Sager: Free XP vs Vista ?

I'm new to the world of the laptop, and new to the pre-manufactured computer as well. I've always built my own pcs, and so many of the buying ins and outs are foreign to me still.

Well, I've been researching laptops, and have narrowed it down to include a Sager model. I'm sorta stuck on whether to purchase their copy of Vista, since they don't come bundled, or save the 80+ bucks and use my copy of XP I have at home.

My only exposure to Vista was a year ago, when I had a free trial copy through a computer science class, which I removed after it bogged down my out of date computer pretty badly.

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

XP all the way. Im asuming your laptop has good specs. Ive a 1530 with 3 gigs of ram and Vista is smooth MOST of the time. But XP is so much faster. Unless there is a feature in Vista you need, go for XP FTW!

 

Cool thanks. I've been lookin' at the 2096, so it should have plenty of gusto. XP has grown on me, it would be nice to see the performance difference with it on my new laptop

 

XP all the way. I recently pulled the plug on Vista after using it on and off since launch.

 

It would depend on what version XP is, and what you need out of the current laptop.

A current laptop, though, would run Vista fine...

 

Stay with XP. In order to make Vista any good, you really need a god box of a machine and then some.

 

Todays machines are well overpowered for most users. The new computer your going to be ordering will be more than enough to handle vista. Like the one in the poster above me, that machine is overkill for just running vista.

 

Get Vista. I have Ultimate running on my old e1705, my wife's 1420, and even on an old Intel D865PERL/P4 desktop. Never had any problems with any machine. Unless you have specific applications that don't work with Vista (if a manufacturer decided not to support Vista, time to move on anyway) and you really can't afford the extra $80, I see no reason to stick with XP.

 

I gotta disagree with that especially if the laptop or manufacturer offers XP as an option. Also Microsoft plans to support the OS till 2014. That might even surpass the launch of Windows 7's successor !

 

If a software company chooses not to release patches to ensure compatibility with Vista, and that software isn't essential, I recommend moving on to another software package. IMHO, Vista is a much better operating system than XP, and the only issues I've ever had are related to programs that don't work with Vista.

Regarding the support - I'm certain you understand how the support lifecycle works, and that any support after the mainstream support phase ends (4/14/2009) is only for security releases. Plus, OEM versions of XP won't be available after next year. It's the same boat that W2K is in right now. Don't get me wrong - I think XP is a great operating system, but for me it just doesn't compare to Vista. I chose to move on.

 

Windows XP has too much of a user base for software and game companies to ignore. Given the fact that Vista is a much maligned product amongst both the public and press, the perception is enough that most software companies will continue support for XP.

Regarding support, at this point most interested XP users are not your typical consumers. So they know software and OS's and need almost no hand holding from software tech support.

I'm glad you like Vista and it works for you but others including myself feel XP is still the better product.

I have used Vista on and off since launch and made the decision to stick with XP.

 

I was reluctant to get vista at first, but since my hp had that only option, what could I do? I have to say, i was expecting the worst, but after 2 days, i favored it over xp. People complain it about crashing, but i have never had it crash, and you machine can handle vista with ease.

 

Save yourself the $80 and stick with the copy of XP you have at home.

 

I would have to agree with the yehrulz. I still have my desktop system setup with XP but now having used vista on my notebook, I can honestly say that it is one smooth operating OS. Superfetch is one great feature of Vista and loads up programs lightning fast. Most programs load up about twice as fast (compared to XP) once superfetch kicks in. My desktop specs are nothing to scoff at since I'm running 4ghz e8400 with 10,000 rpm velociraptor drive, but my notebook with t9300 2.5ghz (stock, OC'd to 3.1ghz) give my desktop a run for its money when running day to day applications. And most of times, Vista loads programs faster than XP.

Gaming performance wise, my desktop wins hands down due to couple of SLI'd cards.

And no, I haven't not experienced any issues with Vista due to program incompatibility with the OS. Runs games pretty good too.

I'm actually considering installing vista on my desktop now... but don't want to go through the pain of installing all the programs and retweaking the OS. My XP is set up pretty efficiently so I may hold off a bit longer.

 

Most Vista bashers have never tried Vista themselves.

Vista is not a bad OS anymore. But it does suffer from the windows syndrome i.e. frequent crashes.

That being said, if you already have a copy of either of them, just use that one. There is no point in paying money to upgrade atm; no groundbreaking advantages, atleast not in the home premium versions.

 

Actually, it doesn't have to suffer from crashes. I don't have any crashes in Vista anymore. And I usually only reboot it about once a week or so.

I used to have crashes pretty often, and it annoyed the crap out of me for the longest time.

But I finally fixed this by (1) installing SP1, (2) updating my BIOS to the manufacturer's latest, (3) disabling unused (e.g. modem) and nonexistent (e.g. WWAN) devices in BIOS and/or Windows' Device Manager, (4) updating all my drivers to the latest, (5) using Windows' built-in drivers where possible instead of third-party drivers (for example, I don't run Logitech's drivers or software... Windows handles the mouse fine with its built-in drivers. Same with my sound card.)

After doing those 5 things, Vista is now 100% stable for me. I used to have crashes at least once a week... now it hasn't crashed in at least 2 months. But it all depends on the hardware you run it on and the drivers that you use with it.

 

I'm assuming since you are getting a sager, you will be doing at least some gaming and if thats the case, use xp. Vista being stable or not, it still runs games slower than xp thats not a opinion thats a fact.

 

Really? http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2302500,00.asp

Who's fact is it? Yours?

 

Agreed. Vista doesn't add a lot to XP, and if you really like XP already, there's no good reason to risk the possibly Vista headaches that switching could cause. The main thing Vista adds is DX10, and your video card will still be maxxed out by high/ultra DX9 features on games that support DX10.

If in a year or so it does look like you want a newer OS, it'll be about the time that Windows 7 is released, and you can buy an upgrade to it then and have a new OS and have saved $80. And chances are it'll be quite a bit more mature at release than Vista is even today.

Note: I did use Vista for quite awhile, so if there were any really good features I'm pretty sure I would've encountered them at some point.

 

There is nothing wrong with Windows Vista. However if you already have a copy of XP at home and you can save $80, then I'd go with XP.