VS11.5+...Vista or XP(SP2)

Clevo · Post by **Clevo** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 10:45 am

Hi Folks,

I'm splashing out on a new PC for Christmas. And have finalised the the specs I want but I'm trying to grapple with the bits of information I remember from various posts in this forum about issues with various Operating Systems (OS).

I have the opportunity to pick XP32 & XP64, and also any of the Vista flavours including the 64bit.

Whilst editing isn't going to be the only thing I'll use the PC for (I do play high-end games too) I get the impression that XP is the better OS for VS11.5.

Also, I get the impression that the 64bit OS on a quad Core doesn't give that much of a processing boost come rendering time. Though I'm leaning towards XP 64bit to avoid the 4gig RAM limitations.

Anyway, as you can see trying to settle and feel comfortable with the OS choice has me grappling with options. As I'm going to be editing more and more and no doubt getting into lots of video projects (it's a LOT of fun) I want to be sure I have made the right choice.

A straw poll from you learned forum friends will hopefully help me settle.

So my question is...

What do you consider the more suited OS for VS11.5+ (and future versions)?

I'm finding this question hard to answer keeping in mind balancing the now and for the future.

etech6355 · Post by **etech6355** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:04 pm

Clevo,

Whilst editing isn't going to be the only thing I'll use the PC for (I do play high-end games too) I get the impression that XP is the better OS for VS11.5.

Although only my opinion I would stay away from 64bit OS's because of needing 64 bit drivers, programs & other issues. That's your choice but I opt for stability over speed. The quad-core Q6600 is fast.

I use both XP32 & Vista32, VS11+ runs on both drives (same machine). Don't know about the new computer your purchasing but on mine (which came with Vista32 Home Premium) I installed another SATA harddisk.
On my system when the computer boots you hit the "ESC" key, this brings up a list of bootable devices installed in the computer. You then select that drive and the computer boots from it along with assigning it as the main boot disk "C Drive".
So in my Q6600 I have 3 harddisks. The Center is the Video/Audio Data disk. I either boot Vista or XP (1st or 3rd Hard Disk). The center drive (data disk) is always enumerated in the middle of the list. This has worked out nice on that computer because Vista has some limitations (pro's & con's).

I've found that many problems people report about Vista is due to them installing programs not written for Vista, codec packs, to much multi-media software & burning applications etc. Vista is NOT XP at all. The last time Vista crashed on that computer was ........ can't remember, programs crash but not Vista.
When I disabled some of Vista's security features VS11+ had problems saving customized encoding templates, it wouldn't save them. Re-Enabling "User Access Control to Limited" fixed the issue & I could then save the templates.
Depending on your motherboard (mine is an ASUS), Vista will use the power of the Q6600 and the faster SATA drives. XP just runs faster, Vista is faster than XP on my Q6600.

Rendering speed is nice to be fast. QUALITY & Stability to me is what's important.. What good is it to finish a race only to lose your running shoes.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 6:55 pm

A lot will depend upon what software you already have.
Someone purchasing their very first computer and not owning any existing software would be better off purchasing Vista. Any software that user then purchases to install on that computer would simply be a matter of ensuring it is Vista Compatible. New (Not second hand) computers being now should be Vista compatible unless you have been offered something with a hefty discount.

Existing Computer owners who want to upgrade have a very different scenario. These users will have already invested a large sum of money on software and so they need to find out what existing software is Vista compatible and if not then find out the cost of upgrading or changing that software.

Whilst this might seem a simple problem when you add up the total cost of replacing all non Vista compatible software the cost could easily run into well over ¢G1000 GBP.

These users have three choices.
1. Stick to XP
2. Install a Second Hard drive and set up a multi boot sytem
3. Spend ¢G¢G¢G's on updating your software.

mitcs0ke · Post by **mitcs0ke** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 8:41 pm

I decided to go with Vista Home Prem on a Dell.

After building and repairing computers for years, it has become more cost effective in time and money to buy a packaged system then to build one.

Now Don't get me wrong I still like to tinker. I fondly remember the day that I over clocked my 486 DX4-100 to 160Mh and thought I had killed it when it quit running and started to glow red in the middle. That CPU cost a weeks pay back then... LOL

As with anything new to you, you have to study it and learn it. People have long forgotten that Windows is a Operating System. No matter what the number is or the name before the word "Windows" its a operating system and you have to learn to operate it.

Windows Vista is no exception, you can not just "blindly jump into it"

I studied all the info about Vista I could find on the Net and since I been around since the start of the Net, I found that about 75% of the info out there is still useless so don't believe eveything you read.

As far as Vista Compatibility goes, I have 2 pieces of major software running in Vista that are not supposed to be Vista Compatible, yet I got them to run.

So the final question is not "Will this be Compatible with Vista" but
"Are you Compatible with Vista"

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:20 am

mitcs0ke wrote:........As far as Vista Compatibility goes, I have 2 pieces of major software running in Vista that are not supposed to be Vista Compatible, yet I got them to run.

So the final question is not "Will this be Compatible with Vista" but
"Are you Compatible with Vista"

Sorry but that is totally irresponsible advice.
I too have managed to get several Major programs to run on Vista that are not officially Vista compliant. By being "Not Vista compliant" does not mean that they will not open and run, it means that you WILL at some point encounter problems, some minor and some major.

Take for example Microsoft Office XP.
Yes it runs on Vista, in fact it runs very well. Now open up Microsoft Outlook and try and get it to retain your user password for checking your email. Perhaps not a big deal to many who happen to be computer literate and simply enter the password manually. However it is a big deal to those who are not so computer literate and especially where the computer is shared amongst various family members.

MediaStudio Pro 7/8 are not Vista compatible but the members of this forum have found work rounds that enable it to be used. However that comes with a price, there are still things that will not work despite our work rounds, just view this link to see the discussion about this item
Got MSP8 running in Vista but no sound ADVICE PLEASE

I have had big problems getting Nero Burning ROM Version 7 to work correctly on Vista despite the Nero 'Vista compliant' update to version 7.10.1.0. Now here is the interesting thing - I got Nero 6 to work on Vista!

Don't measure other peoples knowledge of computers as being equal to your own if you happen to be a computer geek. Instead refer to these programs as they are likely to be used by the public at large - that is out of the box without any fancy tweaks or work rounds.

The fact is that many pre-vista programs will not work correctly on Vista, yes they may open and run but they will also be in some way defective.

Someone purchasing a new computer is best advised to get Vista because like it or not all new software being written now will be aimed for the Vista market and may not run on XP or an earlier system. As good as it is XP will eventually be overtaken by Vista or even Vienna when that gets released. For what it is worth XP is currently my favourite operating system of the two.

Even today there is nothing wrong with a computer that was built in the days of Windows 3.11 that is using programs written for Windows 3.11.
However that computer will struggle and most likely fail to work with programs designed for a more up to date system such as Windows 95.
Similarly a computer built with Windows 95 in mind may struggle with programs written for Windows 98 and so on.
Those programs might work, they might work more slowly unless hardware changes are also made such as extra RAM.

This has not changed with the move between XP and Vista, many things will still work, what is important is how effectively they work.

Clevo · Post by **Clevo** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 3:17 am

Vista seems the way to go...thanks for the advise all.

I will now check if drivers are available for my scanner and printer as I don't feel the need to upgrade them just yet. Well...maybe a scanner upgrade would be nice....something that scans film slides.

I games I play are vista compatable I was waiting for the Vista service pack to come out before leaping into a new operating system.

The PC I am buying is from a company called Enspire.

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 3:56 am

I personally could not get "Enspire(d)" enough to go Vista yet, especially with older hardware. Then again, I don't have to buy a new PC yet either. Lucky me

Post by **Ken Berry** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:41 am

Yeah -- just so long as they don't go the way of many other computer companies, and change the 'n' in their name to 'x'!!

Regarding printer and scanner drivers, I have a 3 year old Canon i865 printer that seemed to be included in the Vista drivers already. My much more recent Canon 5200F scanner was not recognised by Vista. But a driver for Vista was already available on the Canon site when I moved over to Vista end-April. My much older CanoScan LiDE 30/N1240U (about 6 years old) had no Vista driver available until about 3 months ago. So they are getting there...

The 5200, by the way, does slides and film strips, and is a very nice package, but of course has been overtaken by several more recent models.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:03 am

My Epson 4490 does slides and I bought it about 2 years ago.
Works great with my Vista laptop using the original drivers.