Help me choose: XP or Vista?

06-03-07, 11:24 AM

Hi guys,

Well, for my graduation from middle school, my parents got me a macbook pro. I paid for some of it ( I'm not spoiled btw.)l. My plan is to dual boot windows for a little gaming or for a few Apps. The question is what version of windows should I get? For XP it would either be home or professional. Either one i choose would be OEM because that is much cheaper. Plus it would only be for one computer, my macbook pro. Now, on my dell I have home, what the difference between home and professional? Keep in mind its a dual core processor , so which one is more compatible?

Or should i choose vista? Which version should i choose? What's the difference between ultimate and home Premium?

Now, for my last question, what virus protection/spyware protection/ firewall should I use? I don't want software that will make my computer slow and laggy...

Oh, the specs are
* 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 pixels
* 1GB memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* 6x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB SDRAM

I got it for 1700 with a student discount. I also got a free printer/scanner...
-Justin

PS: Please no Mac/PC flaming, thanks.

06-03-07, 12:08 PM

XP by far. Wait on vista till everything is ironed out.

macdog303 · 06-03-07, 12:39 PM

Here is my 2 cents. Vista is just for aesthetics. After about a month of running vista ultimate my computer was unbearably slow. I resorted back to xp and fell back in love with it. So much faster menus. So stupid transitions and effects for menus and better compatibility. XP all the way. i give m$ about a year for the two to be equal and 2 years for vista to be better.

mostlylisten · 06-03-07, 05:31 PM

Hmmmmmmmmmmm:rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling:

06-04-07, 03:15 AM

I have dabbled with Vista and it's nice but I went back to XP for speed and familiarity.

borgyn · 06-04-07, 08:11 AM

The overwhelming majority of feedback on Vista has been "stay away at least for the time being". There are still loads of issues with drivers and older peripheral equipment. If you are after some peace and quite, XP is the way but if curiosity is getting the better of you, Vista it is.

Happy hunting whatever decision you make.

Tankman · 06-04-07, 08:24 AM

Stickin' with Windows XP Pro.

Familiar and runs quite fast too.

06-04-07, 08:26 AM

Do you wan't to be a development guinea pig for M$, how long did it take XP to be stable, Vista will be good in about four years

CodeBubba · 06-04-07, 09:17 AM

I have Vista Ultimate running on a system here at the office. It is nice for sure - but it is not, IMHO, a replacement for XP. If you buy a new machine with 2GB main memory and it's pre-loaded with Vista, fine - but I don't suggest using it on a machine with < 2GB nor do I suggest retooling a functioning XP system with it. For all it's pretty icons it does not bring bring anything new to the table that justifies the upgrade from a well configured XP box.

-CB :)

nomadmatt · 06-04-07, 11:02 AM

i like vista :) but you need about 2 gigs of ram to make it run fast or tweak it a little.

bdiscount · 06-04-07, 11:14 AM

If your going to xp in a month , start with vista its no use to learn xp then learn vista. vista will be standard in a yaer as pcs evovle. vista home premiere is the lowest you should go your pc is a little slow so 2 gig would work better a 250gig hard drive. The firewall is a personal favorite I have used zonealarm but now use the ms'. good luck with the pc

Pebu · 06-04-07, 12:09 PM

Personally I'm still partial to Win2k pro, but I'm just old-school. Vista is neat, but I wouldn't chalk up el dineros (that's spanish for "the dineros") for something that is only "neat"...

cchiang12 · 06-04-07, 12:23 PM

I stick with xp also.

currently using 2 xp home and 1 xp pro.

06-04-07, 04:04 PM

If you just want to run a few games and apps you won't need vista for anything. Just use XP.

w3iner · 06-04-07, 05:38 PM

I just ordered a comp with Vista on Sunday, I hope it is not as bad as it appears!