My wife needs a new laptop. I'm looking at one that has an option for XP or Vista. It has an AMD64 proc. Would XP ignore the 64 and run slower? Do I need Vista? I only ask because some have mentioned not liking Vista.

If its the 64bit XP edition, there isn't much you would gain between it and vista.

On a new pc like that, I'd probably take it with vista, all the hardware should chuck and jive with it fine. Then if i was unhappy I'd load a warez xp 64 on it and not feel guilty until I was ready to load vista

$0.02

be sure its got an awesome gfx card for eq2!

Vista x64 is HORRIBLE!!! Microsoft REQUIRES drivers to be signed for you to use them on it unlike Vista x86. Luckily Vista Ultimate comes with a copy of both the x86 and x64 versions.

So far my favorite operating system is XP x64 just because it works so well and is nearly virus imune.

Oh and your wife prolly wont see must speed gain from x64 anyways.

This is the one I'm looking at atm:

www.alienware.com/prod...KU-DEFAULT

So yes, 2x Nvida 256 in SLI should crank EQ2.

I'm pretty sure Alienware will make sure drivers are all good, just wasn't sure on the OS option.

Morth- We recently installed Vista on my system at home. I haven't sat down and played with it enough to know if I really like it or not yet but here was my thought process in upgrading:

- My OS got corrupted, and Kroz had a niggling suspision that the discs themselves may have had problems, so we were looking at getting a new OS one way or the other

- I wanted *one* of us to have a fully legal version of an OS ^_~

- I decided if we were going to pay money for an OS, we might as well go ahead and get Vista. I'll have to support my users on it eventually, and I'd rather be familiar with it BEFORE I have to support it.

--

MY thoughts:

- Alot of the frustration that is out there is the same frustration that comes any time there is a major OS upgrade. Manufacturers don't always go back and update their software/drivers as quickly as we would like, and it's frustrating to reach for your fave piece of hardware/software only to find it's no longer compatible. With no ETA on when it will be. I would just make sure that all of her fave apps are Vista-compatible, and let her know she may run into a snag here and there.

- There are bugs, but I have yet to run into one with normal use. (Well, unless my hard drive problem was a "bug" but the jury is still out on that) But everything has bugs when it's new. If something doesn't have bugs, it's probably time to upgrade ^_~.

- It does have a different look and feel from XP. Things are named a little different, and are found in different places. If she is used ot moving around in XP, it will take a little time ot get used to where everything is. That having been said, the changes aren't huge. eg "My Computer" is now "Computer", menus look a little different, etc.

- It is a VERY "pretty" OS. If your wife is like me, then the shiny new feel of it will be enough to make her happy. I still don't think it looks as pretty as OS X, but it's getting pretty close. There are lots of "neat" little features that seasoned techies will roll their eyes at, but make the little girl in me very happy. Like the gadget sidebar (with a clock that you can turn in to a daisy ^_^), and the window pre-view.

Bottom line: If your wife hates change, gets easily frustrated if she hits a road bump, and finds learning new things disrupt her day-to-day, then it might be worth it to stay with XP. Otherwise, I'd go with Vista, because you will most likely have to upgrade eventually anyway, right?

Mort, thats the newer version of my laptop (mines almost 3 years old now).

Thats an awesome laptop, and if mine died tomorrow, thats what I would order.

With Alienware you can guarantee the drivers are all signed and good to role.

I stick to what I said before, I'd go vista, and if for some reason I hated the experience, I'd load XP till I was ready to try vista again.

2 things about those laptops though:
1. Heat - don't actually run it on your lap
2. Weight - I think the new ones are better, but mine's about 6.5 lbs.

Honestly she uses a laptop more like a desktop, it rarely ever leaves her desk, but it is handy to have one laptop in the house I can take to Houston to play on and empty the digital camera in.

I think I'm OK going with Vista, mostly because of what Yim said, I just have a bit of brand trust with Alienware, to get the OS/drivers set up right.

Besides being a powerful laptop, this one seems to be lower priced for the power range it is in.

Do you think I'll need one of those desktop pads for cooling?