Is Vista Worth It? Is Windows Vista a good buy, or should I wait until I buy a new comput

I was wondering about the pro's and con's about windows vista, and if it was worth buying or not?

To sum up my experiences with windows Vista...Pro:PrettierMore eye candySupports newer hardware OOTB than XPDirectX 10.Easier programming WinAPI because the .NET Framework 3.0 brings them to managed code (less P/Invoke)Con:SlowerNeeds more RAMBuggy as hell

Unless you are some kind of developer or just want to jump the boat and test out Vista now, definitely wait a while longer until they release some kind of service pack for it. The programmers at Microsoft have put in a lot of time for Windows Vista and I'm sure that a lot of bugs are fixed, but as with all their other operating systems, more are to be found.One major issue from what I read is drivers. Some of the older devices don't have a compatible driver made for Vista yet (or ever). So this will also require the user to get newer parts for their computer that supports the Vista operating system.

I just swapped my computer back to the WINNT 5.x series because Vista is way too slow for gaming on PC.

Even running Battlefield 2142 at 800x600, it lags like crap.

Specs:

ASUSTek P4B533-VMIntel Pentium 4 2533 MHz (130nm, Northwood)
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (running at 4x AGP)
1 GB DDRSDRAM (running at 266 MHz instead of its peak of 400 MHz)
Windows Server 2003

Yes, my computer is old, but I have to live with it, I don't have money for a new one.

Best to wait until you buy a new computer with at least 2 GB of RAM.

xboxrulz

My computer is slow as hell, so It's impossible to install Vista on this. However, buying a new and faster PC won't make me install Vista either. The layout seems pretty crazy and wild (things are everywhere) and as I am a very simple person (blank desktop wallpaper) I'd prefer getting WinXP instead. I'd mainly use the PC for gaming and developing, now since gaming in Vista seems to be too slow, then WinXP is better.

I've never tried Vista before (except for mucking around with those at the shops), but I can say the following through reading magazines:Pros: Spiffy look; Alt+Tab thingomobby that swivels through windows; Vista's requirement/suggestion for decent RAM and storage; the limitations on cheaper versions of Vista (never buy Basic!). Cons: The bugs? (People have talked about the bugs, but I would think that there are less in Vista compared to XP); "Allow/deny" (Mac advertisement on TV haha). That's all I can think of, despite never trying Vista before (hopefully I didn't get anything wrong).

Buggy as hell

I've been experiencing the opposite actually, and have yet to encounter a BSOD or system crash. I've been using retail version it ever since RTM was released.

"Allow/deny"

User account control? The first thing I switched off. Go to control panel -> user accounts -> disable UAC. Done.
The main con is the requirements. I have a high-end gaming PC, and thus I experience no slowdowns and such and my FPS is actually higher or at the very least the same as an XP with this hardware. Of course the power consuming options can be turned off though, but I understand why those with older hardware are reluctant to move. There are no trials available, but any CD can be installed without a key for 30 days - so if you want to try it out, you can by borrowing a CD from a friend.

Driver support has been great with this release. Programs like Nero that had issues first have been resolved, I think there is still one with dreamweaver. If you aren't held back because of the hardware requirements, I wouldn't worry about the patching. There is no need to wait for a service pack as there was with XP, consider that the development time of Vista was considerably longer. Updating is also much easier now it is built in to vista and no longer operating with a website.

My main pro reasons would not be the alt tab switch thing, but ease of use everywhere. It's more pleasant to work with in almost all aspects. i'd say you try before you buy.

I recently 'upgraded' (I'm not even sure if that's the word to use with this computer) because my old one was two steps away from frying on me, and as much as I didn't want to, I bought a Vista computer. Yes everything looks more polished and prettier, but at what expense? You need to spend a good $800+ (unless you find a better deal) to run 2gbs of RAM (most computers costing up to that much already have 2gbs unless it's customized) so everything can run smoothly. Unfortunately I have 1 and it's amazing that on the third day of having this new PC the bubble screensaver was lagging. It's own screensaver.

 

Program-wise I haven't had time (moving issues and all) so I've only installed Photoshop 7.0 and it seems to be running smoothly. Game-wise I've only tried American McGee's Alice, Rayman Raving Rabbids, and Battlefield 2142. Out of those three only Battlefield didn't work. Probably needs more power. I'm not so worried about it though, since this was an emergency purchase and will be upgrading to a media PC soon enough.

I recently 'upgraded' (I'm not even sure if that's the word to use with this computer) because my old one was two steps away from frying on me, and as much as I didn't want to, I bought a Vista computer. Yes everything looks more polished and prettier, but at what expense? You need to spend a good $800+ (unless you find a better deal) to run 2gbs of RAM (most computers costing up to that much already have 2gbs unless it's customized) so everything can run smoothly. Unfortunately I have 1 and it's amazing that on the third day of having this new PC the bubble screensaver was lagging. It's own screensaver.

 

Program-wise I haven't had time (moving issues and all) so I've only installed Photoshop 7.0 and it seems to be running smoothly. Game-wise I've only tried American McGee's Alice, Rayman Raving Rabbids, and Battlefield 2142. Out of those three only Battlefield didn't work. Probably needs more power. I'm not so worried about it though, since this was an emergency purchase and will be upgrading to a media PC soon enough.

You need to make sure that you allow Administrator mode for the game under the Compatibility tab in the file's property box.

 

xboxrulz

Yes. I think it's worth it but there are some annoying things like the User Account Control, and constant dialog boxes that needs permission to continue. I'm also annoyed with the fact that Task Manager can't be easily accessed anymore with the mere pressing of Control + Alt + Delete.It has lot of eye candy but is kind of slow. It even took more than an hour to shut down. I had to take off the batteries so that it will turn off. Maybe it's because I'm using Home Basic so it sucks.I just hope they fix the bugs though.

I don't think the UAC is annoying becuase in Linux, you need to enter in your root password to install things all the time anyways. Even MacOS X requires it.xboxrulz

linux is easy i hate windows but i converted my windows 98 to the linux from windows to linux linkbut if you need help just go on

(help link)

linux EG

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I've been using Vista for a while now (1 month) and these are my conclusions:Pos:-Network Center is kinda usefull, but it need some tweaks-Power Management is more advanced (usefull for laptops)-the search bar in the start menu is super-the drop-down menus in explorer are much better than having to go a few folders up and the going to the folder you likeUseless:-Vista Aero interface (+ the win-tab thing)-UAC (disabled it)-the same annoying questions you got in SP2 (disabled defender, security center and program checking)-the sh*tload of services (like indexing, diagnostic services, ...)-the sh*tload of other useless stuff (windows cardspace, windows sidebar, ...)Con:-WMP11 is SLOW due to DRM-nVidia GeforceGo drivers are still beta (this makes the windows gallery a sucky program, because themes don't work and zooming isn't optimized)-tends to be slower-not every program supports vista (eg. CDBurnerXP Pro (non-alpha version), Netstumbler, ...)Overall, I'm pretty happy with Vista, altough it still needs some minor improvements (like removing the Protected Pipeline from WMP11 )//edit: forgot to mention there isn't a good free vista compatible firewall atm and the Vista firewall only has inbound protection, no outbound as I prefer

Edited April 21, 2007 by wutske (see edit history)

A couple of comments on your conclusions.

 

 

Pos:

-Network Center is kinda usefull, but it need some tweaks

-Power Management is more advanced (usefull for laptops)

-the search bar in the start menu is super

-the drop-down menus in explorer are much better than having to go a few folders up and the going to the folder you like

Useless:

-Vista Aero interface (+ the win-tab thing)

And by 'useless' you actually mean, features that are there but you don't use. There is a big difference in not using features than proclaiming these to be useless in software. Windows wasn't catered for your needs, but a wide variety and types of users, of course you won't use certain aspects, don't mistake these for unnecessary aspects of the software. You're not the world.

Besides, what is 'useless' about it? There is much more to an interface than the color, the skin and the win-tab thing. I don't use the latter either as I have enough space on my 2 screens, the UI however is more consistent and 'flowing' than before. Not just the skin changed, but how the windows interact with each other and the data on the disks. You said yourself: 'the drop-down menus in explorer are much better'. This is in contradiction with the quote, unless you meant that Aero only applies to the skin. Myself, I find it more pleasant to work with.

 

-UAC (disabled it)

Exactly, you disable it in a few mouse clicks. People who complain about these feature obviously don't know how to configure even a simple thing, and are better off with a mac anyways.

 

-the same annoying questions you got in SP2 (disabled defender, security center and program checking)

Again, how does that make it 'useless'? You're using 3rd-party software? Fine, but the built-in programs obviously work.

 

-the sh*tload of services (like indexing, diagnostic services, ...)

Since when are services, required for Windows features, a bad thing. Especially very useful ones like indexing and diagnostic services - unless you like waiting a dozen minutes for simple search results or fancy plain guessing what is wrong with your computer. You said yourself: "-the search bar in the start menu is super".

 

Go to start menu, type in services.msc

A list of all services will be displayed, how they're being run, and what they do. You'll see not that many are booted at start, you can disable some you don't use. 'Shitload' is exaggerated and also quite stupid, no devices means no features.

 

-WMP11 is SLOW due to DRM

Very slow? What made you come to that conclusion (I'm curious), think you're a bit paranoid about DRM even though none of your data is modified. No problems here and first time I hear it is that SLOW.

 

-not every program supports vista (eg. CDBurnerXP Pro (non-alpha version), Netstumbler, ...)

Never heard of those programs, but the more popular certainly did. Obviously not every program is compatible with a certain system, and it's going great. Tried running those in compatibility mode?

 

//edit: forgot to mention there isn't a good free vista compatible firewall atm and the Vista firewall only has inbound protection, no outbound as I prefer

Same, also only need a firewall for outbound. Wonder when zonelabs gets running - nero and other AV like Nod32 have been long compatible.

A couple of comments on your conclusions.

Pos:

-Network Center is kinda usefull, but it need some tweaks

-Power Management is more advanced (usefull for laptops)

-the search bar in the start menu is super

-the drop-down menus in explorer are much better than having to go a few folders up and the going to the folder you like

And by 'useless' you actually mean, features that are there but you don't use. There is a big difference in not using features than proclaiming these to be useless in software. Windows wasn't catered for your needs, but a wide variety and types of users, of course you won't use certain aspects, don't mistake these for unnecessary aspects of the software. You're not the world.

Besides, what is 'useless' about it? There is much more to an interface than the color, the skin and the win-tab thing. I don't use the latter either as I have enough space on my 2 screens, the UI however is more consistent and 'flowing' than before. Not just the skin changed, but how the windows interact with each other and the data on the disks. You said yourself: 'the drop-down menus in explorer are much better'. This is in contradiction with the quote, unless you meant that Aero only applies to the skin. Myself, I find it more pleasant to work with.

Exactly, you disable it in a few mouse clicks. People who complain about these feature obviously don't know how to configure even a simple thing, and are better off with a mac anyways.

 

Again, how does that make it 'useless'? You're using 3rd-party software? Fine, but the built-in programs obviously work.

Since when are services, required for Windows features, a bad thing. Especially very useful ones like indexing and diagnostic services - unless you like waiting a dozen minutes for simple search results or fancy plain guessing what is wrong with your computer. You said yourself: "-the search bar in the start menu is super".

 

Go to start menu, type in services.msc

A list of all services will be displayed, how they're being run, and what they do. You'll see not that many are booted at start, you can disable some you don't use. 'Shitload' is exaggerated and also quite stupid, no devices means no features.

 

Very slow? What made you come to that conclusion (I'm curious), think you're a bit paranoid about DRM even though none of your data is modified. No problems here and first time I hear it is that SLOW.

Never heard of those programs, but the more popular certainly did. Obviously not every program is compatible with a certain system, and it's going great. Tried running those in compatibility mode?

Same, also only need a firewall for outbound. Wonder when zonelabs gets running - nero and other AV like Nod32 have been long compatible.

Alegis, I agree with wutske about Aero being very useless, even I turn it off. However, I am curious how is WMP11 slow ... I never had any slowdowns over here.

 

xboxrulz