The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Vista 4gb or XP 2gb

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by ghickman07, Dec 5, 2007.

  1. ghickman07

    ghickman07 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I'm getting an ms-1719. I know exactly what I want excluding the RAM and OS. Should I get XP with 2gb of RAM or Vista with 4gb. Or better yet should I try to find a 64bit XP and use 4gb with that?

    I'm a casual gamer (Wow/CS Source), but I want a good system. I'm worried about Vista's horrible compatibilty with OpenGL. Doesn't source use that.

    I also don't want to buy a slower OS, but it seems like it would be nice to have vista for the future, because if I get XP I will not be willing to upgrade to Vista later.

    Do you think the service pack will fix all of vista's problems?
     
  2. sheff159

    sheff159 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    77
    Messages:
    880
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I would go for vista with the 4gb. Like you said you're probably not going to upgrade from XP and that 2gb, so just go for vista. Yeah it has problems, but like you said, the first service pack will really fix a lot of the problems...hopefully.

    About CS:Source, its not really a demanding game, so I wouldnt worry about it too much. I would take future proofing over a game, but thats just my opinion.
     
  3. crinzema

    crinzema Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    42
    Messages:
    302
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Xp's service pack 3 will soon come out and it gives Xp a 10% speed increase. Also, sp3 for xp will provide all the security features that are currently in vista and sp1 for vista. And vista's only thing it had over xp in the past was its security features. In my opinion, Xp is better.
     
  4. sheff159

    sheff159 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    77
    Messages:
    880
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    There is also DX10 with vista, so theres that with gaming...
     
  5. ghickman07

    ghickman07 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Does XP not support Dx10 games? I will have the 8600M Gt 512md card in the notebook.
     
  6. crinzema

    crinzema Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    42
    Messages:
    302
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Dx10, in my viewpoint, is only a marketing strategy to make you buy new hardware and software.
     
  7. ghickman07

    ghickman07 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    What about 4gb of Vista 64x vs 4gb of XP 64x
     
  8. Amol

    Amol APH! NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    1,832
    Messages:
    1,850
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    XP 64bit. will have a lot more driver issues that Vista 64bit. I'd say if you had to choose, go with Vista 64bit and 4GB of RAM.
     
  9. f4ding

    f4ding Laptop Owner

    Reputations:
    261
    Messages:
    2,085
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    I'm using XP 64-bit, and I would say before you decide to install the OS do you rresearch first. Make sure you have all the drivers. If you can get all the drivers, I would go for it. I was using XP Home before I switch, and I would say my system feels maybe 5% more stable (IE doesn't crash at all compare to once or twice every month), programs loads snappier. All this with 1GB of RAM. So...

    But on the other hand, Vista with 4GB, wow, should be very good since Vista has superfetch.
     
  10. sheff159

    sheff159 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    77
    Messages:
    880
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    No, XP does not support DX10, even if you have a DX10 compatible card. You need vista to run DX10.
     
  11. Amol

    Amol APH! NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    1,832
    Messages:
    1,850
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    So far, all the games that are made for Dx10 can be "downgraded" so that they can be played in a Dx9 environment (aka XP). So yeah you can play Dx10 games on XP - but not for long. I'm sure Microsoft would be pushing towards a complete replacement so sooner or later support will be only for Vista.

    But if you have a Dx10 card, there is no reason not to get Vista. And if you're getting Vista and you want 4GB, 64bit is the way to go.