Ditching Vista for Win 10

[Sue Whitham]

I use 2 PCs for video editing. I have VS X9 pro ult running on Win 7 and VS X4 pro ult running on Vista.
The older pc is getting a little long in the tooth, but was a high end spec in its day:

HP Pavilion Elite M9065 WVP Q6600 @ 2.40 GHZ
Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q6600 with Intel Viiv
3GB DDR2-SDRAM (6GB virtual)
500GB SATA 3GB HDD (7200 rpm)
NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT TurboCache
512 MB dedicated memory, up to 1791 total as allocated Vista
Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bits

It still performs editing well, even HD, but I am unable to install VS X9 on the Vista OS.
Would it run faster and perform better if I installed Win 10 32 bit, when I would be able to use VS X9?

[Ken Berry]

Coincidentally, I happen to have a computer with similar specs to your old one, including the Quad 6600 processor. It ran Win 7 Ultimate but I upgraded it to Win 10 when it first came out. And I have both VS X8 and X9 on it. They work well, but are slower than the same programs on more recent computers I have. I keep it running with VS, though, since it happens to have a Firewire connection, and I still use cameras, including a HDV one, which require Firewire for Capture.

In actual fact, when I upgraded it to Win 10, I did so using a dual boot setup which preserved Win 7 just in case. But in fact I have never used it since the upgrade. You could probably do the same to preserve Vista if you needed it for other programs. But you would need to study up on how to set up a dual boot system before dipping your toes in that particular water!

[tletter]

Would it run faster and perform better if I installed Win 10 32 bit

As can be seen VSx10 doesn't max out the CPU when rendering on Win10. Hence you'll not necessarily see a significant gain in performance just because you change the OS.

The more important reason to ditch Vista for Win10 is because since April 11, 2017, "Windows Vista customers are no longer receiving new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options, or online technical content updates from Microsoft." If you are still using Vista on the Internet then you're at risk.

[asik1]

any day is a good day to ditch vista which is bad OS even by MS standards

[Sue Whitham]

Thanks for all your advice. I don't feel confident enough about partitioning to go the dual boot route, but I will certainly be upgrading in the near future.

[RobertOZ]

Hi Sue,
Notice that your camera is is Mini DV, does this camera allow you to transfer via usb, if not and you are going to purchase a new computer you will need a 1394 Firewire port or some other means of transferring tape to computer

[Ken Berry]

Um, Robert, I think you'll find the HG10 is an AVCHD camcorder, not a HDV/mini DV one... You may have been thinking of the Canon HV20, which is the model I have, and that is a HDV camera requiring Firewire/IEEE1394.

[RobertOZ]

Actually Ken, I was referring to the JVC GR-D240 which I am sure is Mini DV

[lata]

Hi

I have a Panasonic GS 400 Mini-Dv, I used usb connection to transfer the footage to PC as DV-Avi, no problems, no dropped frames.
I guess USB speeds have improved sufficiently to cope with DV.
HD camcorder may be another matter?

[Sue Whitham]

Sorry, Robert & Ken, I deleted the wrong JVC model when I updated my profile! I no longer have the JVC GR-D240. I should have retained the JVC Everio GZ-HD7.

[Ken Berry]

Actually Ken, I was referring to the JVC GR-D240 which I am sure is Mini DV

Abject apologies, Robert! Must be age and the fact that I am a Canon man for both videos and stills. My eyes just saw the Canon camera, and I can't even say I noticed the JVC in the list... But at least Sue has now clarified the matter...