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I am about to get a new PC from work, and it will include the option to have either Vista Business as the OS, or a downgrade to XP Pro. Aside from a tiny bit of testing, I have never used Vista, but overall I have heard many more bad reports than good regarding Vista. I don't think that hardware will be an issue (Intel Core Duo T9300, 4GB RAM, 256MB NVIDIA) in terms of performance. I am just uneasy about using Vista for my main dev system given its history, when I have the opportunity to keep on using XP.
So is there anyone here who has experience with both Vista and XP as the OS on your dev machine? If you could choose one over the other, which would you go with? I will need to use Visual Studio 2003/2005/2008, SQL Server 2005, Virtual Machines, Office, as well as lots of multi-tasking and multi-tab web browsing.
(Note: I am not interested in Microsoft-bashing. If you haven't used Vista but have just heard bad things about it then you have the same level of experience as me and you probably shouldn't be answering the question).
Edit: As I am getting this computer from work I would prefer to use one of the operating systems offered: 32 bit XP PRO or 32 bit Vista.
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On a low-end computer system, Windows XP outperformed Windows Vista in most tested areas. Windows OS network performance depends on the packet size and used protocol. However, in general, Windows Vista compared to Windows XP shows better network performance particularly for the medium-sized packets.
Windows XP stayed the course for close to six years before being replaced by Windows Vista in January 2007. Vista updated the look and feel of Windows with more focus on transparent elements, search and security.
Will my XP computer still work? Yes, your computer should continue to work normally after the end of XP support. However, because XP won't receive regular security updates from Microsoft, your computer will be at a much higher risk for viruses and malware. If at all possible, we recommend upgrading to a newer computer.
Windows XP was one of Microsoft's longest-running flagship operating systems, beginning with the public release on October 25, 2001, for at least 5 years, and ending on January 30, 2007, when it was succeeded by Windows Vista.
I use Vista x64 on my primary development machine. It runs everything from Visual Studio 6.0 through 2008 with no trouble.
It's not a giant leap forward, but I prefer it to XP.
If you ever need XP for anything, Virtual PC is free and works well. I keep an XP VPC image handy for testing in XP, IIS6, and IE6. The best of both worlds.
Of course, you could always get Windows Mojave instead!
In response to the question edit: I used Vista x86 for about 6 months before switching to x64. Same opinion.
Just keep in mind that you'll be wasting 0.5-1.0gb of your RAM with x86. You should be able to get nearly free x64 media here. Your license is good for both editions.
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