# Oporating system advice



## Kushaba (Sep 2, 2008)

Hey all Kushaba here,

I've been thinking about installing a new Oporating system. i was thinking about Vista/Xp or ubuntu. and i want to know the pros and cons of both systems.


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## WarMocK (Sep 2, 2008)

Well, if you want to play games you will need XP/Vista, since many of the newest mainstream games won't work with Linux at full throttle (if they don't support OpenGL you'll need WINE, which only supports DX9 atm).
Linux is more secure than Win, and a lot faster when configured properly. It's good for office work, anything that has to do with netword, and (to some extend) doing digital artwork (older Photoshop versions work with Linux, otherwise you can use GIMP).
If you have enough diskspace, just install both Win and Ubuntu (in that order, you'll need to install a bootloader) and give it a try. You can still remove the OS that doesn't fit your needs. ^^


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## Not A Fox (Sep 2, 2008)

MY OPORATING SYSTEM ADVICE IS THAT YOU DONT USE VISTA CAUSE I HEARD IT SUCKS

8D


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## Pi (Sep 2, 2008)

what the hell is "Vista/XP"


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## net-cat (Sep 2, 2008)

How about some system specs? Or what you plan to use your system for? Are you getting a new system or reformatting an old system?


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## Archibald Ironfist (Sep 2, 2008)

Out of those choices, go XP or Ubuntu.  Vista isn't really stable or reliable yet.

Just note MOST software on Windows is not available on Ubuntu (linux).  However Ubuntu is a very good OS for Linux.
MOST games are for Windows.  So beware!  If you want this PC for gaming, Linux may not be a good choice unless you're an advanced user.


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## Aurali (Sep 2, 2008)

Archibald Ironfist said:


> Vista isn't really stable or reliable yet.



I'd actually like to meet the people still having stability problems with vista..


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## WarMocK (Sep 2, 2008)

Eli said:


> I'd actually like to meet the people still having stability problems with vista..


Shall I ask my neighbour if he likes an introduction? ^^
Looks like Microsoft finally managed to provide some stability with SP1, but with one problem solved and 99 other still waiting ... nope, Vista is not a really good option atm, except if you desperately need DirectX 10 and UAC. ;-)


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## net-cat (Sep 2, 2008)

I'm actually going to have to agree. Of all the issues I've had with Vista, stability has never been one of them. (Well, no worse than XP or Linux, in any case.)


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## Kimmerset (Sep 2, 2008)

Eli said:


> I'd actually like to meet the people still having stability problems with vista..



Vista randomly crashes on me. How's that?

Edit: And it's given me the first (of several) blue screens in several years.


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## Aurali (Sep 2, 2008)

Kimmerset said:


> Vista randomly crashes on me. How's that?
> 
> Edit: And it's given me the first (of several) blue screens in several years.



jesus.. what are you running? Every time I see vista issues.. it's driver/program related.. and usually at the frequency of XP/Linux...


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## Kimmerset (Sep 2, 2008)

AMD2 Athlon 5200 
Nvidia 8800 GTS factory overclocked
2 GB Ram
320GB HD

And... I don't recall the motherboard right now.  It's not exactly anything special, though.


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## Eevee (Sep 2, 2008)

Archibald Ironfist said:


> Just note MOST software on Windows is not available on Ubuntu (linux).


ironically enough, part of my reason for switching was that getting the software I wanted running on Windows was a pain in the ass

but unless you need to do something obscure you will probably be fine with the existing plethora of Linux software



Archibald Ironfist said:


> MOST games are for Windows.  So beware!  If you want this PC for gaming, Linux may not be a good choice unless you're an advanced user.


running Windows games under Linux becomes more braindead simple all the time, although I've heard horror stories about ATI cards


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## Kushaba (Sep 2, 2008)

Eevee said:


> running Windows games under Linux becomes more braindead all the time, although I've heard horror stories about ATI cards




especially when bioshock came out.


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## WarMocK (Sep 2, 2008)

Eevee said:


> running Windows games under Linux becomes more braindead simple all the time, although I've heard horror stories about ATI cards



According to a good friend of mine (with Linux on his laptop with an ATI GPU) the ATI drivers become better and better with every new release. Obviously the takeover by AMD finally pays off. ^^


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## Pi (Sep 2, 2008)

WarMocK said:


> the ATI drivers become better and better with every new release



polished turd


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## Shouden (Sep 2, 2008)

ahhhh....I remember being a PC fanboy....oh, and don't expect MS to fix the issues with Vista. They are currently working on the new Windows OS and working on making Xbox Live worse and worse .....I mean better and better. But, what do I know. I got rid of all of my Microsoft products a while ago.


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## net-cat (Sep 2, 2008)

Shouden said:


> don't expect MS to fix the issues with Vista.


I don't. One of the guys I went to school with now works at Microsoft and has the same problem I do. He said that to his knowledge, they know about the issue and have no intention of doing anything about it since it affects such a small number of people. (I/E: People who use VMWare and VirtualPC on a system that gets shut down regularly and require remote access on boot-up.)


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## Shouden (Sep 2, 2008)

yeah, I figure, if Microsoft didn't want to spend the money to fix the "Red Ring of Death" issue on the Xbox 360 (this is due to the fact that there is no breathing room for anything inside the case, no processor fan and the fact that the video card is sandwiched between the DVD-ROM (which is full sized), heat sink, motherboard and the case which over time causes the video card to warp and eventually stop functioning. This is why SOFTWARE companies should never try to produce HARDWARE. Note: The first Xbox was built by Intel, not by MS.) then they probably won't fix the issues with their OS.

And this is why I got a Mac.


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## Eevee (Sep 3, 2008)

Shouden said:


> ahhhh....I remember being a PC fanboy....


man can we stop using "PC" to refer to windows?  it doesn't make a damn bit of sense


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## Shouden (Sep 3, 2008)

but 90% of PC's run Windows and PC is easier to say and not as dirty as MS.


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## ArielMT (Sep 3, 2008)

Shouden said:


> but 90% of PC's run Windows and PC is easier to say and not as dirty as MS.



Just because most people do it doesn't make it right.  Most people skip reading manuals and owner's guides as well.

Even as bad as I've found most Microsoft products to be, I don't understand how anyone but obsessive anti-Microsoft fanboys can consider their words dirtied by mention of a Microsoft brand name.  Microsoft didn't make personal computers when last I checked, only a game console, hardware accessories, and software.  Even their seemingly ubiquitous software cash cow, Windows, is slowly losing market share despite PC ownership going nowhere but up.  PCs run a variety of operating systems these days, Microsoft and other brands, which is what led to the OP's question.  It's not even safe to assume "Windows" generically anymore because of the world of differences between the two most common versions, XP and Vista, nor is it completely safe to assume Windows out of the box from major PC makers like Dell (who sell PCs with Ubuntu preinstalled) anymore.

Please don't say "PC" unless you mean "personal computer," as in hardware platforms.  If you mean an operating system or even a class of operating systems, please say its name.  Thank you.


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## Archibald Ironfist (Sep 3, 2008)

Even then, PC isn't an accurate term, as there are x86 based PCs and Motorola based PCs and IBM POWER based PCs.  Probably some others, too, that i'm missing, especially that aren't in wide use anymore.

Really, it's like referring to all automobiles, trains, planes, and boats as 'transports'.  It's just a vague, unpleasant term.

I prefer to use PC to refer simply to Personal Computers, which may or may not be x86 architecture.


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## Eevee (Sep 3, 2008)

Shouden said:


> but 90% of PC's run Windows and PC is easier to say and not as dirty as MS.


And 8% of PCs run OS X, and 1% of PCs run Linux.  If you're trying to talk about specifically Windows as opposed to whatever else, "PC" is probably not the word you should be going for.


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## Shouden (Sep 3, 2008)

dang, you Windows guys take things too seriously. It was supposed  to be a joke and a silly explanation why people refer to Windows running machines as PCs.

Here *hands everyone some cookies* just don't get any on your keyboards.


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## Pi (Sep 3, 2008)

Shouden said:


> dang, you Windows guys take things too seriously. It was supposed  to be a joke and a silly explanation why people refer to Windows running machines as PCs.



Only it's not funny and also inaccurate.

good job dude


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## ArielMT (Sep 3, 2008)

Shouden said:


> dang, you Windows guys take things too seriously.



I can't remember ever being called a "Windows guy" before.  That's a first.

I switched entirely to Linux at home five years ago, after 12 or 13 years of using Windows, and I haven't looked back. The Dell book I'm using hasn't known Windows since the day I unpacked it. Yet as much as I like Linux and how much better I think it is than Windows, it's still no reason to exaggerate or otherwise be inaccurate about either, or anything else for that matter.


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## Bryantacious (Sep 6, 2008)

Pi said:


> polished turd



ok even I laughed at this reply xD


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