• 0

Windows Vista vs. Windows XP?


Question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

Oh no, look what you have done! You just started another thread on XP vs Vista... There's going to be so much bashing here...

Anyways, stick with XP if you feel perfectly fine with it. Upgrade to Vista if you just want to have the latest OS. With those specifications, you CAN upgrade to Vista.

  • 0
... Vista will run better than XP on better hardware.

That statement will never be true, it can't be. Newer doesn't always mean better. XP is much slimmer than Vista, doesn't require the hardware that Vista does; thereby allowing XP to always run better on better hardware.

Stick with XP and go with Windows 7 when it comes out. I have faith in the new guy running the Windows team. Jim Allchin was a joke :laugh:

  • 0
That statement will never be true, it can't be. Newer doesn't always mean better. XP is much slimmer than Vista, doesn't require the hardware that Vista does; thereby allowing XP to always run better on better hardware.

Stick with XP and go with Windows 7 when it comes out. I have faith in the new guy running the Windows team. Jim Allchin was a joke :laugh:

Complete nonsense.

Are you telling me that if I dumped Windows 95 on a brand new machine it would capable of the efficiently using the higher end resources for preemptive caching, intelligent multitasking, etc? What about newer instruction sets available on my processor that the OS may be capable of using to speed up certain tasks?

Newer software will always be capable of taking advantage of more powerful hardware in ways that the previous generation of hardware can't.

I won't deny that in most cases slimmer means faster, and for the current generation of hardware at the best-of-the-best, XP and Vista are probably about evenly matched (With each winning in certain tasks.) but as you continually get faster and faster hardware, eventually the newer software will beat it out just because the older wasn't written to take advantage of it.

  • 0
That statement will never be true, it can't be. Newer doesn't always mean better. XP is much slimmer than Vista, doesn't require the hardware that Vista does; thereby allowing XP to always run better on better hardware.

Stick with XP and go with Windows 7 when it comes out. I have faith in the new guy running the Windows team. Jim Allchin was a joke :laugh:

You're extremely misled to think that is the case. Did you know that Windows XP can't utilize a processor's TPM module to any extent without huge amounts of third-party support. Depending on the hardware advances since the release the host OS can utilize more in those fields. It's like comparing an OS using SSE4 to parse large algorithms and one using the generic instructions, the latter will be much slower. Another good example is comparing Windows operating systems which didn't have 32-bit support as opposed to those coded for 32-bit.

Your argument's only validity comes into play if you give each computer the exact same features utilizing the exact same technology in the hardware and even then it's a fallacy.

  • 0
Complete nonsense.

Are you telling me that if I dumped Windows 95 on a brand new machine it would capable of the efficiently using the higher end resources for preemptive caching, intelligent multitasking, etc?

I never said that, read my comments again. I stated that newer isn't always better. To be exact, "Newer doesn't always mean better."

But there's nothing in Vista that allows a user to gain any performance (look at the benchmarks for SP3 vs SP1) that suggests it is faster on newer hardware. It doesn't make sense to even consider that performance on newer hardware would make Vista better than XP considering that Vista not as slim as XP.

  • 0

If you don't want to upgrade your memory stay with XP. Vista is very good at 2G of RAM. Other than that Vista is great, I have been running it since March on a laptop and my desktop on XP ... and I prefer Vista over XP now. This really comes down to people dont like change and Vista is a vast change from XP. Then there is the driver issue which is nothing new since the XP was introduced there were the XP haters then too that is was aweful cause of the driver issue etc. I am in IT and I have Vista running on several machines (most that didnt have vista to start with) without any problems. It turns out to be a personal opinion because I know people who are still on Windows 98 so to each his own.

  • 0

On a system with 1GB ram, I've seen Vista dumping 400-500 MB of data in to SuperFetch. Applications load faster than XP. Also, IME, Vista has better thread management than XP, and the overall multitasking experience is smoother even on single core systems. To teh humbug poster: sorry, but software does advance.

  • 0

I'm not sure how to feel about you ignoring my reply altogether, maybe I should cry :(

I never said that, read my comments again. I stated that newer isn't always better. To be exact, "Newer doesn't always mean better."

But there's nothing in Vista that allows a user to gain any performance (look at the benchmarks for SP3 vs SP1) that suggests it is faster on newer hardware. It doesn't make sense to even consider that performance on newer hardware would make Vista better than XP considering that Vista not as slim as XP.

You're trying to compare Windows XP SP3 which has been in development for over a year to Windows Vista SP1 which was only recently announced? The fact is that those so-called rock solid bench-marks were made by a program called OfficeBench which essentially does a series of macros in Microsoft Office applications. This has no relevance what-so-ever to the general performance of the system. I'm willing to bet that this is a single-threaded application which runs through these tests in a monolithic manner because Windows XP wasn't made to handle the train of such activity. Windows Vista has improved on virtually all areas, this is seen by general function improvements which you may not be aware of, simple things such as window rendering to advanced procedures such as thread synchronization. Furthermore, Windows Vista SP1 was made mainly to cater to bugs and introduce/support new functions. Read here for a list of changes:

http://apcmag.com/6929/vista_sp1_in_depth

Please also note the following excerpt;

"This service pack isn’t to be confused with two enhancement packs which were leaked to the public a few weeks ago, and then officially released by Microsoft with virtually no fanfare on the 8th and the 9th. These two updates address compatibility and performance features in Vista."

The main issue that I'm addressing is that Vista will be able to utilize newer hardware for specific things which will then generally give the user a better experience, this can come from better algorithms for file-parsing on the software level to a whole new file-system in the works catering to the hardware level and please don't even think of using the 'statistics' generated from a piece of garbage which runs a series of stupid macros as 'evidence'.

EDIT: It seems you responded while I was writing my response :p Anyway, before making yourself foolish again I highly suggest you read the first paragraph of the Uses sub-section.

  • 0

I use Vista on all of my PCs, The second lowest spec being a AMD Semperon 3200+ with 786MB RAM, 7300GS, I use that for work (Mobile DJ). It boots in roughly 15 seconds compared to the 2+ minutes with XP. Vista has been installed on it since January, and if anything, it has got faster thanks to superfetch.

  • 0

yes you will have issues. don't run vista on any less than 2 gigs of ram and a dual core processor

I need to know which has better performance. Windows Vista or Windows XP?

I am debating whether to update to Vista or not. I have 1GB of RAM with a P4 Processor.

Will Vista run slower than XP? Are there performance tests to prove this?

  • 0
You're trying to compare Windows XP SP3 which has been in development for over a year to Windows Vista SP1 which was only recently announced?

What the hell are you talking about? Both are RC1, it doesn't matter how long they've been in development if they're at the same milestone now. If we go by your logic of not comparing something that's been in development for a year, then we shouldn't compare XP and Vista at all :laugh:

The only thing Vista has that would ever interest me is DirectX 10 and none of the games I play use it, so it doesn't matter to me. There's nothing else in Vista that would benefit me or most users in general. I don't know anyone in my every day life that actually uses Vista and likes it, most hate it.

I say hold on to XP, there's nothing in Vista that is worth the cost of the upgrade.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Win11Debloat 06.11.2026 by Razvan Serea Win11Debloat is a lightweight, easy to use PowerShell script that allows you to quickly declutter and customize your Windows experience. It can remove pre-installed bloatware apps, disable telemetry, remove intrusive interface elements and much more. The script also includes many features that system administrators and power users will enjoy. Such as a powerful command-line interface, support for Windows Audit mode and the option to make changes to other Windows users. All changes made by Win11Debloat can be easily reversed, and most removed apps can be restored via the Microsoft Store. A full guide on how to undo the changes is available here. Win11Debloat features: Below is an overview of the key features and functionality offered by Win11Debloat. Please refer to the wiki for more information about the default settings preset. Remove a wide variety of preinstalled apps. Click here for more info. Disable telemetry, diagnostic data, activity history, app-launch tracking & targeted ads. Disable tips, tricks, suggestions & ads across Windows. Disable Windows location services & app location access. Disable Find My Device location tracking. Disable 'Windows Spotlight' and tips & tricks on the lock screen. Disable 'Windows Spotlight' desktop background option. Disable ads, suggestions and the MSN news feed in Microsoft Edge. Hide Microsoft 365 ads on the Settings 'Home' page, or hide the 'Home' page entirely. Disable & remove Microsoft Copilot. Disable Windows Recall. Disable Click to Do, AI text & image analysis tool. Prevent AI service (WSAIFabricSvc) from starting automatically. Disable AI Features in Edge. Disable AI Features in Paint. Disable AI Features in Notepad. Disable the Drag Tray for sharing & moving files. Restore the old Windows 10 style context menu. Turn off Enhance Pointer Precision, also known as mouse acceleration. Disable the Sticky Keys keyboard shortcut. Disable Storage Sense automatic disk cleanup. Disable fast start-up to ensure a full shutdown. ...and more. Once you’ve downloaded the Win11Debloat file (Get.ps1), just follow these quick steps: Locate the Get.ps1 script file. Right-click the file and select Run with PowerShell from the context menu. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), select Yes to grant the script the necessary administrative permissions. Win11Debloat 06.11.2026 fixes: Fix lock screen spotlight option being disabled when disabling the start recommended section by @Raphire in #619 Fix log message formatting by @Raphire Note The -RemoveCommApps and -RemoveW11Outlook command-line parameters for uninstalling a few specific apps have been removed with this release. If you previously relied on these parameters, please see this wiki page for alternative methods of removing these apps. Download: Win11Debloat 06.11.2026 | Open Source View: Win11Debloat Home Page | Screenshots 1| 2 Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Yes for me, I installed 'old calculator' (Windows 7 calculator) in its place since it is more useful to me. I think paint is the only one I left installed
    • eh I'll wait for the June 2026 MVS ISO downloads which should be coming out next Tuesday June 16 and possibly contain build 8655 instead of 8653
  • Recent Achievements

    • Rookie
      restore went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Very Popular
      AndrewSteel earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • Veteran
      Taliseian went up a rank
      Veteran
    • One Month Later
      Clizby earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      Timaximus earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      509
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      162
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      155
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      82
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      79
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!