Windows XP Vs. Vista [Archive] - Steam Gamers Community

Swizzy *B*

14 Apr 2008, 03:52pm

Stupid question, no offense.

If you can handle vista get vista, otherwise XP is fine.

Aren't you a computer tech?

The Reason i ask is b/c If you have Xp and you want to upgrade to Vista, Vista takes up Memory so lets say you have a 4GB, Vista will use almost 1 GB. So theres Pro's and Cons. And yes I am a Computer Tech.

Misanthrope

14 Apr 2008, 03:58pm

I was under the impression that Vista used fewer handles than XP, however, DirectX 10 is overrated in my opinion, I can hardly tell the difference in Crysis.

Red

14 Apr 2008, 03:58pm

Just stick with XP

PotshotPolka

14 Apr 2008, 04:55pm

You should know that Vista is just a clever new GUI made to compete with Apple and their user-friendly Mac OS X. Like all other Windows versions (besides NT) it can run 16-bit and 32-bit and of course 64-bit drivers, and is still based primarily on DOS. Command prompts for XP and Vista are nearly identical, I have a Vista laptop and a XP desktop, I'll go with XP anyday.

phatman76

14 Apr 2008, 06:45pm

go Vista, it is not any more expensive at most places and the some of the newer features and settings are top notch - ultimate that is. If you get Vista and aren't computer retarded, you have to go ultimate. I love it, great security settings and stability. When I got it a few of my drivers were sorta crappy, but now they are all great.

Zero001

15 Apr 2008, 01:08am

The use of more RAM isn't a bad thing. It just means more is preloaded into the memory cache and readily available for use. I can launch iTunes as quickly as I can open the start menu. The use of RAN is also determined by how much you have. My laptop with 2GB idles around 900MB and my desktop with 4GB idles around 1.4GB

Like Red said, if your computer can handle it Vista is fine. Either way they're both good OS's. If you're going the 64bit route Vista is the way to go. 64bit XP never matured into what the Vista version is. All of the drivers you'll need are readily available today, something that was lacking at launch and caused the wide "Vista sucks" bandwagon. If you can't find the driver, you're running hardware that's seriously outdated anyway.

As far as games, Vista x64 supposedly performs slightly better when running modern games. It can sometimes be troublesome to get older games running, but I've yet to find a workaround through compatibility mode. This guy is proof that you can game using Vista X64 406+ games (http://ui26.gamespot.com/345/games7.png)

James

15 Apr 2008, 02:57am

If you want to still play old games without any problems-like me, stick with XP. Unreal Tournament 99 FTW!

Tcp-Kill

15 Apr 2008, 03:38am

Well when i first got my vista i was like omfg what is this shit

i'm not actually liking it.

never the less XP will be better for gaming, vista gives and new style to gaming.

i like vista i have it and its cool :D

Zero001

15 Apr 2008, 03:49am

If you want to still play old games without any problems-like me, stick with XP. Unreal Tournament 99 FTW!

You wouldn't have any trouble running that in Vista x64.

Honestly the only problems I've had was running a mod Forgotten Hope, and installing the original Dawn of War. Being a mod FH isn't coded as well and a simple right-click>properties>compatibility mode solved the issue. The same has to be done for BF1942 if you want to run the mod. Battlefield 1942 on it's own doesn't need compatibility mode. Dawn of War didn't give me a Vista issue, but rather a 64bit issue. Most of the time you just run these programs in the x86 folder, but EA gave me some extra work by making me create a new user with only access to x86. I installed it using the new user and BAM! my administrative account had the files and I deleted the new user.

You shouldn't have any problems with most games. Even Command and Conquer from Windows 95 days installed and runs flawlessly.

cheese

15 Apr 2008, 06:15am

Red

15 Apr 2008, 09:30am

Actually thinking about some trouble I've seen people have with running some games on vista, I'd say go with XP.

Captain Colon

15 Apr 2008, 03:06pm

you cant compare windows xp against vista , there are many more versions of vista
Vista ultimate is bether then windows xp but windows xp owns the regular vista, you also got a windows vista made for game's
I was going to say sort of the same thing...much like XP Home is shit but XP Pro is pretty good, Vista Home is pretty shitty. It has very few of the features that really make Vista better than XP. Ultimate performs much better (if you have enough memory, I think it recommends an extra gig for Ultimate over Home) and has many more features.

If you have an older machine then I'd stick with XP (although you can turn off Aero in Vista and get a substantial performance boost), but if you've got a computer that's been made in the past 2-3 years and has at least 2GB of memory, Vista Ultimate is the way to go. Especially if you've ever used OSX or Linux and know how to use features like symlinks, which are now supported in the latest iteration of NTFS that I believe is only supported by Vista. It's also got lots of features ripped from Linux/OSX that make Vista a breeze for lazy people like me, such as the quick-search start menu and native hotkeys for the first 10 items on your quicklaunch bar. When I get back from classes I just hit Win+1 and firefox is open and I'm ready to browse the internets, and if I forget to open winamp before I already opened a game I can just hit Win+2 and bring it up and start the rock without having to alt+tab, since it opens minimized and I have global hotkeys set up for winamp already.

Phobos

15 Apr 2008, 03:28pm

I've actually noticed vista (ult) booting up and waking up a lot faster than xp, but vista still hogs more mem/cpu. I turned off the automatic SearchIndexer, but TrustedInstaller.exe pops up randomly and just eats away at my cpu.

Veggie

16 Apr 2008, 12:27am

Itch

16 Apr 2008, 07:46am

Vista has come a long way. Between Service Pack 1 and drivers having gotten much better and more stable, Vista is very reliable.

XP is faster for gaming not by much tho, also with Microsoft ending the patch lifecycle for XP, a lot of people are going to Switch to Vista.

You still have over a year left before they end of life the XP patching.. and even then I'm not so sure they will end XP patching. For example if you run WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) you still get critical and security updates for Windows 2000! Even though it is technically past it's "End of Life" for patching. Granted they won't issue driver and software updates for that OS but who cares?

Straylight

16 Apr 2008, 01:26pm

I'm not a huge fan of Vista, but the things they did had to be done. XP is pretty old and even though its pretty stable- It does have a pretty flawed driver model that can cause the entire system to hemmorage.

Plus, a great deal of Vista drivers out right now are simple kludges in programming. Meaning they are tweaked drivers that barely require Vista. I'm sure by the time the new Windows 7 beta comes out there wil be some truly fast drivers that actually take advantage of the new architecture (and no I'm not talking about dx10).

There are a ton of other things they improved in Vista that I approve of. But most of those changes are under the hood. Meaning they wont really affect the end user anytime soon.

My suggestion is stay with XP unless you A) need 64bit computing or B) know theres a game that is Vista only that you want.

Vista is a pretty big mess, much the same way WinME was when they tried to cram a whole bunch of new things in the OS. I'll always look at Vista as an ugly transitional but necessary phase.

LVG

18 Apr 2008, 11:09am

Yea id say XP although i have Vista to many bugs especially Hl2.exe errors

PotshotPolka

20 Apr 2008, 08:11am

In a nutshell Vista is the NT of the 21st century, just switch it out later with Vienna.

Straylight

21 Apr 2008, 09:22am

In a nutshell Vista is the NT of the 21st century, just switch it out later with Vienna.

HA, Well said.

mikemon

3 May 2008, 06:22pm

I work as a computer tech

Vista does have alot of quirky issues, such as major updates like sp1 causing errors with applications and never competing.

I guess the general terms applies, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Personally i still recommend people xp, most of the good applications still run on windows 2000.
This is just a sign of how long most applications will continue to support xp, even tho vista is being pushed on the market level.

The way i see it (people will differ)

Stability comes first, then performance.

Xp has long proved its self, so it should be used majority.

The only thing i would switch to vista in the future would be for DirectX 10.

NIKO

3 May 2008, 06:29pm

I think im going to try vista on my new computer

Cooki3Monsta

4 May 2008, 02:15am

I'm too used to Xp but sooner or later I will accept vista :tongue_smilie:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

4 May 2008, 08:53am

xp for me
if you want play games then you need xp

Red

4 May 2008, 09:32am

I stuck with XP for my new system. It works.

Zero001

4 May 2008, 09:44am

xp for me
if you want play games then you need xp
:glare:
Someone ignored the list I put up. Not to mention if you want to play DX10 games then you need Vista.

Toxin

7 May 2008, 07:19pm

Zero001

7 May 2008, 07:24pm

Like they already said, you want to play Games, get Windows XP. In three years, when more Games work on Vista, switch to Vista. Vista has atm too much Bugs and doesnt work good with older games like Counter Strike or Counter Strike CZ.

Who told you that lie?
:glare::glare: Another one that completely ignored what I posted :thumbdown:

xgamer

8 May 2008, 04:31am

vista can play counter strike.... and it also has some stuff that i think is better. if my video card crashes on xp i have to shut down but on vista it can window down and repair itself with css still open... also vista has dx 10 (if that wasnt mentioned already :P)

Modgers1

8 May 2008, 06:30am

Coming from me, after taking MCSA training in Windows XP/Serv. 2k3, my choice is going to remain XP for the next few months. Microsoft's original plan was to dump XP as of June 30th, but they've pushed back that date due to complaints from customers. For those of you concerned with HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS, Microsoft will be releasing a "Dumbed Down" version of Vista called "Windows 7" I believe later this year? There is nothing really WRONG with Vista, but my preference will remain XP. There's no point in upgrading when your current OS works fine. My instructor is still using Windows 2000 just because he has not found the need to update to XP. Just because a new OS is released, does not mean you should feel obligated to upgrade.

Just my two cents. :biggrin:

-Modgers

Straylight

8 May 2008, 07:55am

Who told you that lie?
:glare::glare: Another one that completely ignored what I posted :thumbdown:

I believe the general public is still under the impression they heard when Vista first came out. Back then (what a year and a half ago?) compatibility was more of an issue. As far as Source engine goes- I haven't had a problem with It and Vista for quite a while.

Oh and Windows 7 is supposed to be more modular, Rumors of letting you purchase you MS Operating system A La carte to only buy what you need. (imagine being able to get windows for less because you opted out of outlook express).

The upside to modularity is that each piece has less requirements outside of itself. no more ridiculous dependencies.

Suri

8 May 2008, 08:54am

I bet this has been said already,

But if you want to be able to play any game that uses DX10 you need to have VISTA. I like Vista. I got it for my wifes PC, and now i am taking it away from her so i can use it on my new Rig.

Straylight

8 May 2008, 09:52am

Phobos

21 May 2008, 06:32pm

I'm using XP MCE on my brand new PC, and I actually miss Vista. A lot of XP is more stable, but Vista just seems to start up better. My laptop runs XP Pro and it gets so many BSODs from the ATI mX1600 it's unbelievable.

Also, the XP default wireless connection tool is total crap. It often says it's connected to something when it really isn't, and does all this other messy crap I don't want to blab about, so I use my laptops Intel PROset Wireless CP... SOOOO MUCH BETTER. Anyways, Vista's default networking is much better imo.

AndreiD

21 May 2008, 06:47pm

Gaming Performance : Vista SP1 vs XP SP3
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2302495,00.asp

0 difference.

Jimbo

22 May 2008, 09:46am

I have vista i like windows Xp better..

So many things on Vista are bothersome eveytime you run something you like 5 pop up is it ok to run this program?

juku

23 May 2008, 10:29pm

That is true XP is better since it needs less system requirements to actually even run the computer- then the games. Also for many korean games(mmorpg) that were imported to be in english had errors when trying to change items in the options such as a game like Granado espada. In the end at least they chose the right choice to reach the demand of the people such as in this article in this site:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9910253-56.html

BOOWY

24 May 2008, 12:05pm

Get both. No seriously, I assume most people here have XP. It doesn't mean you have to stop using XP if you decide to get Vista. If you're going to get Vista, get it for the right reasons... which right now only seems to be for DX10 games. If that's your thing, but you don't want to worry about compatibility with older games, then get Vista, and then install XP and get your system to dual boot.

Modgers1

24 May 2008, 01:21pm

Unfortunately, most people do not have the cash to consider this option.

-Modgers

Z3r0 M4ni4c

24 May 2008, 01:34pm

I stay with XP for now.
Also they already got servicepack3 for it.

But Vista has less FPS then XP has when i play CSS or Battlefield 2142.
Maby it was my settings but im not proud of vista.

I was a beta tester for the vista OS. But there still to many bugs. And its not as good as XP has it for now with me.

My suggestion is:

If you want to play easy and dont have lot of money stick with XP also when your vidcard isnt ready yet.

If you can affort it and have a good vidcard like a Ati X1900 or higher, or Geforce 8*** serie and like 3gig memory or more. Then take Vista.

But XP is still for me the best system to play on if i must chose between vista and XP.