Considering Vista to replace old WinXP

MJOMJO Denmark New
edited April 2009 in Science & Tech
Hi

I am actually considering switching to Windows Vista in favor of my present WinXP.
Mainly because Vista can handle 4 GB+ memory and XP cannot.
Games etc. have been getting more and more demanding these days and really benefit from a boatload of memory. :cool:
I am also the kind of person that has several programmes, explorer/firefox windows open at the same time.

But would it be stupid to switch now considering that Windows 7 isn't that far away?
I must say that the upgrade is somewhat urgent because of different reasons, but I wouldn't do anything too foolish.:rolleyes:;D
Drivers etc. shouldn't be a problem all my hardware is quite recent and well supported.

Comments

  • mertesnmertesn I am Bobby Miller Yukon, OK Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    Skip Vista, and wait for Windows 7. If you would like a free preview, there are numerous test builds of Windows 7 floating around the internet. It is a far better operating system in its pre-release state than Vista.
  • jaredjared College Station, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    I'm sure someone like Thrax can give a more accurate suggestion, but with Win7 around the corner and RC1 going into the wild any time now - I see no reason to make the jump to Vista now. Actually when RC1 is released you can just sign up to test that and the license will be good through sometimes in 2010 (I believe).

    Also, XP (32bit) can see up to ~3.2GB while 64bit doesn't have that limitation.

    I just don't think buying Vista for the extra 0.8GB is the right move with Win7 (hopefully) coming soon.

    cheers :jared:
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    FOr gaming, no bigger bang for your buck than a new video card, the 8800GTX is still a solid card, so to realy build on that you would have to consider going pretty high end, either a 4870X2 or perhaps a GTX285. A single chip 4890 will out pace it, but not sure if its going to be enough to justify the upgrade, your realy in about $400 teritory to put enough of a beating on that 8800GTX to justify, unless you have an open PCIE slot and a bad ass power suply to juice a second 8800GTX in SLI.

    For your Multitasking performance, you might also consider more CPU cores to balance the load? Perhaps a Phenom II quad core in your case?

    You could get Vista 64 now, but it just feels so wasteful with windows 7 not too far off. There are the 7 betas if you want to go that route for a while. It could give you a realy good way to test your thorey to see if the ram bandwidth is whats holding you back.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    We'll all say wait for Windows 7. It is worth noting, however, that XP x64 can handle more than 4GB of memory as well.

    Wait for 7. Pick up the x64 RC in a couple weeks and live with that. Almost everything works grand, even with Vista drivers.
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    Windows XP and Vista 32-bit can only address 4 GB of TOTAL memory (System RAM, Video card RAM, and any other memory). WinXP is honest with you and reports the total memory the Operating system can use. Vista reports total and neglects to say that it can only use 4 GB minus the video and such.

    Windows 7 32-bit is no different... 32-bit is the issue, not the operating system. 64-bit is the only way to use 4+ GB of RAM.
  • MJOMJO Denmark New
    edited April 2009
    jared wrote:
    I'm sure someone like Thrax can give a more accurate suggestion, but with Win7 around the corner and RC1 going into the wild any time now - I see no reason to make the jump to Vista now. Actually when RC1 is released you can just sign up to test that and the license will be good through sometimes in 2010 (I believe).

    Also, XP (32bit) can see up to ~3.2GB while 64bit doesn't have that limitation.

    I just don't think buying Vista for the extra 0.8GB is the right move with Win7 (hopefully) coming soon.

    I was thinking the same thing, but I am not too thrilled with using a beta/release candidate build of an OS, I never really done it before.
    In this case it shouldn't be too bad though, it seems everybody thinks even the RC is way better than Vista. :)
    Snarkasm wrote:
    We'll all say wait for Windows 7. It is worth noting, however, that XP x64 can handle more than 4GB of memory as well.

    Wait for 7. Pick up the x64 RC in a couple weeks and live with that. Almost everything works grand, even with Vista drivers.

    Yes XP64 can handle + 4 GB memory, but that wouldn't do me any good, because nothing really works using XP64 for some reason.
    I do not think I have ever heard anything really positive regarding XP64? ;)

    QCH2002 wrote:
    Windows XP and Vista 32-bit can only address 4 GB of TOTAL memory (System RAM, Video card RAM, and any other memory). WinXP is honest with you and reports the total memory the Operating system can use. Vista reports total and neglects to say that it can only use 4 GB minus the video and such.

    Windows 7 32-bit is no different... 32-bit is the issue, not the operating system. 64-bit is the only way to use 4+ GB of RAM.

    32-bit isn't even an option, it will be a 64-bit version or nothing. ;)
    On my laptop I am using a Vista Ultimate 64-bit and it is actually running quite well, 32-bit software works great.
    I have not had any problems regarding compatibility.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    Er, plenty of things work with XP x64, I ran it exclusively for 2+ years with nary an issue to be found, save for the occasional missing driver...
  • MJOMJO Denmark New
    edited April 2009
    Snarkasm wrote:
    Er, plenty of things work with XP x64, I ran it exclusively for 2+ years with nary an issue to be found, save for the occasional missing driver...

    Umm okay, this is the first time I have heard anything positive regarding XP64. :cool:
    But I believe you, haven't heard all that much about it to be honest, it isn't all that widespread.

    But anyways "upgrading" to XP64 would be considered somewhat a dead end if you ask me.
    I must be Vista 64 Ultimate vs. Windows 7 64 Ultimate Beta.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    XP64 is fine and works great with any hardware made by a major manufacturer in the last, say, 4 years. It's not fine if you have ancient hardware or an OEM computer from a company that couldn't care less about you.

    I would use Windows 7 Ultimate x64 beta. It's faster than both XP and Vista, and it's good until 2010.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    MJO wrote:
    I was thinking the same thing, but I am not too thrilled with using a beta/release candidate build of an OS, I never really done it before.
    In this case it shouldn't be too bad though, it seems everybody thinks even the RC is way better than Vista. :)
    Then you will not have any real problems with the RC1 (64 bit) cadidate when it is released. I agree with the sentiments that Win 7 Beta is better than Vista is in its retail form except for a few minor bugs that will be gone in the RC. I have been running the 7 Beta since its release and truly love it so far. I will be getting the RC1 next month and finally purchase the final retail release next year. If I were you I would go for RC1 (64 bit) when it is released in May of this year. Then next year you can upgrade your system and install the retail version of Win 7, which will have any major patches by then. :thumbup
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