Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Should I get a computer with Vista already installed or XP??

Jan 30, 2007 7:25AM PST

I am about to get a new desktop computer. It is an Alienware 51 7500 with 2gb of ram a 8800 gtx card and a duo core extreme chip, with 500gb raid 0.

My question is, should I tell them to go ahead and install Vista and I will start using vista right out of the box? Or should I tell them to load XP and give me the software for Vista and I will do it at a later time. (which they already said they will do)

The computers specs should handle Vista just fine, I am more concerned with the bugs and glitches found in Vista.

The computer will be used for digital creation (maya,Photoshop,Illustrator, etc) as well as some gaming on the side.

So tell them to install Vista for me to use out of the box?
Or tell them to install XP and give me Vista to install later?

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Go for XP then upgrade
Jan 30, 2007 8:08AM PST

I would go with XP for now since they are supplying the Vista upgrade. This way you can run the upgrade advisor to see if there are any software issues.
Good luck
C J

- Collapse -
the problem with that
Jan 30, 2007 8:40AM PST

I am being told by a respectable tech guy that I should just go with vista now, saying that letting them install vista from the ground up is the best thing to do, instead of trying to install vista myself later. He also said there is nothing that is so substantial that makes vista not worth getting. Any thoughts on his response to my situation? thanks

- Collapse -
I did that today...
Jan 30, 2007 8:51AM PST

And for the same reasoning your tech guy gave. We will see how it goes. Wink

Glenn

- Collapse -
I agree
Jan 30, 2007 9:06AM PST

Installing the Vista fresh would be the best option especially if you are not comfortable installing an OS. If you are good with waiting for some software and hardware to catch up with Vista, then by all means...go for it. It is a good stable OS.
Have fun.
C J

- Collapse -
Is your software Vista compatible?
Jan 30, 2007 11:12AM PST

Before loading Vista, you should check and be sure that all of the software you will be using is fully compatible with Vista. Check some forums for the software you use and/or contact the software manufacturers.

- Collapse -
ok good suggestions thanks guys
Jan 30, 2007 1:03PM PST

I am not real familiar with installing an OS or any kind of work within the BIO's, so I dont want to screw anything up. Vista is kinda sounding like the right choice, I guess I just have to find out if programs like Photoshop CS and Maya 8 will run smoothly on them. thank guys,

- Collapse -
WITH VISTA
Jan 30, 2007 11:18PM PST

As of yesterday, most prebuilt systems will be coming with VISTA. So, it may not be an option as to which OS you get, if you don't decide soon. An XP, then UPGRADE is definitely the way to go.

- Collapse -
but why?
Jan 31, 2007 1:32AM PST

so far I just see a bunch of people who have been burned in the past by previous windows OS's. People that swear on there life not to get Vista right away, but there only reason is that there "could" be problems. People waiting for an all fixing service pack before they buy.

Can people give me some absolutley legit reasons as to why I shoud wait 6 months then go pay someone to install vista. Because I am not going to install it myself and mess something up.

I dont have a problem waiting, but so far I havent seen any REAL reasons to wait yet. The OS might not have any vast improvements yet besides a cooler gui, but it will. And the fact that vista and xp are running about the same isnt enough to stop me from getting vista now, instead of having to get someone to install it later.

So many problems I see are just complaints about features in Vista, and Upgrading problems, and problems with people installing Vista after previously having XP on there computer. I seriously havent found that many actual issues like crashing, on vista. These are the things that will stop me from getting it right away.

How many real problems does vista have? I am not talking about personal prefrences in the gui or grievances with upgrade allowability. I am talking about the actual performance of the OS.

I guess I just want a couple real reasons to wait, because so far I havent heard anything convincing. Most of the comments are from people that dont have vista, have never had vista and are just saying wait because they think its the best thing to do.

If you have vista, or had it, and know real issues with it that cause crashing and drastic losses in performance, please let me know.
thanks guys

- Collapse -
Vista all the way
Jul 5, 2007 7:53PM PDT

wow! that sounds like a nice computer.. but i think it is too much specialized towards gaming. I think you would be better off with the Q6600 quad core processor and 4GB of memory. memory really helps when you are rendering using hi-def bitmaps as do the extra cores.
Of course you will need 64 bit OS to access 4GB. And that OS should be Vista Home Premium 64. I've been using it for 6 months and I love it and hope to never go back to XP (or linux). (Alienware do not specify 32/64 bit - i would check that)
The issue with software is this: is Maya going to sit on their butts for ever and pretend vista or multicore don't exist? hell no they are drooling over 4+ GB RAM, DirectX10 and working on maya 9 with vista support or they may as well shut the doors. But we are in a transition period right now.
Let Alienware test your OS. That is a big part of building a computer.
you can always swap in another hard drive later and put xp on that if you had to.
If you seek the best, you might google for "penryn" and wait a month.
good luck with the project

- Collapse -
Is Vista more compatible with all the business softwares?
Jul 5, 2007 12:22PM PDT

I would like to know whether business softwares are compatible with Windows Vista. Vista sounds like a right choice but is it a more stable and reliable system as compared to the Windows Xp system?

- Collapse -
It depends...
Jul 6, 2007 4:32PM PDT

That's something that can only be answered on a case-by-case basis as some software is compatible out of the box, some require software updates, and some are not compatible at all. If you choose your components wisely it's fine, but I'm afraid that answer is not sufficient. Since the stability and reliability depend on the hardware it's running on and the software running on it, it all comes down to the specifics. Fill those in and we'll be able to give you a better ballpark.

John