Windows Vista any good?

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299 posts

Ultimate Geek

#63076 7-Mar-2007 13:48

Overall I've got to say that I'm really disappointed with Vista. It just feels like XP with a different skin on it and it also sucks up way too much memory - around 600mb idle! The Aero interface is nice, but I wouldn't call it revolutionary.

If you'd like to see a truly revolutionary OS then check out Linux Unbuntu compared to Vista's Aero interface here: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/434675/windows_vista_aero_vs_linux_ubuntu_beryl/

Gaming performance is worse on Vista than XP as well as confirmed by various comparisons on the Net. like this one: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2096940,00.asp

I would imagine that next-gen games will completely own on Vista especially when DX10 cards become mainstream.

As for stability - I've had IE7 crash a few times, as well as other apps from time to time - which is no real difference from my Windows XP experience.

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#63077 7-Mar-2007 13:56

I'm writing this on a copy of Vista that has been installed since early December (XP would have been munted by now, requiring a reinstall). I have 2 IE windows open, each with about 4 tabs, Microsoft Expression Web, Outlook, Media Player and its only just using 600Mb.

You refer to Ubuntu, sure it looks good but its nowhere near as easy to use as Windows is.

Applications will crash, but thats not the fault of the OS. Vista itself is infinitely more stable than XP. I still haven't seen a BSOD in over a year of using it.

Zacburden

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#63078 7-Mar-2007 13:58

redjet:
Overall I've got to say that I'm really disappointed with Vista. It just feels like XP with a different skin on it and it also sucks up way too much memory - around 600mb idle! The Aero interface is nice, but I wouldn't call it revolutionary.

If you'd like to see a truly revolutionary OS then check out Linux Unbuntu compared to Vista's Aero interface here: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/434675/windows_vista_aero_vs_linux_ubuntu_beryl/

Gaming performance is worse on Vista than XP as well as confirmed by various comparisons on the Net. like this one: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2096940,00.asp

I would imagine that next-gen games will completely own on Vista especially when DX10 cards become mainstream.

As for stability - I've had IE7 crash a few times, as well as other apps from time to time - which is no real difference from my Windows XP experience.

I strongly disagree with you, redjet. if it is running about 600mb idle, then you must be running something else other than the core os. the core os actually idles around 250-450, depending on the version and your hardware. as for ubuntu, it IS a nice os, i moderately agree with that. But windows is more mainstream and has the most compatibility, and is alot easier to use. and Vista is the most secure windows versions i have ever seen. and dx10 cards ARE becoming mainstream - have you seen the 320mb versions of the 8800's? not too pricey. and stability wise the OS itself is very stable, BSOD's are rarely heard of. most crashes of applications are user created.

redjet

299 posts

Ultimate Geek

#63079 7-Mar-2007 14:37

Hmmm, I wouldn't exactly call the 8800 series cards mainstream as they are mainly targeted at the hard-core gamers. DX10 will only start to go mainstream when the 8300 and 8600 series cards come out...
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36963

Vista on my machine uses 600meg idle because of all the background apps I have loaded. In saying that though, these are the same background apps that I had loaded in Windows XP - which sat around 400meg idle. I guess the Aero interface and other Vista components are sucking up the other 200meg.

Microsoft has hyped up the Aero interface as something revolutionary and all of the MS fanboys out there have just lapped it up. Ubuntu is a better example of what a truly incredible interface looks like. Yes I know it's not as nice as Vista from almost every other angle, but may people out there have upgraded to Vista for this "magical" Aero interface only to be disappointed.

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Ultimate Geek

#63082 7-Mar-2007 15:41

bradstewart: You refer to Ubuntu, sure it looks good but its nowhere near as easy to use as Windows is.

yes it is

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bradstewart

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#63084 7-Mar-2007 15:59

Funny because I've been using it for 6months and I don't find it that easy

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#63085 7-Mar-2007 16:06

I run XP, Vista and Ubuntu. They are all great for different reasons.

I have found XP to be the least stable, but the most compatible in terms of driver support for general consumer devices.
I have found Vista to look the nicest, and provide a good stable easy to use day to day desktop environment (Aero looks very nice, but doesnt deserve to be named seperatley to the OS itself! It should be "Vista, with glass effect turned on", it is overhyped, but its still nice)
I have found Ubuntu (and Linux in general) to be innovative, friendly, free (in many ways), very stable, very capable, enormous potential with open source software, great for developers, geeks, poor people, tinkerers, Microsoft Haters, "stick-it-to-the-man type people), and many more demographics too.

At the end of the day, Windows (all along the Windows evolution path) is marketed well, has widespread support of hardware vendors (both in systems and peripherals), widespread support for games and application developers (primarily commercial software), and despite Linux's advantages in other areas, many people just wish to pay someone for stuff that works.

Most of the stuff you can buy retail, if you are joe bloggs non-technical user, is Windows compatible, runs windows, runs on windows, works easiest with Windows, well.... you get the point.

Does that make Windows better? Nope.
Does that make Windows a successful product? Yes sirreee.

I firmly believe Linux is developing better and faster than Windows, but because of the fragmentation of the open source community, that it will still take a while to overtake Windows in terms of ease of use and compatibility with 'stuff' for joe bloggs home user, and joe bloggs businessman. It will happen though, but Windows will also continue to improve, and will be a powerful force in the market for decades to come.

Where was I? Oh yeah. Vista is cool. But dont bust a gut to get it. Wait till you are either forced to get it (need it for an application, a game, or it comes with a new PC you want to buy), or wait till its matured, had a service pack, and got a few months of use under its belt in the free market.

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bradstewart

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#63086 7-Mar-2007 16:09

One thing people seem to forget is Aero is not just about looks. The whole system of using the GPU to render the desktop makes for a more stable system.

Sinn

103 posts

Master Geek

#63101 7-Mar-2007 18:05

So from the sounds of things, it looks like you can dual boot with VISTA and XP? In which case I may just try installing it on a separate partition and no loss if I dont like it I can always revert back to XP.

Just a couple of questions if anyone would care to comment:

1) How's the Software/Driver support for VISTA? No point getting it if I have to buy expensive software for it instead of the freeware apps like Avast, ZipGenius etc..

2) 64 or 32ibt? Any difference between the two? will it use my hardware any better?

I'm running a Core2Duo 6400 with 2G Ram, 320G HDD, 7600GT PCI-E...

Cheers,

professionalnet

19 posts

Geek

#65903 2-Apr-2007 00:05

Just to add my two cents here, I recently tried Windoze Vista Ultimate on my laptop.. Here are my system specs:

ACER 5100 laptop
ATI Radeon Xpress 5100 with 128MB shared mem
AMD Turion64 2.0GHz CPU
512MB DDR2 RAM
many bells and whistles.

For those who haven't played with Vista yet, here is a little inside info. Upon setup, you may check to see just how well your computer can handle the new windoze system and it will give you a "windows experience rating" back. On a 1 to 5 scale my laptop rated 3, simply because it had 512MB of RAM and my Radeon card was stealing 128MB of it.

I "borrowed" Vista just because of the new Aero theme and the Flip3D. Because of my rating being so low guess what? NO AERO AND NO FLIP3D! The flippin' Vista system turned all of them off because it would slow the performance of my computer. So after finally figuring out how to turn them back on, my computer ran like it was a K6 on crack... don't even get me started on when i was trying to play CoD and the Aero theme has a tendency to flash at the top of the screen.

My suggestion for all of you who are wanting to purchase Vista for a laptop and do not have a laptop that does not have $10,000 worth of hardware in it: keep your money download a linux ISO.

professionalnet

19 posts

Geek

#65904 2-Apr-2007 00:08

oh wait.. sorry to repost...

To bradstwart: I would have to disagree with you on that one for the simple fact that if i opened more than say.. five windows at once, I would have to CTRL-ALT-DEL on explorer.exe to close them.

tonyhughes

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#65927 2-Apr-2007 08:22

professionalnet: Just to add my two cents here, I recently tried Windoze Vista Ultimate on my laptop.. Here are my system specs:

ACER 5100 laptop
ATI Radeon Xpress 5100 with 128MB shared mem
AMD Turion64 2.0GHz CPU
512MB DDR2 RAM
many bells and whistles.

For those who haven't played with Vista yet, here is a little inside info. Upon setup, you may check to see just how well your computer can handle the new windoze system and it will give you a "windows experience rating" back. On a 1 to 5 scale my laptop rated 3, simply because it had 512MB of RAM and my Radeon card was stealing 128MB of it.

I "borrowed" Vista just because of the new Aero theme and the Flip3D. Because of my rating being so low guess what? NO AERO AND NO FLIP3D! The flippin' Vista system turned all of them off because it would slow the performance of my computer. So after finally figuring out how to turn them back on, my computer ran like it was a K6 on crack... don't even get me started on when i was trying to play CoD and the Aero theme has a tendency to flash at the top of the screen.

My suggestion for all of you who are wanting to purchase Vista for a laptop and do not have a laptop that does not have $10,000 worth of hardware in it: keep your money download a linux ISO.

How uninformed of you. I hve a similar laptop - a compaq V5000 turion 64 2.0GHZ 1GB DDR RAM ATI Radeon Xpress 200M (128MB own memory + draws system memory as well). Its basically a $1200 - $1500 laptop, and it runs Vista, and runs Aero just fine.

To just blanketly tell people to get linux, is to invite people to have a bad experience if their webcam, printer, GPU, 20 games, and other various things arent supported, or are extremely difficult to get going.

FUD damages communities, including Linux.

Anyone who wants a new OS should at least explore the possibility of Linux. For any OS upgrade, make a list of your devices and peripherals (with model numbers), a list of your important software, and start researching your intended OS to see if there is driver support, workarounds, or new firmware (or a suitable replacement application that meets your needs) before you wipe away your old system (which you will be backing up first anyway!)

freitasm

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#65947 2-Apr-2007 10:27

professionalnet: Just to add my two cents here, I recently tried Windoze Vista Ultimate on my laptop..

For those who haven't played with Vista yet, here is a little inside info. Upon setup, you may check to see just how well your computer can handle the new windoze system and it will give you a "windows experience rating" back. On a 1 to 5 scale my laptop rated 3, simply because it had 512MB of RAM and my Radeon card was stealing 128MB of it.

I "borrowed" Vista just because of the new Aero theme and the Flip3D. Because of my rating being so low guess what? NO AERO AND NO FLIP3D! The flippin' Vista system turned all of them off because it would slow the performance of my computer. So after finally figuring out how to turn them back on, my computer ran like it was a K6 on crack... don't even get me started on when i was trying to play CoD and the Aero theme has a tendency to flash at the top of the screen.

Now that's just wrong. You have a pirated copy of Windows Vista, it installs and tells you your hardware is not good enough to run all features.

You then tweak it to run the heavy features anyway. And then complain about being slow, because of your own actions?

The software correctly identified what features your hardware support, but still you complain?

barf

643 posts

Ultimate Geek

#65981 2-Apr-2007 14:07

freitasm: Now that's just wrong. You have a pirated copy of Windows Vista, it installs and tells you your hardware is not good enough to run all features.

You then tweak it to run the heavy features anyway. And then complain about being slow, because of your own actions?

The software correctly identified what features your hardware support, but still you complain?

Don't be surprised if more people don't like Vista either. I have given it a very fair and impartial try, but found far too many problems for me to want to use it for longer than a week. These include explorer crashes, excessive memory usage, unresponsive system/hangs, problems burning audio CDs in ANY application, poor wireless connectivity, crippled functionality (like no gpedit.msc) in the "Home Basic" version and I have already been removing spyware from some customer's Vista laptops. Security is non-existant also, I managed to crack a Vista SAM (encrypted password file) hash in less than two hours, 1:55 of which I spent on google looking for the tools. Stats I have show Vista and Linux are almost neck-and-neck too.

edit: please note I am equally critical of Linux's shortcomings as Tony noted, there are webcam headaches to be avoided. But if you just want to switch your PC on, check email, use office, browse trademe and etc Linux has everything you need.

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#65984 2-Apr-2007 14:18

I agree of shortcomings in all OS, really.

What I cvan't understand is that someone is clearly informed of limitations on hardware, hack the system to run, and then complain...

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