Which should I choose: Windows XP or Windows Vista Ultimate?

I'm putting together a new PC build, and I've actually never installed Windows Vista before. My old setup was way too weak to even bother, so I just stuck with Windows XP running Service Pack 2...
I'd love to get some advice from the veterans here—should I make the jump to Vista? What are the pros and cons in your experience?
Also, does the installation process require any special steps? Like with XP, where you might need a boot floppy for the DVD-ROM driver, SATA hard drive drivers, and all that other extra stuff...
If there's a specific site that explains this clearly, please let me know...

Thanks

We have tons of threads just like this one on the forum...
Look, you’re basically stirring up a storm with this topic—I won't close it because you deserve an answer, but honestly, it’s unnecessary!
Here’s my take: how much experience do you actually have with computers? You’ve been using Windows XP until now, right? And you were happy with it? I assume so! So, why on earth would you switch right this second? My advice is to stick with Windows XP for a while longer—then you can easily layer Windows Vista on top of it. That way, you keep using Windows XP just like you always have, but you also have Windows Vista ready to go. You can test it, poke around, and see for yourself which OS you actually prefer!
It wouldn't matter if me and a hundred other people told you Windows XP is better—once a hundred other people tell you Windows Vista is superior... well, you’ll probably just end up doing exactly what you originally planned anyway, right?

Look, Roger Cook25, I’ve got 8 desktops and 2 laptops at my place for work, all running different versions of DOS. I'm talking everything from Vista Starter, Home Premium, Home Basic, Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise, plus various Windows XP setups. Honestly? My advice is to just stick with Windows XP.
XP:
Easier networking
Faster performance
A quick update (which is actually good since they polished it up and it doesn't hog your bandwidth like Vista does)
Low GPU usage
Fewer annoying pop-ups compared to Vista
Runs fine even on 256 MB of RAM
Almost every program still supports XP
Vista:
Easy searching via the Start menu
Nice graphics
Driver support isn't universal yet
👍

I'll stick with Windows XP for another 5 or 6 years—then maybe I'll look at Vista.

Moving from Windows XP to Vista feels like trading in a stallion for a donkey.

You can have it either way—just ask me and I'll give you an answer, easy enough, brico packs more....

wiredtiger10 said:Maybe stick with Windows XP for another 5 or 6 years, then maybe move to Vista.

Moving from Windows XP to Vista feels a bit like trading in a stallion for a donkey, I suppose.

heheh😁 😂 Well, look at it this way: if you actually manage to stay on Windows XP for another six years without installing anything else, I promise I’ll leave America and never come back...
By 2014, Windows XP will probably feel just like Windows 95 does now. By then, Windows 7 might already be considered old... and you'll still be hanging onto Windows XP. 😁
Long after everyone else has moved on to DirectX 15, you'll likely still be stuck with DX 9.0c on Windows XP. 👍

As for that "trading a horse for a donkey" part... that was pretty much my experience when I downgraded from Vista back to Windows XP. It felt exactly like that, so I ended up reinstalling Vista that same day.

I guess I’d suggest Roger Cook25 try both and just decide which one works better for him personally... 👍

You’re definitely one of those people riding the wave of the latest processors, GPUs, and all that gear. Personally, I plan on keeping this rig for at least another 5 or 6 years—maybe even longer. It's the same deal with Windows XP. I tried out Windows Vista Ultimate, but honestly? I realized Windows XP is way better. Sure, some stuff might not run on XP, but we'll see. If I actually end up needing something that won't work, then I'll jump over to Vista. But Windows XP is faster and simpler, and that’s exactly what I want from an OS. Maybe time moves faster for you because you're obsessed with having the newest processor, the latest OS, the newest DirectX, etc. I just need what I need—if it works perfectly, why switch to something slower and more bloated? For me, Vista is a total bust. It happens in other industries too, where the successor isn't any better than what came before it. Just look at the successor to the Ford Mustang Mach 1 and you'll see exactly what I mean.

I'm totally with wiredtiger10 on this one—Windows XP is just faster, period. Plus, you're going to run into so many issues on Vista where half the stuff that works perfectly fine on XP just won't run at all... it's a headache.

The Corporation is setting up an OS on a new machine... I guess if they care about gaming, they should probably stick with Windows XP because Vista is a bit sluggish in that department. But if they’re looking for a snappier interface, maybe Vista would have the edge on a new rig...

Kyle Diaz6 - give me an example

😂 😂 you've gotta be kidding me... seriously, just grab some old bug CD from any year and check which OS every single application actually runs on

Roger Cook25 said:I'm putting together a new rig, so I've actually never installed Windows Vista before—my old setup was way too weak to even bother... up until now I've just been running Windows XP with Service Pack 2...
Looking for some advice from the pros here—should I make the jump to Vista? What are the pros and cons??
Also, does the install require any special steps? Like with XP, where you need a boot floppy with the DVD ROM driver, the SATA hard drive driver, and all that other junk...
If there's a good site that explains this clearly, please let me know...

Thanks

When I bought my laptop, it came with Vista, but honestly, I'm always at the local internet cafe
using XP instead.
My advice? Stick with XP.
I read somewhere on this forum that Vista is basically still a baby
while XP is fully grown. And trust me, there's truth to that. Vista looks nicer, sure, but XP is just easier and faster.
I'd recommend getting XP but skinning it to look like Vista (which you can totally do)—that way you stay trendy while easing into the idea of Vista, since its time is coming and XP will hang on for a bit longer.
Hope that makes sense. Good luck with the decision!👍

I haven't actually messed around with Vista 32-bit yet, but I did give the 64-bit Ultimate SP1 a real shot. Honestly? I wasn't feeling it at all. It took a full five minutes just to boot up, and I only had three measly programs set to launch at startup... talk about overkill! As far as getting the networking sorted between Vista and Windows 2003 goes, I managed to get that running in about a minute, so that part was fine. But still, I just can't bring myself to love it; that boot time was just way too sluggish for my liking, and it feels a bit slow overall, at least in my experience. In the end, I made the jump over to Windows XP SP2 X64 + quick update, and man, I am much happier with it.

I currently run both Windows XP SP3 x86 and Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 x86. It really depends on the intended purpose of the machine. In my experience, both operating systems perform adequately. I make it a point to enter the BIOS and disable anything unnecessary, such as the floppy drive or other redundant hardware. Within the Windows Vista Services, I manually disable about 30 different services. Furthermore, I reduce the number of startup programs to an absolute minimum. The choice of security software also plays a significant role. For instance, which antivirus, anti-spyware, or firewall you choose to install? Certain security suites can significantly degrade system performance.

Kyle Diaz6 said:😂 😂 I think you might be pulling my leg here... if you just grab some bug CD from any given year and check which OS each application supports, you'll see how it works.

Well, obviously they aren't going to list Windows Vista support on them, since they don't exactly have a crystal ball to predict which OS is coming out next... if you pick up a bug CD from 2000, I guess you'll see if the apps say Windows XP ???
Besides, I doubt he's planning on running ancient software on a brand new machine... I suppose all the newer programs will support Vista!

Honestly, if Windows Vista is running smoothly for you, just stick with it.
If it's driving you crazy, though—just roll back to Windows XP.
At the end of the day, nobody knows what you personally prefer better than you do.
Maybe try sticking with Vista for a week or two? If it still feels off, you can always just reinstall Windows XP.

Look, darkviper7 is totally right here—there’s no point in arguing about what works best for you. I actually gave Vista a shot myself, but honestly? I ended up jumping right back to Windows XP... I just don't have a real need for Vista yet, and let's be real, Windows XP is way faster—plus, there are still so many programs that won't even run on the newer stuff... but hey, you should just try it out for yourself and see how you feel.

I’ve got both Windows XP and Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 x64 installed on my machine right now. For the first day or two, Vista felt a bit sluggish compared to XP—probably just because it was busy indexing everything—but lately, I actually get the feeling it runs faster than XP. Working in Vista feels a lot smoother, though it did take me a little while to get used to the whole Windows Explorer philosophy they went with here. Everything I used to run on XP works fine in Vista, with the exception of Adobe Soundbooth CS3 and my old Trust webcam from four years ago. It definitely feels more secure than XP, it handles multi-core processors better, and it really eats up RAM (they suggest 2 GB for the 32-bit version and 4 GB for the 64-bit one). Still, I guess you just have to see what works best for you.

What kind of question is that? It's obviously Windows XP.

Kyle Perez50 said:There’s just no way to know for sure how much is actually in Vista

Look, you can always strip those confirmations out if you want. Just keep in mind you might run into some weird glitches down the road since that specific service won't be running...

I’d probably stick with Windows XP for another year or two—maybe even longer—and then just jump straight over to Windows Vista once they actually get their act together. You gotta wait until they finally release decent drivers that actually work on Vista