Another New Computer/Vista question

[Bestbank Tiger]

We'll be looking to get a new computer soon, and I'm looking for advice on Vista. I've heard a lot of different recommendations about it so I wanted to get the straight dope.

Some people say Vista sucks no matter what, and the best thing to do is refuse the license agreement, obtain a refund, and install XP instead. Is this the best way to go?

Others say Vista will work just fine if the computer is powerful enough, but what are the minimum specs to get it to work if that's the case?

Still others say you have to go in and change a whole lot of settings to get it to run well.

We usually just buy a bare-bones computer since that's all we need. What's the best thing for us to do?

 

[Shadylookin]

We'll be looking to get a new computer soon, and I'm looking for advice on Vista. I've heard a lot of different recommendations about it so I wanted to get the straight dope.

Some people say Vista sucks no matter what, and the best thing to do is refuse the license agreement, obtain a refund, and install XP instead. Is this the best way to go?

Others say Vista will work just fine if the computer is powerful enough, but what are the minimum specs to get it to work if that's the case?

Still others say you have to go in and change a whole lot of settings to get it to run well.

We usually just buy a bare-bones computer since that's all we need. What's the best thing for us to do?

I find vista to be slow and unresponsive and my computer exceeds the recommended requirements. I know plenty of people that have used and they're either indifferent to the change from xp or they don't like it.

The problem with getting a computer with vista and then declining the user agreement is that it's usually a hassle to get your money and even then the amount you get back will not cover the cost of buying xp.

Not to mention if you install a barebones windows xp you'll have to download and install drivers for your hardware.

 

[lndm]

Vista can sometimes be made usable. It depends greatly on what you do. If you're a common mass market style user, you'll probably be fine as long as you don't have driver or compatibility issues.

If on the other hand, you are a more traditional style user, that has some old programs or some old hardware, or likes more control or doesn't require your hand to be held so much, then you might be able to modify it, or maybe not.

You'll want to go through the services by hand and turn off all you won't need. This is time consuming as some will have you doing system restores. Many old programs won't work without you using an emulator or something else.

I've tried Vista a few times over the years. Each time I plan to do whatever it takes and each time I get closer to a usable system. Currently, I'm back to XP

 

[bob bobato]

If on the other hand, you are a more traditional style user, that has some old programs or some old hardware, or likes more control or doesn't require your hand to be held so much, then you might be able to modify it, or maybe not.

Actually, I have Vista, and I've never had a problem with old programs. Really, Vista is fine enough- for me at least, it works better than all the XPs at my school, and its almost 2 years old. A quick check on futureshop.com (where I got it), shows that a new computer with the same capabilities (2GB RAM) costs about 550$, so price-wise you should be fine.

 

[Zelig]

Vista is significantly better than XP. As long as you're getting at least 2GB of ram, stick with Vista, post back here if you have any problems.

 

[Steve2000]

From my personal experience, many of the people I know who have complained about Vista are people who have upgraded their old PCs running XP to Vista. This is generally not a good idea for PCs. Stick with the OS that the PC was designed to run.

In the early days of Vista there were lots of issues because all the third-party companies had to write new drivers and software to make it compatible. Transitioning to Vista today is a much smoother process because others have already dealt with most of the issues. I would also recommend going with a 32bit edition of Vista to minimize compatibility issues.

Finally, probably the most annoying thing about Vista is the UAC (User Access Control) warnings that pop up everytime you try to do pretty much anything. This can be disabled.

System specs - to run Vista, you definitely need at least 2 Gig RAM, and a decent graphics card.

 

[GoodGame]

I'm still on the fence. I can get 6GB with Vista. Will the performance under Vista be a diminishing return? Anyone done a bench mark?

 

[Macha]

If you get enough RAM, it'll be ok.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

You're getting a new computer so it should run Vista fine as long as its got at least 2gb RAM. The only problem is if you're going with prebuilt or barebones, you wont be able to use any of those pretty graphical effects of Vista.

And really, if all you're getting is a barebones, and you already have XP and a license, you shouldnt really bother with buying Vista. If it comes with the computer, cool, otherwise dont bother.

 

[Mise]

I really like Vista and would much rather be running Vista than XP. But I don't think I'd be willing to pay for it. I'd go with what stickciv said - if it's bundled with the PC, use it, if not, don't bother.