want to upgrade what win

Bu11et_Proof

Ok i jsut built a new pc 3.2c, 1gb of ram, 160gb hd. i have win 98 installed but iam defo looking to upgrade to either 2k or xp, i would like xp because it uses HT and i've used it before and like it, but i also heard 2k is a safe bet where compatibility is concerned.

any suggestions would be great

I do apologize, coz you've prob heard this question a thousand times.

sceptre

Originally posted by Bu11et_Proof
I do apologize, coz you've prob heard this question a thousand times.

Yes we have but yours is a little more than the dreaded "OMG, WHAT DOO I INSTAL!!?!":) (besides, you apologised)

XP has better compatibility than 2k in my experience - especially for games. Any half-decently written app from the past few years won't have problems with XP.

Lots of people don't like the Fisher Price interface that XP comes with by default; however you can easily change it using themes from the likes of themexp. I still have 2000 on my desktop (mostly through lethargy to be honest, though my hardware is significantly less impressive than yours (my PC is heading for 4 years old at the moment) but XP on a laptop and it runs rather well no it (people have commented that it's pretty nippy - even though it's only a P3-450 (384MB RAM helps a bit). I'm finally ready to dump the win98 partition, having sorted out whatever games I still play for running on XP (never could have done that with windows 2000).

Your hardware will easily handle it and the hyperthreading will be a bonus with applications written for a twin-processor machine. sceptre votes for XP.

Creamy Goodness

xp

why use an os that's 4 years old

and besides xp was built on the same platform as 2000 i think

greglo23

i`d go for win2k over xp any day except if you want to run older games. 2k is far more stable than xp home or
pro imho.i`ve been using it for about 3 years and i`ve
forgotten what the blue screen of death looks like !!!!

tman

xp home edition (pro is nice but its definitely not worth the extra cash if you're buying it)
a fine operating system

slartibardfast

just so you know win98 can't correctly handle above 512mb of ram, and w2k isn't as good with hyperthreading as xp...

go for it!

Dempsey

Go for XP i have home and pro and I dont notice much in the difference for what im doing. Ya wont be missing out on a whole lot with Home Edition

Hyper Threading makes windows respond quicker if yer doing encoding or something at the same time. IE pops straight up while im encoding on hight priority. I have 2k aswell, prefer Xp to it

ColmOT [MSFT]

XP is the way to go...better software support, better hardware support and who knows what 'extras' Microsoft might release for it between now and the next version codename 'Longhorn' releases... :cool:

Capt'n Midnight

Don't forget to include the cost of the upgrade into the equation. Also can you buy 2K new anymore ? Does the XP license allow you to use 2K instead. (The latest office version upgrade does not allow you to use earlier versions) and I'm not too sure that the retail/oem server 2003 allows you to use server 2000.

RANT
re new features:

1 - Windows 2000 terminal server allows clients with 2000 Pro or XP pro to connect without needing a seperate license, where as an upgrade to 2003 means you would need to buy client licences for these machines (except for XP clients bought before april last year..) Also Xp home does not run login scripts - which all previous network versions of windows did. And telnet is not a patch on previous version.
In short it works both ways.

2 - look at the court cases (and fines) that microsoft keep loosing when they try to bundle free stuff in to kill off the competition.

/RANT

kaimera

XP Pro over home anyday...just for the little features. eg. disabling "Simple File Sharing"

After using Pro, XP home is a nightmare to me :dunno:

LoLth

After supporting and using win2k . xp home and xp pro every day.... My favourite is still win2k. I was an avid fan of 98 and grudgingly switched to 2k. I find it more stable than xp, more informative (none of this "an error occurred, would you like to send a report without having a clue why it happened") and I really hate teh cartoon aspect of Xp, even in "classic" mode.

kikel

Win 2K fan but thinking of moving over to XP Pro soon. It comes to the stage when you have to forget the past a look to the future

Tivoli

don't see why you should go for pro over home save youself the money,(buy drink)

but i would use a xp os in your shoes

[CONTROVERSIAL]

i really like the xp look


i do often wonder why so many people go out a buy a new os and give out when its different to the old one.it reminds me of when i bought the girlfriend a new phone for christmas and watched her changing all the settings to make it as much like her old phone as possible

my guess- nostalga

[/CONTROVERSIAL]

ColmOT [MSFT]

Don't forget that you can change the UI to 'Windows Classic' to maintain the Windows 2000 UI style, but get the Windows XP functionality...

The Insider

Have to say win 2k, find it more stable then win xp, hate the way xp trys to bundle in all there software with it, all that net passport crap that comes with it is really annoying as well.

If you were ever thinking about setting up a network or anything, then win 2k is much nicer to use.

Dont like the cartoon look of XP(I know you can turn it off by default) also I dont like the way XP comes with a lot of features turned off by default to stop the user messing up there pc, wrecks my buzz,

One thing I missed on 2k is msconfig but you can get that on the interweb for it, just my 2cents...