Rated: 100% (4 votes)
Loading ...Vista, a shock to the system?
combatus
Well it’s taken me over a year but I’ve finally made the move from XP to Vista on my main rig. If I hadn’t had the opportunity to use the new OS on other systems I doubt whether I would have made the change yet but the other day I hit the point where the advantages suddenly outweighed the disadvantages and took the plunge with Vista Home Premium 32bit (no not 64bit, one step at a time!) Do I like it? Yes I do. It’s not a massive leap from XP but it looks much nicer and I can still get things the way I like them.
I’ve set the OS up on a few systems and run through the installation of updates and drivers numerous times, but actually using it full time isn’t something I’ve been prepared to do. After all, XP just works. No issues with sound cards, no slow file transfers and performance in general, and something everyone is used to. Some particular niggles simply prevented me from making the move - for example, Vista not working with Frontpage (if you input a hyperlink, the program would crash). But these have all been resolved although I’ll doubtless find new ones!
Aside from the recent updates impoving the situation for the OS like GPU drivers and of course SP1, there is one overiding fact that anyone still with XP should consider and is the main reason why I bit the bullet. Vista is the future. However much you or I like the seasoned XP, it’s simplicity(?), it’s speed, its stability, it is now irrelevant. Support will cease for it in June of this year and you’ll no longer be able to buy it retail. DX10 looks like it won’t be morphed into an XP friendly version so for future games Vista will be a necessity if you want the full eye candy.
And the eye candy will come. No we haven’t seen the full capability of DX10 yet, not by a long shot. It’s so different to everything that’s gone before it that it will take time for developers to adhere and get used to it’s features. Performance will also improve. DX9 has always been faster but this is rapidly becoming old news as driver updates close the gap each month sometimes by significant margins.
In this light, it’s the dawn of a new age of PC gaming. DX10 has huge potential and a really good summary can be heard from Futuremark’s site manager in relation to the new DX10 3D Benchmark, 3DMark Vantage.
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/30291.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/30933.html
While Vista may still have it’s share of niggles, a vast majority of these can be overcome and the sleek look and feel as well as the new features of the OS more than make up for this. In short it’s now easy to move from XP to Vista with little or no hassle for the average user. 32Bit versions especially, although 64bit versions still have compatibility issues in certain scenarios so if you use your PC for all manner of things from browsing, editing and gaming then it might be best to stick with a 32Bit version for now.
In the coming months many new games and benchmarks will be taking advantage of DX10 and the OS in general will improve too. I even know a few businesses who are already migrating to Vista so while XP will run everything fine for the forseeable future and will doubtless prove quicker and more compatible for a while yet, if only to keep up with technology, moving to Vista is the right thing to do. As I have learnt, you can’t “know” an OS until you use it day in day out on your own machine. Having a play on the odd system with Vista installed doesn’t really do anything for your understanding and when you come to use it full time, it will be just as big a shock to the system (pun not intended…) as if you’d never set eyes on it. And with the recent price crash, OEM Vista Premium can be had for less than £60 which is less than that 4GB of RAM you’ve been eyeing up.
Good article, i too have 32bit vista home premium. At the end of the day you have to move with the times. It won’t be long before games and apps are saying ‘Vista only’!
Well, bugger. Think I might have to go the way of the Vista for added support.
Tried it out at college. Aftrer 20secs I’d turned off all the “flashy” stuff. Much nicer after that!
Microsoft have admitted that they are bringing out windows 7 next year
Vista is not the future its just ME all over again
Yes I have heard rumours that 7 is due out late next year but this is speculation and has been quashed by many sites http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/28/windows-won-released-2009
Even with release next year, that could be 18 months away which is a long time considering what has happened in just the last 6 months.
I have to admit that on many new systems I’ve built, even recently, I’ve recommended XP over Vista simply because the owner has no interest in DX10 or Aero and just wants something that works. Throwing Vista at them is just asking for trouble, and headaches. With XP SP3 round the corner sticking with the “old” OS is more compelling than ever but I’d like to stick with my previous run of having used every version of Windows since 3.1. That way you can spot a good one when it comes along!
Agree with Paulpowers on this one.
As for windows *twitches irrationally*
Er….. Vista isnt the future pal. New OS in 2009/10 maybe? And whats all this about XP support ceasing in the summer. XP will be supported for a couple more years yet (I think I read 2011 but could be wrong). With XP SP3 out any day XP will be around for a while yet and although not officially supporting DX10 why does that matter. Can you run Crysis on Vista with all the DX10 goodies switched on? As said by someone else Vista could end up being a stop-gap measure just as the failed ME was. Dont misunderstand me, i’ve got nothing against Vista and look forward to installing 64bit version but XP isnt dead yet fella… not by a long shot.
Has anyone got any proof post 28th January 2008 that Windows 7 has been brought forward? If not then as far as I can see 2010 is way off, more like 2011/12 as per the www.theinquirer.net link above.
I didn’t say Windows XP is dead, I’m just saying that this is way the industry is going from businesses to CPC benchmarks! In the not too distant there will be no benchmarks run in XP and that alone would make me migrate.
As I said in my post, it will continue to be a viable alternative to vista for a long time yet especially with SP3 coming out next month.
Business’s going that way? I’m not trying to argue for arguments sake but most manufacturers give you Vista business edition preinstalled with the option to rollback to XP. Who do you think has driven this? The industry has thats who. Vista is less suited to business than it is home with many 3rd party apps a long way off being supported. The organisation I work for cannot realistically use Vista for at least 12 months until 3rd party developers make their apps work properly on Vista.
We’ll have all the same discussions when the next one arrives and XP is history. This old piece of junk *can* run Vista, but only the next build will really get the most from it. I’m dual booting for the moment and getting the best of both worlds. SP3 just means I don’t have to waste my time getting 80+ patches from Windows Update if I ever reinstall XP again.