New PC - XP vs Vista (Dell)

[JediMaster]

I am looking to update my 4yr old Dell Dimention 4450.

I did see a Core 2 Duo 1.80GHz, 4GB Ram, Dual 250GB H/D for £690 last week & now same spec is £200 more lol.. So I'll wait a few weeks for Sale again.

My Question is. As ALL New PC's come with Vista, should I Format & add XP as soon as I get it? I use my PC for Video Editing, Web & Graphic design & I think some of the Apps wont work on Vista. I like XP. Just need a Newer & Faster PC as mine is slowly going to the Grave lol.

Also will XP run with 4GB Ram? or should I only go for 2GB & get Faster "Core 2 Duo" chip?

[Rob]

You have to pick the right time for the right offer with Dell.

In my view, always go for the maximum spec CPU you can get. Changing or upgrading that is harder work than adding memory chips. However make sure that any memory specification leaves slots free for later addition. Windows XP can support 4GB RAM but may not really make full use of it.

Originally Posted by JediMaster

I am looking to update my 4yr old Dell Dimention 4450.

I did see a Core 2 Duo 1.80GHz, 4GB Ram, Dual 250GB H/D for £690 last week & now same spec is £200 more lol.. So I'll wait a few weeks for Sale again.

My Question is. As ALL New PC's come with Vista, should I Format & add XP as soon as I get it? I use my PC for Video Editing, Web & Graphic design & I think some of the Apps wont work on Vista. I like XP. Just need a Newer & Faster PC as mine is slowly going to the Grave lol.

Also will XP run with 4GB Ram? or should I only go for 2GB & get Faster "Core 2 Duo" chip?

I've been running XP on my Dell Dimension with 768MB of Ram for a good while - 2GB would be more than enough I would have thought. You can always upgrade to more later?
I also vid-edit and design with no probs.
Could be faster, but my limitations are down to the GFX capabilities on this machine.

Re Vista - I'd suggest doing what my friend in Ireland did with his new Dell. Took the Vista drive out and put his own drive in with XP on it - reason was, if anything goes wrong with it and you've wiped the original drive, Dell will kick up a fuss - there's a recovery partition on their drives you see.
First thing they ask you to do if you ring them is to remove all software that has been installed onto the PC and then use their recovery disk.
Sounds mad, but it's what I was told anyway, and I've no reason to think he tells lies.
You could always create a new partition and dual boot to XP though.
In fact, thinking about it, that's probably a better idea, providing you're comfortable with removing the partition and fixing the boot record back to default should the necessity arise.

[deadite66]

vista only bios are appearing, make sure the motherboard you buy can support other OSs
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=544779

[David F]

Now I could be wrong but that appears to be a bios update rather than a machine supplied with that bios. I think it would be unlikely for mobo manufacturers to just tie a board to 1 operating systems unless it made a Vista version of the same motherboard. They will still want to sell across the mkt and deliberately cutting out market sectors I would imagine isnt likely

[JediMaster]

Thanks for the Replies..... Gives me more to think about & yes I have to Time the Dell Offer sometimes its only a Printer lol

Originally Posted by kryogenik

Re Vista - I'd suggest doing what my friend in Ireland did with his new Dell. Took the Vista drive out and put his own drive in with XP on it - reason was, if anything goes wrong with it and you've wiped the original drive, Dell will kick up a fuss - there's a recovery partition on their drives you see.
First thing they ask you to do if you ring them is to remove all software that has been installed onto the PC and then use their recovery disk.

Good point, but if my Dell failed (so far nothing has) I would reset Windows XP (ie Fix or Re-Install) I try & keep all my Data / Work on a 2nd Drive as a Slave. But I may try your idea as it may be worth it in the long run. My last Dell had a Partition, but the paper work that came with it showed me how to burn a CD of Win XP & Drivers as a Backup...

[nicke261192]

Vista and XP can only go up to 4GB of RAM since they are 32 bit operating systems that are run on a 32 bit computer

But you can buy a 64 bit computer with a 64 bit edition of vista and that will handle anything from 8GB on Home Basic to 128GB on Ultimate. Home premium does up to 16GB or RAM

[JediMaster]

Originally Posted by nicke261192

Vista and XP can only go up to 4GB of RAM since they are 32 bit operating systems but you can buy a 64 bit computer with vista and that will handle anything from 8GB on Home Basic to 128GB on Ultimate. Home premium does up to 16GB or RAM

WOW... I think 2 or 4GB is way more than enough for me. Only has 512MB at the moment

[Nikesh]

Which programs do you use for video editing, web & graphic design?

[JediMaster]

Top of my head.... (I have 50ish apps I use, but the main ones are)

Video Editing:
Virtual Dub (MPEG), Camtasia Producer, DVD Shrink

Graphics & Web:
Fireworks, PSP 7, Frontpage 2000, iPhoto+4,

[Lord Nikon]

if you are looking at Dell machines then just check the Dell download site to see if there are XP drivers for that machine series.

The rumour of the 'vista only' bios is just that, a rumour, what they do is embed a key sequence into the bios that will allow OEM keys for that manufacturer to activate vista without going online as a volume license option.

Thing is, check with them what the performance index is for the machine under vista, you want to ensure that it's 2.7 or higher to make sure all media features and aero / glass will work under vista.

[JediMaster]

Just ordered my Dell & the helpful sales person got me a Win XP CD too so No Vista for me

Dell Dimention 9200, Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB Ram, 640 GB H/D (2x 320GB) & 256MB G-Force 7900GS

Thanks guys for the input on Vista / Win XP

Good call.