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Windows Vista, Wait?
Chiram
Member UncommonPosts: 643
Im thinking of upgrading to vista. Anyone here happen to have it running and playing MMOs properly or should I just wait and upgrade with a new PC in 3-4 months? 
Comments
Jesus is your buddy!
IMHO there is no need to upgrade to vista until DirectX 10 becomes mainstream. Vista WILL east at least 1/2 a gig of your ram compared to what you are currently using with XP and then it will chew up some CPU cycles also, but how much I can't say for sure. You will also have some compatability issues with your hardware unless you make 100% sure you have drivers for everything in advance. If you are not sure, then don't do it.
It all boils down to losing some of your computers resources to gain some system security and the 'pretty' look of Vista. (Vista is a big step in the right direction for computer security, IMHO).
Best bet is get Vista when you get a new pc to avoid the pain in the ass that upgrading can be.
Unless the PC that you plan on getting doesn't come with an OS, then you could get it.
Does Microsoft still plan on making people relicense (re-buy) when doing system upgrades?
I forgot if they dropped that idea or not.
If you do have to relicense then obviously don't get now.
but my G15 Keyboard did not work and some other things that I could not live with out, had to go back to XP Pro 64bit.
UO-EQ1-SWG-DAOC-WOW-EQ2-WAR-GW2-RIFT
member of imminst.org
member of imminst.org
Yeah, I hit the stupid shift key on the I.
I got a free copy of vista that was promised with my Alienware I bought back in 11/06. I went to install it and their website for my computer told me to wait because I have a RAID 0 config and Vista is not compatible with that. Joy joy!
member of imminst.org
Vista has been an... interesting experience.
I am using Vista Ultimate and for media purposes, I love it. Except... it won't allow you to play som .avi files as it says they are a risk to my computer. Funny thing is, the first one I tried to play was recorded on MY COMPUTER with my web cam!!!
I have had a couple of old games not work (even in compat mode) IE: Panzer General (yes I am that old)
It seems stable now that all my drivers are updated. Before that I had the blue screen of death about 3 times a day.
It does use a lot of system power (25% of my ram (I have 4gb) just to boot.) Consistantly uses between 15-30% of cpu power (Intel pentium D 3.0)
The best part of Vista is media player and/or media center. I love both of them! absolutely fantastic. (still a few bugs, but they'll get fixed)
So, I would say, if you are planing on buying a new PC just wait. And if your not, buy a complete version, not an upgrade, and do a fresh instal. I have heard horror stories of the upgrade versions!
I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.
--Aristotle
This is from the Alienware site for my system, most likely it is just Nvidia's RAID 0 drivers from what I see.
If your system is configured with a RAID-0 (striping) array, your upgrade to Windows Vista will not complete successfully. Instead, you will be automatically rolled back to Windows XP. This is because the nVidia RAID controller driver installed in Windows XP is incompatible with Windows Vista.
Upgrades to Vista with single hard drives, dual independent hard drives, or RAID-1 (mirroring) configurations should complete successfully
Alienware is working diligently with its partners to resolve this issue. You will be notified as soon as a resolution is available.
If your system is configured with RAID-0, Alienware strongly recommends postponing your Windows Vista Upgrade until a resolution is made available. Doing so may result in data loss.
You might want consider all of what you are saying before posting. There are a several types of raid configurations and vista home/premium DO NOT support dynamic drives at this time. They might work fine with hardware controlled raid configurations, but not with windows native dynamic drive raid setups. I can't speak for ultimate or any of the business flavors (which I think do support dynamic drives).
Most of the tech forums I read are filled with people having compatability issues with vista and raid setups of various natures.
Wait before you get it. Unless you're the type (like myself) who's a geek and doesn't mind tackling the technical issues and such.
This is all stuff based on my experience. In short:
* 2 GBs of RAM at least (it will definitely make use of more!)
* Dual core processor or better
* Don't feel bad about disabling Aero & using the Vista Basic theme
* ...and it's probably a good idea to have an ATi graphics card (their DX10 cards are supposed to be out soon) rather than an NVidia card.
To get into more detail...
This is from the point of view of Vista Ultimate. This probably pertains to other copies of Vista that uses the Aero GUI.
First, you should have at least 2 GBs of RAM. The system will run fine with 1 GB, generally speaking, but 50% (or more) of 1 GB of RAM is in use at all times. Not while gaming mind you, but just in normal operation of the system.
How do I know? I have a gadget in my Vista sidebar that shows me CPU and RAM data.
So I recommend 2 GBs of RAM (preferably more) for a gaming machine because the majority of 1 GB of RAM will be consumed by the O/S. I always expect to eventually receive an "out of memory" error while gaming on this PC.
Second, you're going to want a dual core processor. You probably already have this, but just FYI. I don't want to imagine the chug that would be experienced on a single core Vista machine. Honestly, don't bother.
Also, I have previously disabled Aero and used the Vista Basic theme. This is really something, let me tell you. Aero uses about 25 MBs of RAM in and of itself, just to exist (before doing anything flashy), while the Vista Basic theme uses 1 or 2 MBs of RAM. Vista Basic seems to have an identical appearance to Vista Ultimate, but of course Flip 3D and other Aero-specific things don't work (like running an HD movie as the desktop background).
Seriously, though, how often do you use that stuff? Flip 3D is a total novelty. I look at it from time-to-time to remind myself that it's there and that's about it.
Fanboys will probably attack me for this, but you should probably not use an NVidia card in Vista. Performance can be so bad that some folks were going to bring a class action suit against NVidia (http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/03/0110248). That seems to have gone no where, but yeah, it sucks. I don't exactly blame them because if I had put down $500 for an 8800 .... yeegads, I'd be seriously PO'd too.
Conversely, ATi's Vista drivers are said to run very smooth. This is ack bassword from the way that it's always been, but that's been the word in reviews and such. Sure NVidia's drivers have improved a bit since then, but they are still widely regarded as trash.
Check Guru3d.com's message forums for more opinions about that.
Personally I run a 6800 GT, and the game play experience could definitely be much better.
You're not missing much by not having Vista. Most games have ran, but they don't run like they used to... my card will be an ATi as I'm just not going to deal with or support this crap.
Your mileage may vary.
~Mysk
Read what you wrote. "This is because the nVidia RAID controller driver". That means the HDD alienware uses cant be used with vista right now until NVidia updates the driver. Im sure if you look around you can get a raid-0 HDD that is compatable. nVidia has crap drivers even for their vista video cards that are dx10.
I say to everyone to wait until AMD releases its dx10 card and nVidia releases its newer dx10 card before upgrading.
Considering how Microsoft operates this is entirely possable.
Windows Vista = The new "Windows ME"
there is already plans for a new OS. Vista is a bomb (Not to be confused with "Da Bomb")
I think the next OS is due to be out in 2010. Youd be better off using XP Server 2003 x64 in the meantime.
*edit* as far as XP not being sold after 2007, thats ..well not even worthy of rumor. just a random forum posters speculation *looks up*. XP will be sold and supported until 2014 (and thats not rumor. but do your own research)
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6551429.stm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070412/tc_pcworld/130657
"Microsoft will force PC makers to stop selling machines running XP by the end of this year, despite ongoing compatibility problems and demand for XP from users."
You'll still be able to buy it, but companies like Dell and such will come with Vista pre-installed
Yeah, I hit the stupid shift key on the I.
Yeah, I hit the stupid shift key on the I.
So is your post.
I can run all the games i play on vista. I think the biggest issue is you should have 2 gigs of ram to do so. Make sure your video card will support it if you want to use windows aero and glass features(which i think is pretty cool).
One more cool tip: I found vista really cheap at frys. If you buy anything like ram or a processor or a video card you can buy an oem version of vista. this means it wont come with the manual because its meant to be sold on pre-made machines. go to the upgrade center where you would buy ram and ask for it. I got vista home premium for about $150 off doing this and i only bought 1 gig of ram. Its a really cool cheap way to get it. Hope it helps.