im not gonna spend money on something i havent tested.

 

[sminlal]

Looking at my keyboard I see that my typing was one key off to the left.

No prob - I just thought there might have been something there that was new to me...

 

[sminlal]

steal is such a hefty word, i prefer to call it testing before purchase.

You can rationalize it as much as you want, but if you know you're never going to pay for it and yet you continue to use it, then it's stealing.

 

[Zoron]

That's what Release Candidates and Betas are for... a legal way to "test" the software without purchasing it. You can also download Windows 7 legally and test it for 30 days (at least I believe you can) before it requires activation. If you activate the product illegally, then you are stealing... no matter how you rationalize it.

 

[randomizer]

steal is such a hefty word

So is "murder" but that's what you use when a person kills someone on purpose.

(That was relevant!)

 

[cjl]

steal is such a hefty word, i prefer to call it testing before purchase, and since it will be an investment, substantial testing is required, and usually, by the time testing is completed, the next big thing is being released, so its the creators own fault, im not gonna spend money on something i havent tested.

You could have been testing the beta and RC for >6 months (in fact, over a year if you wanted, since the RC doesn't expire until next spring). If that's not enough for you, it's pretty pathetic.

Seriously, if you're going to use a piece of software that thousands of people worked on for several years, you should really pay for it.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Agreed. Everyone else has to work and shell out the cash for it.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

That's what Release Candidates and Betas are for... a legal way to "test" the software without purchasing it. You can also download Windows 7 legally and test it for 30 days (at least I believe you can) before it requires activation. If you activate the product illegally, then you are stealing... no matter how you rationalize it.

90 days - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc442495.aspx?ITPID=sprblog

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Students can get it for like $29 BTW

 

[randomizer]

You can also rearm the other versions of Win 7 so they don't need activation for 120 days.

 

[Zoron]

Basically... MS gives you all the time you should need to evaluate it before you decide whether or not to buy it. So there's absolutely no excuse to download it illegally.

 

[Snow_Patrol]

@ OP: I highly recommend Windows 7 over Vista any day of the week, because it is a much, much better OS than anything that preceded it (not that Vista was pants, mind you, but lots of people seem to think so). Whatever driver compatibility issues and program issues you fear, you can take it on my word and Microsoft's that there won't be another Vista fiasco at launch. 7 is built on the same basic kernel design as Vista, so anything that works in Vista will work in 7.

Also, I have a problem with your plan for dual HD4890s. Ditch that, and rather get yourself an HD5870 2GB model with your build. You'll get equal or better performance to a GTX295, and you'll be paying much less for it. And by the way, what monitor are you buying? If its anything less than a 23", then your powerful rig goes to waste.

 

[mindless728]

steal is such a hefty word, i prefer to call it testing before purchase, and since it will be an investment, substantial testing is required, and usually, by the time testing is completed, the next big thing is being released, so its the creators own fault, im not gonna spend money on something i havent tested.

you get plenty of time to test it out (30 days normally, 120 days with re-arm)
like above, if you are a student you can get win (i think professional) for $29 and i think ultimate for $60

as a CS student i take offense to not buying software (i support open source, all of my projects are) when it isn't open source / freeware

you can always use linux + wine (does have speed issues with DX games, works good for opengl though)