Should I keep Vista on new PC or put XP on there?

[CIS121]

I'm getting a new PC and from what I've heard from mates, Vista can make a new machine run like a dog and has lots of bloatware. I am upgrading due to finding my old P4 2.4GHz too slow.

Am I going to bog a new Core 2 duo PC down with Vista or should I just put XP on it?

[LDNrevs]

What are you going to be do on it?

[sstein]

I would go back to XP, and then once it's installed get into the windows folder and find what you can delete from there.

XP is quite bloated as well, I mean, it has files in it for windows 3.11 fax compatibility!

-

Stuart

[Tycho]

Why not try it? I use it on 2 machines and think it's great.

[Noger]

Agreed. If it is running slow there is something else wrong. I run Vista on a very "slow" processor machine (800Mhz single core but battery frugal) and it is fine. In fact if you switch all the frilly bits off (using something like Vispa) it is faster IMHO than XP.

The first time you use it, leave it on for a day to do all the background stuff like indexing. That is what kills. Disk access.

[qube_TA]

Given that a new machine probably has a 500GB hard drive there's little point deleting a few bits n bobs that aren't needed, you'll free up a few MB's but in the grand scheme of things, who cares.

XP runs quicker that's for sure but if I'd paid for Vista I'd just stick to that as you'll only have to switch back when there's a Vista only app you want to run.

[robinhood21]

I have Vista and have found no problems with it. Just make sure your new PC has at least two gig of memory!

[CIS121]

Thanks for your replies folks, that's very helpful. It sounds like teh concesus is that Vista runs a little slower but requires a high spec PC.

Is 2GB of memory really necessary? I've got 600 odd MB currently on XP and that struggles sometimes, so I presumed 1GB would be fine under Vista. Memory is pretty cheap to upgrade and the PCs with 2GB are a good bit pricier, so I'll probably buy this as an add on.

[qube_TA]

CIS121 said:

Thanks for your replies folks, that's very helpful. It sounds like teh concesus is that Vista runs a little slower but requires a high spec PC.

Is 2GB of memory really necessary? I've got 600 odd MB currently on XP and that struggles sometimes, so I presumed 1GB would be fine under Vista. Memory is pretty cheap to upgrade and the PCs with 2GB are a good bit pricier, so I'll probably buy this as an add on.

Yes.

Welcome to the world of 64 bit computing! XP needs at least a gig to run properly, so doubling it isn't too off.

Given how cheap it is these days, just whack as much as you can in there.

[bga]

CIS121 said:

Thanks for your replies folks, that's very helpful. It sounds like teh concesus is that Vista runs a little slower but requires a high spec PC.

Is 2GB of memory really necessary? I've got 600 odd MB currently on XP and that struggles sometimes, so I presumed 1GB would be fine under Vista. Memory is pretty cheap to upgrade and the PCs with 2GB are a good bit pricier, so I'll probably buy this as an add on.

Depends what you want to do. I found 1GB to be plenty for doing internet stuff & MS Office.

2GB does speed things up a bit but is by no means necessary.

[Driller]

Just bought a laptop which has Vista and 1024mb of ram. It's only a sempron too and it runs absolutely fine. To be fair I haven't tried anything too intensive yet, internet mainly, but the menu system is very snappy and I find that's usually a good sign.

[dxg]

You may wish to have a read of this "review" of XP:

http://dotnet.org.za/codingsanity/archive/2007/12/...

[CIS121]

dxg said:

You may wish to have a read of this "review" of XP:

http://dotnet.org.za/codingsanity/archive/2007/12/...

Very good! This is in the same vein as I've heard from friends who value their PC speed. If the new PC comes with Vista ready loaded, Imay play, but I wont waste my time setting up all my applications etc until I've got a feel for it and the performance.

THanks!