Vista or Xp

[negy]

I am about to purchase a new computer. I will be using Adobe Premiere or Avid Express Editing Programs. What you recommend me to get my new system? Windows XP Pro or Vista. People say to stay away from Vista and then others say Vista is better for graphics. I am so confussed. I counting on someone to finally help me and set me in right direction!

[bmo]

I think that the general consensus is that XP will give you better performance in applications such as video encoding, editing, gaming, etc. Vista on the other hand, does have a nicer visual aesthetic to it, but that's its only advantage. Overall system performance is much slower in many areas when compared to XP. Here's a link to a relatively recent but thorough comparison of Vista and XP in a variety of applications:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/29/xp-vs-vista/index.html.

One more thing to keep in mind is application compatibility. While the majority of applications out there are compatible with XP, this may not hold true for Vista (which I can personally attest to). So in conclusion I'd suggest you opt for an XP system as you will enjoy higher performance/compatibility with applications.

[guns1inger]

If you are thinking about Avid then you have no choice. Avid isn't supported on Vista yet. You also need to be sure of your hardware spec, as Avid is very picky about the hardware it will run on.

There is, at this point in time, no compelling reason to go with Vista. There is no killer application. If you have the option, stick with XP for the moment.

[nTekka]

Personally, I don't think Vista is better for graphics... but if you are referring to graphics as in its GUI then yes it sure looks nicer than XP but as for say video quality or even gaming quality it seems to be the same as XP. Gaming graphics is a bit different if you throw in DX10 but can't compare that to XP cause DX10 is Vista only.

I have downgraded to XP on 3 of my PC after a couple months of continuous usage...just not worth the money or time, plus its a waste of PC performance on the OS when it could be used for Encoding or other applications.

Stick to XP.

[JohnnyMalaria]

XP, absolutely.

I've written video editing software and have become horribly familiar with Vista's quirks. Painful memories indeed. Vista-compatible software for video stuff needs to be written to know that it is on Vista and behave appropriately. Software written for XP is likely to have some issues (often subtle) through no fault of the developers.

[jman98]

I work in IT for a living. I specifically work as a Unix system administrator, but I run XP at home because it's just easier to do video work (and a few other things) with it than Linux. Believe me when I tell you that I am no fan of Microsoft. A wise man once said this - NEVER NEVER NEVER install a new OS from Microsoft until the first service pack comes out. There are no service packs for Vista. Our staff that works on Windows PCs passionately hates Vista. I cannot emphasize this enough - you are fool if you use anything other than XP. Sorry to be blunt, but I am trying to save you from making a colossal mistake here. Please do NOT use Vista. Use XP. It works.