Vista SP1 (32-bit) vs XP Pro Sp3 (32-bit)

[Jojee]

My new laptop can come with either. Which should I pick?

I plan to use this laptop for at least 3 years.

[Clouded Sky]

I really don't have much first-hand experience with Vista, so I supposed I'm a bit biased (I've touched it a few times on my girlfriend's laptop.)

My guy feeling is that you'll find more support for your general use on XP Joy, but maybe that's me. Microsoft should have Windows 7 ready at some point in time and you might be able to just skip from XP to 7. But like I said, I really have no knowledge of Vista, so it'd be interesting to see what sort of features current users like. (flashy-ness aside.)

[o_O]

You'll get more 'bang for your buck' out of XP, in that your laptop will be able to better utilise its resources. Vista wastes a lot on flash graphics amongst other things, so you'll see heavier RAM, CPU and GPU usage with it. Vista's also (lots) more expensive.

Having said that though, Vista is more secure and once you've used it for a while the differences do become second nature to you. If you run a 32 bit copy of XP then you should be wary of the fact that everything will move towards 64 bit architectures and drivers will become more difficult to find for 32 bit systems.

Personally, I'd wait for Vienna, since you're unlikely to run into many problems with apps being developed for Vista and not XP before then. I'm notoriously against Microsoft and everything they spawn. :p

[Yamaneko]

There's no reason not to get Vista on a new machine. Any modern laptop will run the operating system with the full Aero interface. Vista is also more secure.

[Yar]

I love Vista on my laptop. People sometimes will whine about how "Vista Sucks, yay XP," but their statements are often unfounded. Some people know what they're talking about, but lots of people who I see say that Vista is crap have actually never used it and are only say what they hear other people say.

If you are nervous and are comfortable with XP, then you could go with that. But once I got used to Vista, I really see no point in going back.

[Jessweeee♪]

I like Vista 'cause it's purdy! The only thing I don't like about it is that sometimes people refuse to help me with computer problems (which rarely happen, btw) when I say I use Vista ._.

[Jojee]

I only have those two choices because the laptop is purchased from my law school, and I need it immediately.

Functionally, XP Pro SP3 is supposed to run better than Vista SP1. However, since XP is pretty much an outdated system, I don't think they will have any more updates, so I don't know if it will be good if I'm going to use it for at least 3 years. Then again, is Vista getting replaced soon with uh, Vienna as well? I don't know. Vista SP1 that they're offering is 32-bit as well, and there is no price difference with what system I choose.

[Shoeberto]

If it was a year ago, I'd have probably recommended XP, but at this point Vista is probably the better choice.

[Yamaneko]

Windows 7 will be an incremental upgrade to Vista.

[Mirage]

I'm running XP x64, but don't do 64bit unless you have more than 4 GB RAM :p, because 64bit applications use more RAM than their 32bit counterparts.

I'm running XP on my laptop too, but I could run Vista and strip it down to perform about just like XP does. Maybe I'll do that on my next laptop. And I'm sure they'll release a service pack 4 for XP as well.

[Rostum]

I use Vista 64-bit and have no troubles whatsoever, but I also have a beast of a machine. Not sure what your specs are on laptop, but I know people like Dell sell Vista on machines that can only barely run it.

[Jojee]

After some research I think I'll go with XP. My laptop will have 2 gigs of ram. I'm not terribly concerned about security. I don't browse from the admin login and I don't go to questionable sites, have anti-virus, etc.

Edit: Yep, I went with XP. I currently run Vista on my desktop with 1 gig of ram and I blue screen due to ram problems all the time. 2 gigs is more than 1, but I figure having a system that uses less resources > any additional features Vista offers that I probably don't even utilize.

[bipper]

If it was a year ago, I'd have probably recommended XP, but at this point Vista is probably the better choice.

QFT. I don't know why your vista blue screens on you, but I have had it running fine on 512 with a 128 base PCI gfx card. You can tame it, but it scales a lot better than XP does.

Also, since you will be likely mail merging and such for law school, I Am assuming you will be using the newest office, which in my experience, runs a ton better on vista.

vista has a lot of good productivity tools. It is not just windows->Theme = macOSX. There is a lot of hate out there for it, and rightfully so; I am still going to say I personally prefer vista.