[sb14blue]

I am running xp with 3gb of ram. I would like to utilize 4gb but we all know you can't with xp. From what I understand, vista sp1 fixes this issue without installing the 64-bit version. However, I am reading a lot of reviews and posts that say vista is a performance killer. The most important application I am running is adobe production premium cs3 which requires a quite a bit of ram. Should I upgrade to vista? Should I install the 32-bit or 64-bit vista? Which version of vista should I get...home...premium...ultimate? Should I stick with xp? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks

[Hefemeister]

If you want more ram then go with with vista home premium 64bit.

If you are fine with 3gb then save your money and go with vista or win7 (if released) with your next build.

[office politics]

i went with vista for my laptop. mainly because people are starting to ask vista questions and I never installed the OS on one of my machines. Now that I have it, it's not that bad. Of course i'm only doing web browsing, watching videos, and email as its my personal laptop.

I have a question though. I remember the move from 2000 to xp. at first i didn't like it, but i think that was because i didn't know about the new additional features such as builtin zip compression and builtin cd burning. So now with the move to vista from xp, what are the highlighted new features?

[Lexluethar]

System imaging (in the backup area), built in Adware scan, enhanced remote assistant abilities, increased security, better utilization of availalbe ram, native support of IPv6, built in parental controls (my favorite feature personally), windows movie maker, great performance and error reporting features in the performance and monitoring pannel if you know how to use it, windows mail (which allows you to set schedules, tasks, and dates like outlook, to name a few. Not saying it doesn't have its downside, because it does.

You are right, for performance Vista is a bit 'bulky.' Since you'd need 64 bit to take advantage of more than 3.5 gig of ram i'd personally wait for windows 7 to come out. If you can't wait until a possible release date of next year get Vista Home Premium 64 bit.