3 Days Left to Validate XP

[anonymo]

k, i'll chime in. been not at my comp for a few days.

 

my advice is to check that you can get 64 bit drivers for all your stuff and then get vista business 64 bit. if you can't get drivers then just get xp pro 32bit. i say this because once you start gaming on vista you'll run out of that 2gb pretty quick. also, there's no sense in paying the same money and getting 32 bit as you will see an advantage to 64 bit within two years and there is no disadvantage to 64 bit that i've run into thus far.

 

vista ultimate is a waste of money as media centre sucks and the "ultimate extras" are virtually non-existent.

 

boiler, check out http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/. you can get all the nvidia drivers there and just dl the modified infs. that's where i get my laptop drivers and i've never had a problem.

 

and yes, disabling user account control is a must with vista. you can't even run cpuz without it asking you.

 

So should I just get Vista business and downgrade it to XP Pro 32bit for now? In a year when I've (hopefully) built a new rig will I regret not getting Ultimate? Thanks for the help guys!

[benjester]

cujo is right on that... Ultimate doesn't offer a huge amount over business...

The features that Ultimate has over Business are as follows:

 

Media Center

BitLocker Drive Encryption

Windows DVD Maker (which actually isn't half bad, but there are better on the market)

some goofy chess game or something

windows movie maker in high def.

 

That's it... if you don't need those... then get business.

[boiler]

Mo, I wouldn't downgrade to XP at all. Just man up and go vista, your comp can handle it well enough until you do a hardware upgrade.

 

As far as 64-bit vs. 32-bit, like Cujo said, check to see if all your stuff (peripherals, etc.) has compatible drivers, if so 64-bit might be a good choice for the future.

 

for the record, my version of vista is the business version, and I honestly don't see a pressing need for the stuff that ultimate offers, at least for my purposes.

[anonymo]

Mo, I wouldn't downgrade to XP at all. Just man up and go vista, your comp can handle it well enough until you do a hardware upgrade.

 

As far as 64-bit vs. 32-bit, like Cujo said, check to see if all your stuff (peripherals, etc.) has compatible drivers, if so 64-bit might be a good choice for the future.

 

for the record, my version of vista is the business version, and I honestly don't see a pressing need for the stuff that ultimate offers, at least for my purposes.

Well...really only if I needed to as cujo said I might find myself in need of more memory

 

Seems like the way I'm heading

[boiler]

Mo, I wouldn't downgrade to XP at all. Just man up and go vista, your comp can handle it well enough until you do a hardware upgrade.

 

As far as 64-bit vs. 32-bit, like Cujo said, check to see if all your stuff (peripherals, etc.) has compatible drivers, if so 64-bit might be a good choice for the future.

 

for the record, my version of vista is the business version, and I honestly don't see a pressing need for the stuff that ultimate offers, at least for my purposes.

Well...really only if I needed to as cujo said I might find myself in need of more memory

 

Seems like the way I'm heading

um.....

 

can someone get sj in here to translate from canadian to english plz?

 

I can't tell which way you're headed here

[anonymo]

Getting Vista Business regardless...if I can't get the drivers for it then I will down grade to XP until either drivers are released or I upgrade.

[boiler]

you probably shouldn't have any problems getting 32bit vista drivers for most of your stuff. the 64bit stuff might be a little more dicey.

 

good call on the business though

[ZeroDamage]

There are only a couple of reasons to go 64-bit over 32-bit right now. One is that 32-bit vista can not see all 4 Gigs of memory if you have that much in your system.

 

Another is you know for sure that your programs will run on it. A lot of 3rd party software just is not compatible on a 64-bit Windows right now and that includes a lot of opensource stuff.

 

Another is that you know for sure that your drivers are digitally signed to run on the 32bit Vista because they will not install otherwise (by default anyway) due to the way Microsoft is protecting the kernel with the driver signing enforcement.

 

If you do not fit in one of these categories, then go with 32-bit Vista since it will more than likely be the most popular and best supported version of Vista for the foreseeable future.

[Allanon]

I actually wouldn't get the 64bit unless you feel you really need it.

there are still hardware pieces that don't have drivers yet and there are bugs with certain games that you have to work around.

I didn't notice a good enough increase with 64bit to make the driver and game issues worth it.

 

also cheap XP Pro

 

but you should really just switch to OSX

giggle

 

Is that site legitimate?

 

I posted two links to two different sites...which one did you mean?

 

The cheap software store site

[Playaa]

I have no idea (I just found it on google), I would assume so since I purchased XP Pro 64bit that way.

What they are selling are copies of the OS that are supposed to be sold with hardware. It is illegal for them to sell because they are breaking their agreements, it is not illegal for you to own if that's what you're asking.

[Cujo]

Another is that you know for sure that your drivers are digitally signed to run on the 32bit Vista because they will not install otherwise (by default anyway) due to the way Microsoft is protecting the kernel with the driver signing enforcement.

 

isn't it 64 bit that enforces digital signatures? that's why core temp won't run. it's the only program i've had a hard time with so far. things like daemon tools, primo pdf, all my codecs, etc, all run fine on vista 64 bit.

 

every case is different though which is why i say check for drivers for all your importants and 64 bit versions for any extra software you run. if all exist then there's really no reason not to get 64 bit. it's certainly not any slower than 32 bit.

[bushwack]

Backup. Format. Reinstall. Another free 30 days!

[Xoul]

So I did a fresh install about a month ago with a version of XP, but it's not a full copy just a "demo". I have 3 days left to validate it or reinstall (lol...ok I'm a cheapo).

 

My question is thus...Should I buy Vista Ultimate or XP Pro and upgrade down the road. How well is Vista running for you guys? I'll basically be using it for media, CS and my music production (checked my apps are Vista capable...well some of them are). I'm leaning on the side of just buying it unless someone has a good reason not to.

 

Oh and should I get the 32 or 64 bit version (I assume I should get the 64 bit version)

 

Thanks in advance fellers!

I wonder how many people actually own a legit copy of windows XP. I do, because it came as a special offer with the motherboard I bought of new egg I think. ::SHRUG:: and if it didn't I think my copy wouldn't be legit. lol, but it is.

[dragonfly]

<-

[bushwack]

I own 3 legit copies. 1 OEM for my comp I bought for around 80 when I upgraded and jumped from Win98Se. I have 2 retail box Upgrades that I bought from Best Buy one time they had them on sale for $50. Not a bad price if you ask me, about the same as a new game but you will use them everyday for years to come. The Upgrade Editions are great you can use any Win9x disk even if it's a CD-R copy and never asks for the Win9x key (not that I don't have an original).