which operating system

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

New AMD (2500+ Barton mobile)/nForce2 400 ultra based rig will be up and running by next Wednesday. Which operating system should I run Windows XP or Windows 2000 Pro?

I play Aces High, and World War II Online, most often, along with a few others not nearly as often. I do some web page work, moderate a couple of bulletin boards, and other average use. I do overclock, almost all of my components.

[Hap]

i use xp home and it works fine.  dunno which of the 2, or if either of the 2 you mentioned will be superior.

[Dingbat]

XP definitely, IMHO performs better than 200pro.

[DAVENRINO]

Whichever you choose, you should have bought it with your hardware in order to get OEM version at big $$$$ savings.  I got OEM (not upgrade version) of XP Home for $85 and XP Pro for $135.  Not too late to buy another piece of Qualifying hardware (almost anything).  I also got OEM Norton System works for $35 and OEM Roxio CD reator for $10.  OEM's don't come with fancy box or paper manual.

DJ229 - AIR MAFIA

[Kaz]

If you're getting XP get the pro version full edition you won't regret it. Nothing wrong with XP home I use it myself as my one and only but pro is just better.

[Kaz]

Davenrino is right, great deals on OEM  Windows XP but you have to buy it with hardware. Check http://www.newegg.com

[ChasR]

A minor downside to OEM Microsoft software is that Microsoft does not offer online support for it.  If you have a problem, you'll have to solve it using the knowldge base or the newsgroups.

[aSTAR]

I just got my Santa Cruz sound card, I have a question for you.
Installation went well and is working to a degree, but in reading Turtle Beach Knowledge Base it says:
NOTE ON CD AUDIO INPUT IN WINDOWS XP
The manual contains instructions for connecting a CD-Rom or DVD drive to
the Santa Cruz.  In Windows XP, neither the included analog CD audio cable
nor a 2 pin CD S/PDIF cable is needed, as the digital CD signal is sent
directly through the PCI bus.

Do it mean, really not to connect that cord?
I have it connected now?

Thank you for your help.

Ed

[DAVENRINO]

Originally posted by ChasR
A minor downside to OEM Microsoft software is that Microsoft does not offer online support for it.  If you have a problem, you'll have to solve it using the knowldge base or the newsgroups.

That is not entirely true unless they have changed policy in the last 2 years.  When I got my first XP Home 2.5 years ago,  I received live telephone support for OEM with no charges.  I do believe it only covered the installation period.  I made several long calls to support and ,lol, it turned out to be a RAM slot issue.  I didn't require any support for the Pro install.

[bockko]

i have pc's with xp and 2k, like the xp setup much better. the only issue you may consider is driver support. make sure your stick has xp drivers.

[ChasR]

I never tried calling them.  If you try the online support, you're required to enter a product number.  If the number contains "OEM" you'll get a message stating that the product is not supported by Microsoft but by the computer manufacturer, which in my case is me.

[aSTAR]

FORGET IT, problem solve:D

[bloom25]

It is true that Microsoft no longer provides support for OEM copies of Windows.  It wasn't that long ago that they made that change.

The truth is that Win2k Pro and XP Pro are virtually identical operating systems (aside from the GUI) at their heart.  There are just a few noteworthy differences:

1.  The user interface is different in XP.

2.  XP has some extra software utilities bundled with it. (firewall, movie maker, media player XP, can make a dos boot disk, file and settings transfer wizard, etc.)

3.  XP has built in .zip file support.

4.  XPs compatibility layer for older dos and Windows 98 programs is marginally better than 2k.

5.  XP has the system restore utility, which can actually be useful.

On the downside, XP is a security nightmare, it is absolutely full of security holes.  Unfortunately, some of that is Internet Explorer 6 related so in that regard 2k is the same.  With the Home version of XP 99% of the systems I see have open guest accounts with blank passwords.  (Hopefully, Service Pack 2 will resolve a couple of these issues.)  It also has some USB issues that don't seem to be present in 2K.  XP also has the very annoying product activation functionality, which can be very annoying for people who like to make regular hardware changes to their systems.  (Let alone the fact that it allows Microsoft the legal right to stop activating copies of XP beyond a certain date.  Fortunately, this will probably be no sooner than 2006.)

As for XP Pro vs XP Home, their isn't really much difference:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

My opinion is that if you already have 2k Pro, there's no pressing reason to move to XP.  (It's worth noting that 2k Pro users MUST upgrade to XP Pro.  The XP Home upgrade isn't valid for 2k Pro.)  For people choosing between the two moving up from 98 or Me, either 2K or XP will do nicely.  2k Pro and XP Pro are both about $175 for an OEM copy.  XP Home is about $110 for an OEM copy.

[Hap]

i don't know s-eagle.  my box was already built.  i put in the card and it all works great.

[Siaf__csf]

"
The truth is that Win2k Pro and XP Pro are virtually identical operating systems (aside from the GUI) at their heart. There are just a few noteworthy differences:

1. The user interface is different in XP.
// So if you're used to windows before XP the GUI just sucks. You have to relearn everything. And I mean everything. XP is only useable if you reconfigure the GUI to the 'classic' mode with every annoying XP feature turned off.
 

2. XP has some extra software utilities bundled with it. (firewall, movie maker, media player XP, can make a dos boot disk, file and settings transfer wizard, etc.)
// Firewall which is a useless joke. Movie maker that's producing blurry low res video. Dos boot disk? I can download one from the net anytime if I need one. The wizards are hardly useful.


3. XP has built in .zip file support.
// The clumsyest zip system I've ever witnessed. It refuses to unzip multiple selections at once, defaults to making unnecessary folders on extract.. Install WinRar instead. I did.

4. XPs compatibility layer for older dos and Windows 98 programs is marginally better than 2k.
// Granted. Most people never need the feature anyway.

5. XP has the system restore utility, which can actually be useful.
// Or it can be a pain in the butt if you want to make changes only to get reverted back to the original. Also the user profiles are a nightmare in XP. I prefer the old style of user priviledge administration.

On the downside, XP is a security nightmare, it is absolutely full of security holes. Unfortunately, some of that is Internet Explorer 6 related so in that regard 2k is the same. With the Home version of XP 99% of the systems I see have open guest accounts with blank passwords. (Hopefully, Service Pack 2 will resolve a couple of these issues.) It also has some USB issues that don't seem to be present in 2K. XP also has the very annoying product activation functionality, which can be very annoying for people who like to make regular hardware changes to their systems. (Let alone the fact that it allows Microsoft the legal right to stop activating copies of XP beyond a certain date. Fortunately, this will probably be no sooner than 2006.)

//Yet more reasons not to choose XP.

My opinion is that if you already have 2k Pro, there's no pressing reason to move to XP. (It's worth noting that 2k Pro users MUST upgrade to XP Pro. The XP Home upgrade isn't valid for 2k Pro.) For people choosing between the two moving up from 98 or Me, either 2K or XP will do nicely. 2k Pro and XP Pro are both about $175 for an OEM copy. XP Home is about $110 for an OEM copy.

//I recently bought a new laptop with XP preinstalled. The moment it got switched on I formatted it and installed W2k with no hesitation and I haven't regreted it.

Btw Bloom have you noticed a networking mismatch between XP and the older OS's? I've witnessed several problems in networks that have W2k and/or w98 joined to the same lan with XP. Extremely slow browsing and transfer speeds are symptoms.