So I got an extra 1GB of RAM recently (now I have 2GB) and was thinking that would probably be sufficient to run Vista...

Anyway, I just thought I'd see how many of you guys have Vista, and those who do, do you think it's worth the upgrade from XP? I have a TV tuner card, so if anyone has any experience with Media Centre, you can tell me about that, too, because I'd be using it if I got Vista...

Anyway, let me know what you think

I personally find that Vista feels “clunky”. But I will wait for SP1 before I pass judgment one way or the other. I do have serious doubts about the suitability and manageability of Vista.

I say yes.
As long as you have the beef to use it effectively, then it's a great OS.
It's just got lots of nice little things under the bonnet that go on without you really noticing which improve your experience.
For example, during udle times, it'll cache the programs you regularly use to RAM, so that they start up faster.

When idle, the OS will defrag your HDDs without interfering with anything.

You can do manual defrags while using the PC without it restarting every time you access the HDD.

It's the new standard so you will either upgrade now or upgrade later. You don't see anyone still on Windows 98 telling everyone that XP sucks anymore.

It includes Windows Media Centre in Home Premium, allowing you to stream stuff to your X360 sexy-like.
It just generally looks nicer too, Aero interface I like muchly.


Make sure you go Home Premium though. It includes a lot of features absent in Home Basic, and Ultimate just combines Home Premium and Business versions, meaning you'd be paying for extra features you'll never need.

[EDIT]
A side note, make sure you check that you Tuner card is Vista compatible, as this is the biggest problem with Vista, that a lot of older/unsupported devices wont get Vista drivers due to manufacturers not making them.

With my new laptop its got a built-in tv tuner & I'm running Vista Home Premium. Still haven't worked out the kinks yet though since my rabbit ears won't connect to the tv cable without some sort of special adaptor

Haven't really tested Media Centre but it seems alright I suppose although I don't have a usage for it

Vista is still a little slow & buddy unfortunately. Occasionally I'll open up programs which do nothing but freeze up and then when I try to shut down the program Vista sits on its ass and does nothing

The Vista driver qualification really annoys me, luckily my new laptop came with a Vista qualified version of Nero whereas the previous copy of Nero wouldn't work even with the latest drivers so I couldn't burn any DVDs. There really needs to be a fix for that since it's already Windows certified

As Ninja Catfish said you'll have to upgrade now or do it later & get Home Premium, the Basic version is well, too basic - an OS that doesn't do anything. Ultimate is a waste of money and if you buy the official copy of Home Premium you'll have unlimited installations if required

Vista is not as bad as everyone says. If you have the right hardware (which you do), then it'll run great on your machine. I suggest upgrading.

It might be alright but why is it better then XP?

All the features I mentioned?
DX10 support?

The fact that it is the new standard?

Better looking! :lol:

Will be the next standard would be more accurate right now. Just don't see the 170 odd buckaroonies in those features you metioned. Might get it when a game looks a lot better in DX 10 thewn it does in 9 till then though.

Most gamers have PC's that are more than powerful enough to run vista with no issues yet they stick with XP.

And those gamers I don't get.
I mean, it's by no means an essential upgrade, but you might as well if you get the chance.

And then there's the ones who bag out Vista at any chance. I just don't get it.

well DX10 support's a non-issue at the moment, considering my hardware doesn't support it. Media Centre would be nice, because dVico's tuner software is just awful.

If I decide to upgrade I'd probably buy a 500GB hard drive for recording shows and such and then I'd also have Vista on one hard drive and XP on another for dual booting if I ever decide that I want to use XP for some reason.

I would, of course, get Home Premium. It seems to have everything one would possibly need.

Media Centre Extender for the 360 is basically pointless for me because the 360 and PC run through the same monitor...

Even after reading all the stuff you guys have said, I'm still not really convinced it's worth my money just now. I might have a play around with my dad's laptop which has Vista Home Premium, but it's a pretty slow laptop, and I don't really like using it... Still, it can probably at least show me some of the perks of Vista...

I bought the OEM version, which makes the price worth it, but I don't know if I'd buy a proper expensive copy however.

I bought the complete Shakespeare version for $180 (via ebay)

I heard some computer games cannot run on Windows Vista. Especially the older ones.

Yep that's a problem but if you have Scumm you have a majority of the classic titles. I doubt there's too many people that'll hold onto piles of PC games especially when the graphic cards themselves can make old games have a spasm attack

I've not yet had a problem running any game on Vista.
StarCraft ran, Sam and Max Hit The Road ran (using SCUMMVM).
The only game which had trouble was Trackmania Nations which required a patched StarForce copy protection driver to run.

Try playing a game called Populous: The Beginning. I guarantee it wont work on your computer once you install all the updates.

I have played Populous: The Beginning.
I would never let that program sully my Hard Drive ever again after it screwed up my Windows 98 installation by not allowing itself to be removed properly.

Plus the game sucked, was just 'build a big force of braves/shamans/summon a big thing > win'

You obviously haven't played the game online.

i guess so. but its not stable yet.
maybe in a couple of months and some upgrades it will be good as linux is!!!! hehehehe

for the meantime ill be using winXP until such time that i get to know more about VISTA!!!! hahaha

Peace!!!!

Tell me something unstable about it then.

I've been using it about 6 months.
As long as drivers are all up to date, no stability problems for me to report.

I don't think Vista is a popular OS really, and it kinda feels like Microsoft forces it upon their customers, claiming it is the only OS for PC's when better alternatives such as Ubuntu or KDE exist out there. And Windows XP still has better backwards compability with older games.

Well of course Microsoft aren't going to push Open Source Operating Systems... wouldn't exactly be a good business decision :/

And anyway, it's not like any of the Linux Distros are user friendly. The average person doesn't know about how to find free linux programs to replace commonly known Windows applications.

I've only had one compatibility with Vista, and that is that Sonic R refuses to play.
Funnily enough, the same thing happens on any of the XP based PCs in the house too :P

Works on my ye olde Win 98 rig though :D

VISTASTER!!!