Which OS should I use?

Question

Where, oh, where do I begin?
OK. I'm building a new system. I'm presently using Windows XP Home edition (32-bit) in my present PCs and I've had pretty good luck with that OS. The new system will be 64-bit. I've been reading that Windows XP was available (at one time) in 64-bit but there wasn't much support for it, if any. Scary. Windows Vista is available in 64-bit but I haven't met anyone or read any reviews about it by users that have anything good to say about Vista. More scary. That pretty much leaves Windows7. I've read mostly good reviews about Windows7 but the adverse things are starting to worry me now.
Such as:
Most of the internet is 32-bit so what would be the purpose of even HAVING 64-bit other than gaming? Although that's not a software problem.
Driver problems. A lot of older hardware doesn't even have any newer drivers that will work with or is compatible with the new OS. (Someone mentioned that there's only an approximate 20% compatibility as taken from Microsoft's website of compatible drivers.) That's disturbing because I certainly don't want to have to buy new optical drives or more new hardware just to satisfy a new OS. I've also read where people were having installation issues.
I'm not a gamer, but I want to build this machine just in case I want to be. I do use some graphics editing software and I thought this build would make it a little better for that use. My whole purpose for a new build is to eliminate an aging socket 478 mainboard with many, many hours on it that is starting to have age related problems. So I figured, why not update to newer technology too?
I'm beginning to think this is either going to become very expensive or be just a royal pain in the butt.
Does anybody have any usable input on this subject? I'd appreciate all pros and cons.
Thanks.

Answer 1

It doesnt Matter if its Vista,XP, or WIndows 7. There is little to NO Support for 64 Bit! However You can run WIndows XP 32bit on a 64bit PC. It WILL run Great! (Thats what I am doing) XP is still fully Supported to until Mid 2012.If your think about WIndows 7 then you NEED to read this: http://winxp76.webs.com/winxpor7.htm

Its a Wrold of non-support and its horribel for gaming. ALso it makes MOST Hardwares "Obsolete" .

Also WIndows 7 requires a LOT more RAM and CPU to do the same tasks. Many New Owners of PC's are having WIndows 7 Removed and XP put on it. Also WIndows 7 runs LESS than 30% of Software. With Windows XP it runs EVERYTHING and supports everything and everything supports it..

Just tgo let you know- I have DUO 1.6ghz Processor and 1gb RAM. It has WIndows XP professional SP3 on it. I am Much Faster than my room mates with his 4x the RAM and faster CPU than mine.

Running a 32bit on a 64Bit machine is like going from a 4 Cylinder and putting in a v8!

Now that Article has IT,Microsoft and Customers who helped write this: http://winxp76.webs.com/winxpor7.htm



Take Care!

Answer 2

A quick answer is 64 bit allows the proper use of more than 3.8Gb of RAM. 32 bit OS's will not read anymore. For the most part 64 bit drivers are good to go with the exception of any obscure hardware.



I can't believe some of the answers saying Windows 7 is still vaguely supported etc etc and 64 bit is useless!? Its freaking 2010! Get with the times. 64 bit Windows can still run 32 bit software so I don't understand where this info is coming from. Bad advice to say the least.



Anyway....Stay away from Mac :) Trendy, Useless, Overpriced garbage that will never solve your problems.



THE END



O ya BTW, with that kind of mediocre system build you would see no advantage with 64bit anyways.

Answer 3

At work, I'm using Vista 32 bit, and at home I upgraded from Windows XP directly to Windows 7. I prefer Windows 7 for numerous reasons. I first installed the 64 bit version, but I noticed a number of programs that had two versions installed, a 32-bit copy of the program, and a 64-bit copy of the same program, doubling the use of my hard disk space for many programs. So I finally went back and installed the 32-bit version of Windows 7.



But between the 3 (XP, Vista, and Win 7), Win 7 surpasses the other two hands down.



By the way, what CPU are you using? (I hope you say AMD (*GRIN*) - that's what I put in both my own PC, as well as the one I built for my daughter.)



Have fun with your new computer :-)

Answer 4

First of all Windows 7 is a very clean and efficient operating system.



Vista (in my opinion) sucks. Too many bugs, too resource intensive and constantly tasking on the processor.



The thing with 64 bit architectures, is that unless you have more than 4 GB of RAM, it won't matter.



Even then, I'd still stick with 32 bit, I had 64 bit Vista and didn't notice anything different I didn't notice on 32 bit OS's, and I play plenty of higher end PC games.

Answer 5

If you can’t find the right Windows drivers manually I would recommend just getting a software program that can do it for you. There is a program I use which will find drivers for just about all hardware devices. The best part is it takes a snapshot of your system specifications and matches the right driver to go with it. Perform a free driver scan at:

http://www.drivers-updates.net/drivers/windows-vista-drivers.html

You can also search by the following link:

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oGkwVSn2tLfmwAQjxXNyoA?p=site%3Awww.drivers-updates.net&fr2=sb-top&fr=siteexplorer&sao=0

Answer 6

Windows 7 ultimate