OT: Operating system recommendations

Well, the time has come to buy a new PC. Sadly, it won't be equipped with Linux, though I hope/expect its successor will be.

So, is there any advantage to Vista (rather than XP)? And if so, which version? Is the Media Centre stuff worth having?

Any other thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

G

I have been running various flavours of Vista for most of this year. It has a pretty interface especially on large screens. I find it very stable, but functionally it offers no new killer must have feature.

Hardware wise it needs lots of RAM and a good graphics card also with plenty of fast on board RAM.

Vista offers increased security, this can be annoying and it does consume resources and processor time. Fortunately it is configerable.

You may find issues with older peripherals, but most of mine went away when I installed a dedicated USB card as opposed to using the motherboard ports.

As for versions I use the Business edition most for my work and it serves most of my needs.

We have PC running the Ultimate edition, but it is probably overkill, the Media stuff is cool, if and I say if you can make use of it. We played around with it for a while, but have probably not used it in the last 6 months.

Many suppliers still offer xp as there were early issues with Vista. Eventually though it will be the norm, as it is now in the general High Street suppliers like PC World and Dixons.

If I were buying a new PC now I might be tempted to stay with xp, but in another year....

As far as I am aware there are still problems with Vista's compatibility with some older hardware and software. The take up among corporates has been very slow for this reason. The Media Centre version just allows you to play DVD's without having to boot your computer all the way up into Windows.

If I was forced to buy another PC for home use I'd insist on XP (Dell and most others will allow you to downgrade if you insist hard enough), but as I love the MacBook I bought and as I play more with Linux on an old PC, I think that for home use in future it'll be a Microsoft-free future.

Thanks for that. It sounds as though the Media Center stuff is not especially useful, and that Vista puts a heavier load on the system for little benefit other than allegedly better security.

I think I'll stick with the devil I know.

Cheers

G

I think this is the right decision.

If you're behind a hardware firewall (such as you'd get in a router), you don't visit dodgy websites, and you don't need things that those under 25 would think are trendy and cool, then the only reason for Vista is if you enjoy adding things to your PC that slow it down for no benefit.

I'm quite sure it's not as bad as the people on DPR-equivalent PC forums might have you believe, but my (small software) company isn't in any rush to support Vista, at least until SP1 comes out next year.

Hi George,

if you have the time, build your own. I've just built a spare (read plaything) PC with modern spec* for £70 odd (second hand mobo, CPU and RAM from ebay), and that included a new case for £30. I had a spare 160gB HD, and a spare CD RW and floppy so I had everything I needed.

I've put Mepis 6.5 (Linux) on it while I wait to put Feisty (the latest Ubuntu) on it. You can always dual or multi boot with your old XP disk, as long as (for legal reasons obviously) you aren't using it on another machine. I can't remember the flavour (EEP?) that you've got elsewhere, but if you want Linux.. go for it.

I've heard of so many problems with the first releases of Vista, I wanted to get my head around a Linux distro or three, because I'm pretty sure that unless they do something drastic, Vista will be the nail in the coffin of MS for the computer literate.. Linux is now becoming a serious contender.

It's different certainly, and I'm sure I'll be doing some of that learning curve stuff (Linux home network anyone?) but you had to learn MS, so you can learn another OS just as easily..


Cheers

Liam

* AMD Athlon 64 2800+ CPU £22.00
Gigabyte GA-K8S760M Motherboard £11.00
512mb PC3200 RAM £9.00

Okay, not geek game machine, but good enough. Call it £80, if you want a Gig of RAM.

Liam,

Unfortunately I don't have a huge amount of time at present. And I want a fast machine with plenty of fast disk space, so second-hand kit probably won't do.

After my frustrating experiences trying to find the cause of strange lines on my pictures (which I first blamed, wrongly, on the K10D) I want a turn-key solution, where if there is any problem I can just send the box back.

But when I retire............

Thanks for the suggestion.

G

George - have a look at this site http://www.powerc.com/gp/pc.main/1
I bought a pc from here a few years ago and it was ok - and its still going.
Reasonable prices and quick delivery.

Richard