Windows Vista general help

Radio91PRadio91P Layton, UT New
edited February 2008 in Science & Tech
Hey guys,

I will be building a computer for a family member. They have requested that we use Windows Vista. My experience with Vista was during the beta and RC1- RC2 era. I had nothing but problems so I have not used since then.

Will those with some experience with the OS share some of the possible pitfalls, whether they be with drivers, or other common issues. I will be purchasing the OEM version from Newegg.com.

The setup will be as follows.

E2180 overclocked to 2.4
4GB Mushkin DDR2-800
P35 chipset. Accepting thoughts and ideas.
8500 series VC

Thanks,

Comments

  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Make sure the video card is in the Hardware Compatibility List for AERO enabled Vista if you do not plan to stick Vista Home Basic into the box (please DON'T). AERO needs good video cards. Give any Vista but Home Basic an older card, expect AERO to hang.

    AERO is the high-quality graphics engine code name used in almost all Vista versions. All Home versions except Basic and all Business versions have AERO defaulted to ON at install. Basic completely lacks AERO. You CAN turn AERO off, but give it a video card that is not up to spec and it is likely to lock up the whole interface and LOOK like Vista is completely locked. That might explain some of your earlier mishaps with Vista in the RC-1 and RC-2 time frame also, so thought I would explain a bit about AERO here.

    DON'T try to go cheap on the video card, PLEASE! My boxes here do not support AERO so I am learning Vista on my mother's new Dell Laptop (Home Premium is on it).

    XP is still available, so if cost is a major object and the video card has to be limited for now you might install XP instead of Vista. Rumor mill has it that Microsoft may be looking at a release of Windows 7 in late 2009 to early 2010 anyway, and by then video cards compatible with Vista should be cheaper than they are now.
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Those specs should be fine but expect a 10 - 20% performance hit from WinXP. Those specs should get you into the hi "4's" on Vista the performance scale (5.9 is the highest, I think) with a "2" being the minimum to run Aero, I think.

    Personally... WinXP is the only option for my PCs. I run Vista at work and have for almost 6 months. It kills my performance and applications hang often.
  • WinfreyWinfrey waddafuh Missouri Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    If you go XP though you will max out your RAM at about 3.5 gigs so factor that into your choice as well.

    for Mobo's there are lots of great budget boards that have tremendous potential in the OC department. You shouldn't have much trouble reaching your goal of 2.4.

    And I agree with Straight_Man on the Video card. You need a good one to run Aero well and really Aero is the main reason to have Vista so there you go. The 8800GTS's are pretty sweet in the mid-range video cards and ATI/AMD has put out some decent options as well.

    Everything else looks good to me though :thumbsup:
  • Radio91PRadio91P Layton, UT New
    edited February 2008
    Thanks guys,

    Price is a factor, however, he is dead set on Vista. I don't know why, but what do you do?

    Keep the comments comin!

    Thanks,
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Use Vista. I do. No problems except for a piece of hardware that was barely supported on XP, either.

    There's practically no such thing as driver issues anymore, for x86 or x64. I can't remember anything specific I had trouble with, even things like SATA drivers, it accepts flash drives if it doesn't have the drivers built in already.
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