Dell Dimension 8300 (Base System, Upgraded)
OCZ GameXStream Power Supply 600W
Maxtor 250GB 7200RPM HD
Intel Pentium 4 3.2Ghz w/HT
3GB DDR 400Mhz
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
ATI X1950Pro XGE

The question is, with the above system should I upgrade to Vista?

Should I ever upgrade to Vista?

Or, should I stick with XP as it will givve me the best performance this system can put out?

Upgrading to Vista is going to be mostly how you like how Vista, your system shouldn't have a problem with upgrading to Vista. I do recommend getting a step up from the basic though. I have Vista 64 bit and it works well for me.

As I have a newer notbook that runs Vista Premium I see no big difference between Vista and Xp as far as looks and layout goes.

My new notebook contains newer hardware compared to my old AGP based system. So the main focus of the questions above would have to be on Gaming.

Would upgrading the above PC to Vista give me an advantage or disadvantage as far as performace goes when it comes to gaming?

I would have to say no, you having 3 gigs of ram that should be enough for 32 bit operating system.

Jim R

Wait until Service Pack 1 is released to Vista next month.

So far Vista is better then when it first came out thanks to 50+ software updates since then.

But it's still not there yet in terms of performance. Some performance benchmarks XP kills Vista, hopefully Service Pack 1 will fix those problems.

If you like bling Vista has it, if you care more about performance and capatiblity XP has it. Like I said I would wait until Vista Service Pack 1 before deciding.

Sounds good thank you guys.

with your spec, i think vista is defintily worth the upgrade, but i agree with cobra. you might as well wait till sp1 is out. also worth checking out whether there are any incompatibilities before you do.

As hinted above: if you are the type of gamer that will settle for nothing less than the highest framerate typical for your gaming machine, you are better off having XP on that machine.

However, Vista continues to get better with time & I wouldn't categorically condemn the OS or imply that it is a horrifying OS for gaming. Also, there are patches out there that are aimed primarily at gamers with Vista machines to enhance their gaming experience, but YMMV depending on the game.

Good luck!

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01...

NO, NO, NO, NO. Do Not upgrade. Windows XP is alot quicker and scrappier. Vista slows down your computer. PLUS, XP is alot easier to use. I would only recommend vista if you buy a new computer pre-installed. PLUS, vista has a serious zip error. Right now, I can't view any of my pictures.

Average Guy, looking for love, but I came to the wrong place

Oh, I forgot to mention, Vista recommends a Dual Core system. I have vista on one computer, and It's okay, but not great. HOWEVER, I had vista on my laptop. I actually had to remove it, because the computer was not dual core. It was fast 2.9 GHZ. BUT it was not dual core.

Average Guy, looking for love, but I came to the wrong place

upgrade to vista but get either vista business or vista ultimate because home basic/premium sucks trust me i know

or if you want a better os i would say ubuntu or sabayon from linux, that if you know how to work linux otherwise only pay attention to the first paragraph.

ASSMAN