Fastest/most compatible OS choice

[artguy10]

I'm thinking about building a computer (really top-of-the-line, great video card, i7 processor, lots of ddr3 ram, etc) and want an OS that can take advantage of it. I want it to scream!!!

I know XP is faster than Vista, but my question is about 64 bit OSes. Maybe Vista 64 bit is faster than XP 32 bit on the hardware I have lined up?

What about XP 64 bit? I know a while ago there wasn't much XP 64 bit software. Is there nowadays? If software is made for 64 bit vista will it work on XP 64 bit?

What about Windows 7? Think it's worth it to wait?

Also what about Linux? I understand that Linux runs pretty well. My only concern is that there may be some hardware that doesn't work with Linux (special keyboard buttons, a particular video card? idk). For the software field I'm pretty sure I can do with Linux open source software and Wine, maybe a dual-boot or VM of XP also.

Thanks!

I'm new here btw.

PS. Can anyone tell me how to make a forum signature? I see some people with them but I don't see an option to make one myself.

 

[Osiris]

x64 is great as long as you have done your homework befoe you buy all the hardware/software, etc.

You need a higher post count for a sig.

 

[carnageX]

Vista x64 has a wider range of compatibilities it seems like; I'm running it and have no problems with any of my devices. XP x64, you'll need to do more homework on for your devices to make sure there are drivers for it.

I'm definitely getting Windows 7 when it comes out; running the Beta and its fantastic.

You're not gonna be able to game very well (or at all) in Linux. Just dual boot it with one of the above OS's; its what I do.

As for the sig, check this topic: http://www.techist.com/forums/f4/changes-avatar-signature-privileges-200915/

 

[artguy10]

Thanks guys.

I know Vista would be fast on the hardware I have lined up, but would it be as fast as XP? Just what kind of compatibility issues would I face with XP 64 bit?

I'm not a big gamer, and I'm sure I can find a couple Linux games if I'm in the mood. That's not the issue.

I'm sure I want a 64-bit system. I don't want something that's gonna use only 3GB of RAM while taking longer to do everything.... I saw the difference between 32 and 64 bit in a demonstration by Apple a while ago, and it was dramatic. Anyway, I've tried the Beta of Windows 7 in a VM, it's ok. I'm not sure if it's stable enough for me to use as a main OS though. Will the release candidate be public also? Maybe I could use that and then just buy Windows 7 Upgrade or OEM when it comes out? How would that work out?

And I guess I gatta get busy helping out other forum users to get up to 40 posts, huh?

 

[carnageX]

Driver issues with XP x64 will be your most common thing.

Windows 7 works fantastic; I used it as a main OS for quite a while and just about everything that worked in Vista/XP worked in W7. It's unknown if/when they will release another public Beta.

 

[hikaricloud]

If you tweak Vista, you can get some nice speeds. SP1 really sped things up. XP64 was a disaster for driver support, and it still is a pain now. Not really worth it.

Just get Vista 64, you'll be golden.

 

[Apokalipse]

Windows XP x64 edition has much better driver support than it used to. For almost all core hardware, it's unlikely you'll find anything which doesn't have drivers for it nowadays.
And program compatibility is almost a nonissue compared to XP or Vista.
Just make sure you use it with service pack 2 (it shares service pack 2 with server 2003 x64)

I've been running it as my main OS for a long time, and it is working very well. I can't remember the last time I've found a program that hasn't worked properly in it.

I use nlite to customise and remove things whenever I need to install it again (haven't needed to for ages though), and Vista just isn't in the same league in terms of general system performance.

 

[EricB]

I only use vista for 64 bit as I killed a few usb hard drives with xp64 bit

 

[forrestcupp]

No one should buy XP 64-bit. Even though support for it might be better than it was, there is much more support for Vista 64-bit. XP is going to be unsupported a lot sooner than newer OS's. XP is ancient. In my opinion, it would be crazy to have that kind of hardware and then put an ancient OS on it.

The truth is that on that kind of hardware, you won't see any noticeable difference of speed between Vista and XP. And if you're that obsessed with it, just turn Aero off. But that kind of hardware will have no problem running Vista.

I guess since you're not a gamer, you could try Linux first. If you get a free distro, you won't be out anything. Try it for a while, and if you don't like it, you can always wipe your hard drive and install Windows. My only advice is that if you decide you want to dual boot, it's a lot easier to have Windows installed first then install Linux. Windows' boot loader won't support Linux, but Linux's boot loader will support Windows. It's a pain to have to reconfigure grub because you wrote over it by installing Windows.

But my question is, if you're not a gamer, why in the world do you need a top of the line video card and that kind of hardware? If you have legitimate reasons, then those reasons could be your answer of whether you should try Linux or not.

And if you might try Linux, go with an nvidia video card.

 

[Apokalipse]

No one should buy XP 64-bit. Even though support for it might be better than it was, there is much more support for Vista 64-bit. XP is going to be unsupported a lot sooner than newer OS's. XP is ancient. In my opinion, it would be crazy to have that kind of hardware and then put an ancient OS on it.

It's pretty uncommon to find a piece of hardware without drivers for XP x64 edition. And hardware manufacturers would be insane to drop driver support for XP 32-bit.

The simple fact is, XP x64 is a fast, stable and very compatible OS with very few exceptions, which if you encounter them can be easily worked around. That's why I use it.

Also, the age of an OS is not a measure of how good/bad it is.

The truth is that on that kind of hardware, you won't see any noticeable difference of speed between Vista and XP.

I do.

And if you're that obsessed with it, just turn Aero off. But that kind of hardware will have no problem running Vista.

it's not as simple as just turning aero off.
Aero isn't what consumes the most resources. And even then, it uses the GPU, and not so much CPU power.
The core of the Os itself, and a lot of the services and features do use more resources.
though Windows 7 is going to be improving on that (and is looking to be quite promising as a future OS)

Not that I'm trying to imply that Vista is a bad OS (because it isn't). But XP and XP x64 edition are faster, especially if you use nlite on them.