UPDATE: Ok, I know I'm an indecisive MORON but I just cancelled the order..........Which would you go with? I can't decide. I'm a photographer, and I only want to use this computer for photography things

JEEZ its been forever since I've been this apprehensive about anything! I am terrified that I made the wrong decision with Vista. I just barely bought it..... I've got a really slow P4 now with 512 gb ram, running XP, but since I am making a new build (e2180 proc, ds3l mobo, radeon 3870 gfx, 2gb ram) I thought I'd go with vista, mostly because the SP1 is coming out soon.......

TELL ME ONE THING PLEEAASE: Will my new computer run vista faster than my old computer ran XP?? I want to see a definite improvement in speed..especially for things like photoshop responsiveness

Your new machine will run vistaids faster, obviously not as fast as XP though.

ajsellaroli I agree with:

n00b_SLicer
Your new machine will run vistaids faster, obviously not as fast as XP though.

also make sure your ram will work ok with the gigabyte ds3l mobo . and ps get a good one it does matter.lol

UPDATE: lol..I just cancelled the order (that's newegg for you). I need more time to decide

Seriously, though, I can't decide. Which would you go with?

Getting a new system, not a hardcore gamer, go ahead with Vista and never look back-you won't be sorry.

I would go with XP x64. Then again I am kind of bias towards XP since I know that my stuff will work with it.
Also Vista support is going to get better by the time SP2 comes out. SP1 already increased the compatibility, performance, etc a little.

This might help:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ium-memory

also check out:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/02/15/vista_workshop/

Spend your money on psychiatric help. That is unless you are a woman. In that case, this is normal.

I am still buying XP pro. I look at Vista and I look at XP pro.

1. What does Vista have that XP don't have ? I can't think of anything that matters to me.

2. What effect will Vista have compared to XP Pro ?

Newer so more bugaboos need to be straightened out.
Unfamiliar interface....won't matter after 2-3 weeks probably
Will be undoubtedly slower than XP pro would be on same hardware....but will I care ?

here's some quotes:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/0 [...] ate_2.html
"Users' personal reactions, positive or negative, ultimately impact the bottom line and help drive the business decision of whether to roll out Vista across an organization. It's all about basic cost-benefit analysis, says Gartner's Silver. In most businesses, Vista offers few compelling advantages for users while introducing challenges. The cost of change is too high for the perceived benefit. For example, users often complain about Vista's constant nagging about possible system threats, about applications that no longer run, or about files that appear to be "lost" because they've been moved to new places by the OS, Silver said. "

http://www.infoworld.com/article/0 [...] -it_1.html
http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterp [...] 1_vis.html
http://www.infoworld.com/article/0 [...] sta_1.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140283/article.html

As a tip for the future, you get get answers much faster by searching these forums rather than posting. In the last two weeks, there';s gotta have been at least a dozen XP or Vista threads. You'll find that many of the most knowledgable users stop responding after they have answered the same questions for the 0th or 1th time so searching often brings a lot of info you won't get on a new post.

My advice on hardware:

Photoshop is CPU heavy, not GPU. Drop the 3870X2, go with a single 3870/8800GT and spend the extra money on at least a Q6600.

Ok, thanks guys. I'm sorry I sort of spazzed out there.. I'm really anxious to get everything up and running - I'm almost there, as you can see here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] read-pesht

Just a few small steps stand between me and forgetting pentium 4's and geforce 4 go 440's forever. As far as your advice goes, I agree with it. All of yours.

About the XP 64 bit, however, I do have some interesting info that might change your mind about that. On the article here on Tom's that talks about putting 8gb of ram on vista 64 bit, they gave the EXTREMELY interesting information that follows:


"We can also see that the 64-bit versions take up quite a bit more memory as well. Again, the explanation is very simple: all of the variables are no longer only 32 bits long, but 64 bits instead. Typically, this makes applications between 20% and 40% larger, which consequently results in a higher memory footprint as well. File formats such as music files or videos are not affected by this.

The upshot is that it doesn't make sense to install a 64-bit version of Vista in order to better utilize 4 GB of memory simply because the 32 bit version would only recognize 3.5 GB. The problem is that while it is true that you would "gain" the missing memory, you would also immediately lose it to the system due to the 64-bit version's larger memory footprint. Thus, using a 64-bit version really only makes sense with larger memory sizes."

I found that info here: http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/0 [...] page5.html


Isn't that interesting? It looks like maybe it isn't worth putting up with 64 bit compatibility issues after all.. what do you guys think? For this reason I am now seriously considering just getting XP 32 bit with 4gigs of ram.

Vista with 2 gigs of ram and a e2180 cpu OC to 3.33 is hell fast. Xp dont make a difference. I actually like Vista better. Vista haters tried a year ago when it was bad, but generally all bugs are gone.

Most Vista haters try to run old hardware and not enough ram, then they cry crap. Vista needs 1g minimum IMO and 2 is plenty. As long as your hardware and periphreals are new and vista certified your golden. If your printer or something is 5 years old it probably wont work. XP is gettin dumped in June this year. Bye Bye support soon after.

Go with Vista x64 and the new computer. Since you're a photographer, I will have to agree with the poster above who mentioned the Q6600 - it will speed you up quite a bit. Cut back on the graphics to an 8800GT or even a 9600GT, and up your RAM to 4GB - photoediting is CPU and RAM intensive so you want your PC fortified on those fronts. And your GPU will be good enough to play more or less any game at decent settings. Vista will run tons faster on your new PC than XP on your old. You won't be dissapointed, Vista is not bad at all, especially now with SP1 coming around which will make it even faster.

Go with Vista. I was one of those that held out until about 2-3 weeks ago and it was the smoothest OS installation and I only had to install 2 drivers after the initial install and my old printer (HP 750 all in one) worked without having to install any software or drivers. I have had that printer for over 5 years!

No issues what so ever...

I'm a Vista hater and I have a Q6600 @ 3G/1333, P35-DQ6, 2G DDR2 800 and a Raptor. Additionally, XP support is going to expire in 2012, not next year. That also assumes they don't extend it like they did with 98.

@OP: Vista will run fine.