Looking for an OS

[twinkles]

I'm looking for an operating system that will function but not cost me a mint. Several people have urged me not to go with vista, but XP seems like it'll be outdated and dead soon. It's mainly just for a pc for gaming and music. Any suggestions?

 

[eyeCpc]

It will take some time for the next version following Vista to be seen out. For the time being it would be more the edition of Vista you select and buying an oem disk rather then spending full retail while that also sees the 64bit version of the same edition included explaining why Vista sees $399.99 for Ultimate while XP only saw $180 retail like previous versions. Two OSs for one for twice the price.

The Home Premium suits most since most of the additional features seen in Ultimate are for offering network support. With Vista most are simply unaware of steps you can take to see improvements in overall performance there. Performance and maintenance - Windows Vista Help

An older article soon after Vista's initial release provides 10 easy steps at http://www.connectedinternet.co.uk/2007/10/19/10-simple-ways-to-speed-up-windows-vista/

 

[aaronkupen]

Get Vista Home Premium, either 32 bit or 64 bit depending on how much ram you have.

 

[eyeCpc]

I have 4gb on now running the 32bit edition here along with XP. With SP1 now SP2 beta Vista reports almost 3.56gb total with some 2,8gb free for whatever. That points at some 700mb used by Windows and the rest mapped out to hardwares due to the 32bit kernel.

The full retail package however sees both 32 and 64bit disks included. But for saving on price the oem Home Premium 32bit flavor is now seen for only $99.99 compared to what it was when Vista first came out. Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English 1pk for System Builders - Operating Systems

The same is seen for the 64bit edition of HP as well at Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - Operating Systems

 

[carnageX]

Like said before, Vista Home Premium will be just fine. Vista isn't as bad as people make it out to be. I like it much more than XP in fact. Windows 7 won't be out for a while, so you might as well upgrade to Vista now.

 

[eyeCpc]

I thinking about grabbing an oem for the 64bit version of HP here until then. I'll simply add that in along with the triple boot I have already to compare both side by side.