[darsunt]

I am planning to buy xp pro sp3, because I want to build a reliable, slimmed down system for under $450. I only need to do documents and some software writing. If I get Vista I have to go 4G or more, and $600 plus for hardware, and I don't need that much power.

My only concern, besides its vulnerability, is that it will no longer be compatible with newer software such as microsoft visual studio 2009 or asp.net 2008. Will that be an issue, since ms doesn't care about xp anymore?

[Mak213]

Vista doesnt need 4GB of RAM. I run Vista just fine on a P4 and have run it on 1.5GB of RAM just fine for internet and documents. That is a farce that you need 4GB of RAM to run Vista smoothly.

Not to mention that XP is no longer for sale via OEM. The only one you can buy legally now is the Retail version which goes for about the same as Vista OEM if not more.

Your right, Microsoft wont be having the newer software be compatible with XP. As Vista is the new OS and Win7 will be out before the holiday's. So there is no reason for Microsoft to allow XP to be compatible anymore. With XP Mode in Win7 even their older apps can still work just fine with allowing them to not make the software work on XP.

If you really want, build the machine now and use Win7 RC which is good till June of 2010. Then buy Win7 at that time.

So either way you are going to spend over $100 to buy a OS. XP Retail is still that high and Vista OEM is that low. the choice is yours. But if you want to be ready for the future with this machine, XP is not the way to go.

[Puddle Jumper]

I think the best option is neither XP or Vista. The Windows 7 RC is free to use for a year and by that time 7 will have been released so you could buy a copy. I am running 7 Ultimate with aero enabled on a 1.6ghz single core Atom with 1gb of ram and a Intel gma 950 without any problems so running it on lower end hardware isn't a problem.

Also what parts were you considering for the system?

[darsunt]

I'm thinking about building it around a e7400 cpu and an intel BOXDG33FBC. I'm aiming more for reliability than performance.

All my documents and software work have been on a 1G machine which has usually been enough (although .NET stuff was sometimes a big slow), so I was thinking staying downscale, 2G and 32 bit.

[Puddle Jumper]

A E7400 with 2gb of ram wouldn't have any problem running Vista whatsoever although I still think running the 7 RC until the final version is released is the best approach.

I would also go ahead and get the 64bit version of 7 so you would have more upgrade options down the road.

[patonb]

Yay, don't waste the money on xp pro.. Its obsolete.

Alsol you state reliability... how reliable is an old security hole ridden OS? Just go V64 or W7 64

[Mak213]

Win7 is going to be your best bet. It is free to get right now and free to use till middle of next year. With that going on right now it is silly to pay for a Windows OS when there is a free option out there.

When the OS hits the timebomb next year you can purchase it then and have even more time to consider which version you want.

[darsunt]

I settled for vista business 64. 7 is still in testing stage, and I'd rather not fool with that. Also I'm putting in 4G of memory.

Does anyone know how big a partition you are supposed to reserve for the 7 operating system? I believe one should reserve 40G harddrive for vista, I'm hoping 7 is substantially smaller.

[patonb]

I think vista needs more like 80

[carnageX]

Originally Posted by patonb

I think vista needs more like 80

That depends on what you are doing with the OS. Large apps (i.e. games), yes you'll need more space. Basic stuff? Not necessarily... Plus if you turn off the resources that eat up space (system restore, hibernation, shadow copies) then more space is significantly taken down for the requirement. I believe the minimum requirement for both 7 and Vista are 20GB.