Vista over XP?

[chriswood_7]

Hey all,

Just a quick question regarding Vista. Ive recently upgraded my system and wondering if its worth me getting Vista. Is it more stable now its been out for a while, and are there any other issues worth considering?

The only part of my PC im concerned is not good enough is my 256MB 7950GT. Will I need to get a 512MB graphics card (8800 or similar)?

Any advice appreciated

Cheers,

[Agent]

Your graphics card is plenty.

Is it worth the extra money? Only you can decide that.
If I had to pay for Vista (MSDN here thankfully) then I couldn't justify the cost of it for what I do.
If on the other hand you're buying the OS from new, then yes, I would go with Vista. Purely due to the support cycle of XP coming to a close.

[fuddam]

agreed. buying from new, no question that vista is preferable. go 64 bit, while you're about it.

[-iceblade^]

yeah... i second those comments...

MSDN is so great

[gss03]

Purely due to the support cycle of XP coming to a close.

Eh?
I thought XP's support cycle had been extended to 2014?
Certainly it's being pulled by most OEM's in June (thats as much as I know)

[Agent]

Eh?
I thought XP's support cycle had been extended to 2014?
Certainly it's being pulled by most OEM's in June (thats as much as I know)

Extended support till 2014, but thats a bit different to the current support you get.
Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ

11. Who can receive support in the Extended Support phase?

Extended Support will be available to all customers*. Extended Support includes paid support (support that is charged on an hourly basis or per incident), security update support at no additional cost, and paid hotfix support. To receive hotfix support, an Extended Hotfix Support contract must be purchased within the first 90 days following the end of the Mainstream Support phase. Microsoft will not accept requests for warranty support, design changes, or new features during the Extended Support phase.

* Extended Support is not offered for Consumer, Hardware, or Multimedia products.

I'm not quite sure what they mean by support not being offered for consumers at the bottom though.

So if you find an issue thats not security related, expect to pay for it to be fixed, along with a contract to boot.