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Laptop with XP or Vista ?

post #1 of 23
7/11/07 at 10:51am
Thread Starter 
The 'what laptop' question must have been asked a million times before, but here goes anyway : my mum wants to buy a PC laptop for some basic stuff like e-mail, web surfing and Office. I haven't used a PC in over 10 years, as I've been using Macs from '97 onwards, so I'm a bit out of touch with the PC side of things. I've heard some negative comments on Windows Vista and people seem to recommend buying a PC with Windows XP. Is it still sensible to buy a PC with XP ? If not, what kind of configuration, should we be looking at to get all the bells and whistles in Vista (meaning that there won't be any slowdown opening multiple windows and apps - just being 'Vista capable" wouldn't be enough) ? Is a system with a GMA950 sufficient or will it choke on Vista ? As for brands, I've been looking at Dell and HP. Are there any other brands that are worth checking out ?
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post #2 of 23
7/11/07 at 11:13am
get XP.....requires less juice (thus it'd be cheaper) .. and will run faster/better than vista. I have used both and quite frankly you dont get much benefit from vista over XP. I mean that i had XP idle @@ under 100mb, while vista doing nothing sits @ a cool 350. (out of a gig) so yeah, basically not very cool.

as for brands, say away from HP, they tech support is completely horrible so if she ever runs into trouble they won't help. Dell is prolly a good start since their tech support is actually pretty decent (get the @ home care package if you really weant to maximize support)

other options of course would include ASUS from a decent reseller (c9tech, discountlaptops... they will give you teh support thyat you need and a price that you won't mind paying. in either case. good luck
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post #3 of 23
7/11/07 at 5:06pm
I'd Disagree. Vista runs faster and more stable on my laptop than XP did. and I'm using the extra networking functions of Vista too, ie the VPN support and the IPv6 support. Vista is better, but both our posts are just opinions.

My advice to him, is to get a cheap copy of XP in reserve, and go ahead and get the laptop with Vista. if he likes it, keep it. if not, install XP and he has a fresh OS copy and is off and running.

ev
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post #4 of 23
7/11/07 at 5:07pm
I would say you are half right about HP, also. Owning an HP, i love my machine. i did have a problem with it though, and even though it was EASILY fixed, HP Tech Support was a serious headache.

Great machines, but if you DO have a problem you are in for a headache. although the vast majority of the people i know who have HPs love theirs and never have a problem. My advice, go to bestbuy, compusa, or Circuit city and play with the HPs and see if you like em for yourself.

ev
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post #5 of 23
7/11/07 at 6:24pm
err... stability really varies from computer to computer.. but on my setup vista can't even go into standby/hibernate, or shut down 1/2 the time w/o freezing mid-process. Not to mention occasional explorer.exe crashes. not saying XP was perfect (hell..there is a reason i am a linux user) but at least it runs 3.5x lighter on ram/cpu usage and can hibernate/standby when i need it w/o a freeze.

which brings me to yet another option. you can order a lappy NO-OS (easy way to save a good $150) and just install ubuntu linux on it. Hell..its free, it works great, and more stable and secure than either xp or vista. Again..just an idea.
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post #6 of 23
7/11/07 at 6:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by abf View Post
get XP.....requires less juice (thus it'd be cheaper) .. and will run faster/better than vista. I have used both and quite frankly you dont get much benefit from vista over XP. I mean that i had XP idle @@ under 100mb, while vista doing nothing sits @ a cool 350. (out of a gig) so yeah, basically not very cool.

as for brands, say away from HP, they tech support is completely horrible so if she ever runs into trouble they won't help. Dell is prolly a good start since their tech support is actually pretty decent (get the @ home care package if you really weant to maximize support)

other options of course would include ASUS from a decent reseller (c9tech, discountlaptops... they will give you teh support thyat you need and a price that you won't mind paying. in either case. good luck

FYI, for the 2 Asus resellers you mentioned, c9tech is out of business and Discount Laptops isn't carrying any recent Asus models. Check out my "Asus Resellers by State & Province" thread in the Asus section for a complete list.
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post #7 of 23
7/11/07 at 6:52pm
djembe... didn't know about c9tech... and as for discount.. just mentioned it b/c thats where i got my bro's z71v 2 yrs ago and had a good experience w/ them. i mean there are asus resellers like geared2play which i've heard mixed reviews..thats why didn't quite recommend them
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post #8 of 23
7/11/07 at 7:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by abf View Post
djembe... didn't know about c9tech... and as for discount.. just mentioned it b/c thats where i got my bro's z71v 2 yrs ago and had a good experience w/ them. i mean there are asus resellers like geared2play which i've heard mixed reviews..thats why didn't quite recommend them
There are other good ones.
GenTech is good, ISTNC is good, MilestonePC is pretty good, etc.
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post #9 of 23
7/12/07 at 1:19am
Im sorry you had such poor results with Vista. i love it. havent even had a single hiccup with it yet, and ive been running it for about 3 and a half months now. wouldnt go back.

ev
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post #10 of 23
7/12/07 at 11:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by matteversmansix View Post
Im sorry you had such poor results with Vista. i love it. havent even had a single hiccup with it yet, and ive been running it for about 3 and a half months now. wouldnt go back. ev
i'm sorry you are stuck using windows. i really am been running linux (seriously) for the last 3yrs... wouldn't go back if MS paid me. (i am just messing with ya pal...use what works best for you. thats my outlook on life)
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post #11 of 23
7/12/07 at 5:43pm
Buy with Vista and recycle an old XP license or buy it cheap on ebay.
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post #12 of 23
7/13/07 at 1:11am
You know, i had heard the rumors about Vista issues. i had the disc since jan, from school. Vista Ultimate. it sat cause i was worried. then, XP crashed for no really good reason. that day, i installed Vista, havent looked back since. its really been a joy to run. for whatever reason, maybe luck, i dunno, but this OS has been flawless for me. just awesome.

Hell, i even got the IPv6 protocol working on my home network. I love it. ive used the VPN features at work and school, i really like this OS. the multimedia, etc, its awesome. And now that i have the start up and logon processes managed, this thing boots in 23 seconds, cold boot. im really happy with this machine. didnt do anything wierd to get that boot time either, no uac disable etc.

Vista is a great OS. i really like it. to each their own though, you are right about that. i really like it. its been an awesome solution for me.
the best part was how it really made my laptop take off. i was DEFINITELY not expecting that! pleasant surprise.

ev
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post #13 of 23
7/15/07 at 1:20am
vista is the way to go on a new system.....unless you run some older software then you might have to check compatibility...
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post #14 of 23
7/19/07 at 3:37am
Who the hell need tech supports? I even want to ingore my warranty by modding my laptop now.

BTW I'd say go for XP atm since most software is compatible with it. Switch to Vista maybe next year or till Vista SP1 release.
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post #15 of 23
7/19/07 at 4:39am
Since its your mom she probably doesnt want a great headache in dealing w/ troubleshooting if sumtin goes wrong.

With that said I think XP is appropriate here as its stable and doesnt need lots of 'juice' (lol) to run. I havent switched to Vista (even though i have the disc right here) becasue ive heard so many horror stories I dont really want to bother w/ it until they get it all panned out.
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post #16 of 23
7/19/07 at 8:04am
Hmm, horror stories yea? My favourite :P

*12am*
*Lights off*
*In bed listening...*

Tell me about it.. xD
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post #17 of 23
7/19/07 at 8:51am
*sitting by your bedside, holding your hand*

It all started w/ a computer geek named Bill Gates.
When his company released Vista, there were drivers to be updated and problems to be panned out. When Nex Sasin turned on his Windows Vista laptop a monster popped out at him, what could it be

IT WAS AN ERROR MESSAGE (creepy music playing in background)

Sasin had no idea what to do and started crying like the baby he is

Then out of nowhere a hero came about. His name was Ghazgull013.
He told Nex to get rid of Vista and re-install Xp and all his monster error messages would disappear for good.

Nex thanked Ghazgull for his help and went on his way. As he walked away Ghaz looked back and said something cool and enlightening to Nex and ghaz was never seen again

THE END
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post #18 of 23
7/19/07 at 11:45pm
i heard the horror stories too. and when i finally installed Vista, i realized it was a whole lot of hype. Vista is more stable and runs better than XP, in My experience. and ive been comparing it running on teh same machine right up against XP. XP loses, every time.

The only regret i have about switching to Vista is i shoulda done it sooner. i have YET to have a compatibility problem. Im running an AutoCad prog, serious encryption progs, and a few other more obscure functions and not a single compatibility OR driver issue.

Vista is awesome. i shoulda dumped XP a lot sooner.

ev
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post #19 of 23
7/20/07 at 11:07am
*Glup*.....

I think is highly depending on the system platform, you should thank god that your driver works well. I heard that on Vista you're not able to run iso-emulation programs like Daemon-Tools and Alcohol 120% stuffs.. Which is a huge smack on me because i download loads & loads game torrents!!!! Aha!!! One downside!

Second, Vista use alot more HDD space just for those fancy glass GUI thing? Pff!
Third: I would say XP and Vista security features are the same, unless that ebil Bill Gay didn't release IE7 and WMP11 for XP... DX10 for example!
Fouth: Use more RAM for those fancy GUI? Pfff!
Fifth: Linux beats Vista for power usage! OSX beat Vista for even more friendly GUI and creativity power!

hehe..

BTW I know which of that creepy music that was playing! You can still hear it on DirectX, Sound Test tab, lol!
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post #20 of 23
7/20/07 at 5:03pm
vista has 'blacklisted' iso emulators?
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