Which OS should I buy?

**Black Hawk** · December 27, 2006, 03:58 AM

Hello, I am currently undecided as to which windows OS I should purchase, so far I think I'll wait for Vista to arrive and purchase the retail Home Premium for $240

Would it be better to purchase the OEM XP mediacenter with upgrade to Vista?

Currently I am using Fedora Core 6 and having a hard time configuring it to play videos or play games.
Thanks

**DarK_RTW** · December 27, 2006, 04:18 AM

Windows Vista will give you a harder time configurating it to play games

It doesn't support all the XP/2K games and its slower in most respects.
Hell, it doesn't even have Hardware Accelerated sound, which also results in reduced performance in video games.
Get a regular XP Home or Pro and pay $150 for Vista next xmas or something. It's just a hype atm.

**freekyjason** · December 27, 2006, 07:08 AM

Originally Posted by DarK_RTW

Windows Vista will give you a harder time configurating it to play games

It doesn't support all the XP/2K games and its slower in most respects.
Hell, it doesn't even have Hardware Accelerated sound, which also results in reduced performance in video games.
Get a regular XP Home or Pro and pay $150 for Vista next xmas or something. It's just a hype atm.

agreed, stick with xp for the moment, get vista when there is more game support for it. you can always get those packs with the free upgrade, but i wouldnt bother.

**Shaun** · December 27, 2006, 01:19 PM

Get XP, its dead cheap now.

**Shazbot** · December 27, 2006, 01:39 PM

XP all the way.

**Black Hawk** · December 27, 2006, 08:20 PM

So I should buy XP even though it is OEM, I thought Vista offered DX9 support as well as DX10 :hmmm:.

What happens if I have to upgrade or change some hardware?

Thanks for all your answers

**Zuwxiv** · December 27, 2006, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by Black Hawk

So I should buy XP even though it is OEM, I thought Vista offered DX9 support as well as DX10 :hmmm:.

What happens if I have to upgrade or change some hardware?

Thanks for all your answers

Last I heard, if you change any hardware more than twice, Vista locks you out. It's considered having Vista installed on multiple computers, so it could screw you over. (When I read this a few weeks ago, it was the vague wording of a license agreement in the beta that did this - I'm not 100% sure if it is still true. Someone else might know more about it.)

If you're in the market to buy hardware: Buy a computer that is as good as you can get for the money you have. If you want to build it yourself, go to Newegg.com. If money isn't an issue, don't buy top of the line anyway. It will be cheaper later, it's pretty much never worth it to buy top of the line. Just get something good that is actually worth the money you pay for it.

If you aren't building it yourself, then order it from somewhere that will give you a free upgrade to Vista. But don't install it yet, because many programs don't take advantage of Vista or just simply aren't compatible. Wait until at least fall of '07 to install Vista, because it will only slow you down until then.

Also, Vista will have a crap load of viri and adware for it within the first couple months. By mid 2007, they will probably have fixed most of the issues and it will be better.

If you already have the computer, just stick with XP. It's cheap, it works, it's safe(er than anything else Microsoft will have), and your programs will work with it. Vista will be pricey, wait till the price drops and then get it.

Although honestly, I've converted recently. Macs won't disappoint you. They can run Vista and XP natively, have tons of their own cool programs, and the software is excellent. Compare Vista to OSX 10.5, it's not even a challenge. Time Machine is amazing, Spaces has been on Linux but it's still great, and so on.

And by the way, Vista is a ripoff. This doesn't begin to describe it.

Edit: Link for Vista Security concerns; and here's a Link that shows that Apple isn't above it all anyway.

**shenmueguru** · December 28, 2006, 11:14 AM

If you purchase the XP MCE with the upgrade coupon, can you upgrade to Vista at any time or is there an expiration date (to avoid the $130 upgrade price later on)?

**aorz** · December 28, 2006, 05:21 PM

Widgets does not equal gadgets...aha, that was hilarious. Good show.

Basically, it is worth the wait. As much as I want to have to spend 400 dollars on a video card to play direct x10 games, I don't at all. I'll wait a couple years till all the hardware is reasonably priced, and dual core is "old technology."

**Patton** · December 28, 2006, 05:51 PM

Do a google search for Tom's hardware they have an excellent article in conjunction with a review for the new athelon porcessor in which they explain the bennies of vista and it's application to gameing and how it will help optimize gameing apps for multi core's... but having it there and geting software manufacturers to program that in is as usual mostly 5 years or so out. They also reccomend what to add to the package for extreme gamers. lots of great info at this site and they keep the budget in mind for all reviews and articles. They also have a list burried somewhere that has the games currently out that can use vista as mentioned above and yes most titles will not run on it. I think it all depends on your gameing preferance. If you like FPS or FPS engine based games ( ec. Vanguard Saga of Heroes) then you may want the juice.

**Richard the Lionheart** · December 28, 2006, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by Black Hawk

Hello, I am currently undecided as to which windows OS I should purchase, so far I think I'll wait for Vista to arrive and purchase the retail Home Premium for $240

Would it be better to purchase the OEM XP mediacenter with upgrade to Vista?

Currently I am using Fedora Core 6 and having a hard time configuring it to play videos or play games.
Thanks

If you're going to dish out the money and buy a new OS, then wait till the release of Vista and buy that.