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It depends what version of Vista you're going to be using. Lots of RAM is required even to make the "Aero" graphics work. That's the part that makes it look as pretty as a Mac ;-)
Actually it's NOT just the RAM that makes the Aero graphics work but the graphics card as well. Many on board graphics card "suck pond water". Make sure it's a GOOD one. Liz
Na, Vista has a minimum with 512 Megabyte RAM, it recommends 1 Gigabyte for all the colorful features.
If you plan on running Vista then you better plan on having at least 2GB RAM. Vista is one hell of a memory HOG!!!
Myself, I don't like Vista and all that I have read about it. I just ordered a new laptop from Gateway and got XP for my OS, since it is stable and I use it on my desktop. Did not want to go through all of the headaches that so many are with Vista.
But if you have an XP Home/Pro (I like pro better, more options) install CD and you buy a new PC with Vista on it, make sure you get those recovery CDs, because you might like you might not. I won't move to Vista until there is a service pack out, which shouldn't be too long... LOL!
But be damn careful because most manufactures will VOID your warranty if you delete Vista and then use XP instead. I know this for a fact!! Also, I also found out that many new computers will not work quite right with XP if it was made to be used with Vista. You have to make sure that you can ALL drivers for XP and even then, you are taking a big chance.
But be damn careful because most manufactures will VOID your warranty if you delete Vista and then use XP instead. I know this for a fact!! Also, I also found out that many new computers will not work quite right with XP if it was made to be used with Vista. You have to make sure that you can ALL drivers for XP and even then, you are taking a big chance.
I haven't even taken the time to research this but I am relatively positive that both of these concerns are completely unfounded. If my logic is off or mysteriously or nefariously the PC manufacturers have published something stating elsewise, then please let me know.
Your first concern just doesn't make sense from a hardware perspective. Changing your software will not void any warrantee covering your machines hardware. Of course it doesn't... the operating system software isn't going to fry a motherboard nor will it cause any other permanent mechanical malfunction. Once you buy a machine, you can install whatever you want on it software-wise and still get your hardware warrantee support. Now obviously you won't be able to call for software assistance... but I don't think any of the computer manufacturers offer this in any significant capacity anyway. Now if you mail your computer for repair to the manufacturer and they replace your hard drive... they will most certainly not reinstall your replacement software for you... but they will still repair a fried motherboard or defective part.
Your second concern seems more reasonable... But, right now in this current snapshot in time... everything runs on XP and it is Vista which has the major device driver failure issues. Indeed I don't know of anything hardware-wise anywhere currently being sold which would only run on Vista and not XP. In light of Microsoft's recently announced decision (yes this is published - I posted a link on another thread) to continue to sell XP through June of 2008 and to continue to officially support XP through at least the beginning of 2010 a current computer buyer today should have no fear of installing XP. Microsoft has acknowledged that there are a lot of problems with Vista which are going to take a lot of time to fix... hence the timeline adjustment to sell and support XP for so much longer than their original plans indicated.
I haven't even taken the time to research this but I am relatively positive that both of these concerns are completely unfounded. If my logic is off or mysteriously or nefariously the PC manufacturers have published something stating elsewise, then please let me know.
Your first concern just doesn't make sense from a hardware perspective. Changing your software will not void any warrantee covering your machines hardware. Of course it doesn't... the operating system software isn't going to fry a motherboard nor will it cause any other permanent mechanical malfunction. Once you buy a machine, you can install whatever you want on it software-wise and still get your hardware warrantee support. Now obviously you won't be able to call for software assistance... but I don't think any of the computer manufacturers offer this in any significant capacity anyway. Now if you mail your computer for repair to the manufacturer and they replace your hard drive... they will most certainly not reinstall your replacement software for you... but they will still repair a fried motherboard or defective part.
Your second concern seems more reasonable... But, right now in this current snapshot in time... everything runs on XP and it is Vista which has the major device driver failure issues. Indeed I don't know of anything hardware-wise anywhere currently being sold which would only run on Vista and not XP. In light of Microsoft's recently announced decision (yes this is published - I posted a link on another thread) to continue to sell XP through June of 2008 and to continue to officially support XP through at least the beginning of 2010 a current computer buyer today should have no fear of installing XP. Microsoft has acknowledged that there are a lot of problems with Vista which are going to take a lot of time to fix... hence the timeline adjustment to sell and support XP for so much longer than their original plans indicated.
The Gateway people told me that they have already voided a few warraties because of this and other manufactures are also doing the same thing. Go ahead and don't believe me. That is your right. But if you have a new computer and change from Vista to XP and something goes wrong, the warranty can be voided. Like I said, I got this from the horse's mouth, so to speak. NO, they will not repair the hardware if one deleted the Vista and used XP or other OS. This was told to me when I was trying to find the drivers for XP for a laptop I was looking to buy. I was going to do the same thing, just get the laptop and then delete Vistan and put XP on and then roll right along. Not now since I was told what would happen. Best Buy will build computers specifically with XP for people, but they told me that what they usually do is change out the hard drive taking the Vista made hard drive out.
Like I said, believe what you want but I got this from Gateway themselves. I was not willing to take a chance but one can still get a computer with XP as the OS by ordering or paying extra to places like Best Buy. I went ahead and ordered my laptop from Gateway myself because I hate all of the damn trial-ware and stupid stuff they put on the hard drives.
The Gateway people told me that they have already voided a few warraties because of this and other manufactures are also doing the same thing. Go ahead and don't believe me. That is your right. But if you have a new computer and change from Vista to XP and something goes wrong, the warranty can be voided. Like I said, I got this from the horse's mouth, so to speak. NO, they will not repair the hardware if one deleted the Vista and used XP or other OS. This was told to me when I was trying to find the drivers for XP for a laptop I was looking to buy. I was going to do the same thing, just get the laptop and then delete Vistan and put XP on and then roll right along. Not now since I was told what would happen. Best Buy will build computers specifically with XP for people, but they told me that what they usually do is change out the hard drive taking the Vista made hard drive out.
Like I said, believe what you want but I got this from Gateway themselves. I was not willing to take a chance but one can still get a computer with XP as the OS by ordering or paying extra to places like Best Buy. I went ahead and ordered my laptop from Gateway myself because I hate all of the damn trial-ware and stupid stuff they put on the hard drives.
I was not saying you were misconstruing the truth, I was saying that what you were told didn't seem logical and was probably wrong. I indeed just searched online and it appears that plenty of people have been told what you were told. Looks like both Gateway and HP reps have said similar things on the phone and in person to customers in the attempt to discourage customers from downgrading from Vista or considering it an option. Upon further research it looks like what people have gotten back in writing from Gateway within the past 30 days confirms my previous suspicions and is different from the party-line shared with you on the phone or in person. To summarize emails people have copy and pasted into forum/blog entries over the past two months:
1) Gateway does not currently and will not in the future as part of their warranty support any 3rd party software installed on their systems. Your warranty is primarily a Hardware warranty and specific to work with the exact collection of software provided upon purchase your computer is supposed to function normally.
2) There are now downgrade instructions available from Gateway to install XP - and what you will be required to do is obtain a licensed copy of the software to do this. If you investigate Microsoft's website there is some little known text there regarding your downgrade options as a microsoft windows license holder (so that you can indeed obtain a copy of XP if you have a paid copy of Vista - free of charge... looks like mileage varies when you pursue this option as Gateway may indeed hold your original license thus complicating the process for how to get a free copy of XP if you can at all).
3) If you have a hardware issue with a Gateway computer and have installed a different OS - they will determine if any of the 3rd party software programs caused the hardware problem and will proceed to do hardware warranty work if no 3rd party software is determined to be at fault. A way to simplify or skip this entire analysis process is to ensure that you reinstall Vista later on before returning your computer for hardware warranty work. The reality is as I shared though... OS's don't usually fry or break hardware, you can expect that your computer hardware will be repaired but if you need a new hard drive you won't get your computer back with XP installed... it'll be like how you originally received your computer out of the box (minus all 3rd party apps you installed post purchase).
4) Be aware that if you call up the manufacturer of your computer for something that may be a potential software issue that any 3rd party software you install may indeed be considered suspect for your problem. Any program you have installed may indeed be the problem but definitely if you install a different OS than that which originally came with the system, tech support might not know how to troubleshoot you through control panel menus to isolate and fix the issue. Is this a major issue?... not really, because if you contact Microsoft or the 3rd party application company directly, they will have increased likelihood of solving your software issue anyway. Mileage will vary as everyone knows in this regard, but if you're having OS crashing problems after downgrading your OS, then Gateway will not be of much help to you unless they are still selling or once sold your Vista equipped machine with XP installed (and this is because they keep tech support staff on hand to support the products they actually have sold and currently sell). Is THAT a major issue?... probably if you want to call gateway to problem-solve, thus I would investigate carefully before making your purchase. Is this enough to scare me into not upgrading or downgrading or installing new software on my computer, definitely not and especially considering I'm going to have the system I just purchased for several years.
Last edited by belovenow; 10-05-2007 at 11:14 AM..
I was not saying you were misconstruing the truth, I was saying that what you were told didn't seem logical and was probably wrong. I indeed just searched online and it appears that plenty of people have been told what you were told. Looks like both Gateway and HP reps have said similar things on the phone and in person to customers in the attempt to discourage customers from downgrading from Vista or considering it an option. Upon further research it looks like what people have gotten back in writing from Gateway within the past 30 days confirms my previous suspicions and is different from the party-line shared with you on the phone or in person. To summarize emails people have copy and pasted into forum/blog entries over the past two months:
1) Gateway does not currently and will not in the future as part of their warranty support any 3rd party software installed on their systems. Your warranty is primarily a Hardware warranty and specific to work with the exact collection of software provided upon purchase your computer is supposed to function normally.
2) There are now downgrade instructions available from Gateway to install XP - and what you will be required to do is obtain a licensed copy of the software to do this. If you investigate Microsoft's website there is some little known text there regarding your downgrade options as a microsoft windows license holder (so that you can indeed obtain a copy of XP if you have a paid copy of Vista - free of charge... looks like mileage varies when you pursue this option as Gateway may indeed hold your original license thus complicating the process for how to get a free copy of XP if you can at all).
3) If you have a hardware issue with a Gateway computer and have installed a different OS - they will determine if any of the 3rd party software programs caused the hardware problem and will proceed to do hardware warranty work if no 3rd party software is determined to be at fault. A way to simplify or skip this entire analysis process is to ensure that you reinstall Vista later on before returning your computer for hardware warranty work. The reality is as I shared though... OS's don't usually fry or break hardware, you can expect that your computer hardware will be repaired but if you need a new hard drive you won't get your computer back with XP installed... it'll be like how you originally received your computer out of the box (minus all 3rd party apps you installed post purchase).
4) Be aware that if you call up the manufacturer of your computer for something that may be a potential software issue that any 3rd party software you install may indeed be considered suspect for your problem. Any program you have installed may indeed be the problem but definitely if you install a different OS than that which originally came with the system, tech support might not know how to troubleshoot you through control panel menus to isolate and fix the issue. Is this a major issue?... not really, because if you contact Microsoft or the 3rd party application company directly, they will have increased likelihood of solving your software issue anyway. Mileage will vary as everyone knows in this regard, but if you're having OS crashing problems after downgrading your OS, then Gateway will not be of much help to you unless they are still selling or once sold your Vista equipped machine with XP installed (and this is because they keep tech support staff on hand to support the products they actually have sold and currently sell). Is THAT a major issue?... probably if you want to call gateway to problem-solve, thus I would investigate carefully before making your purchase. Is this enough to scare me into not upgrading or downgrading or installing new software on my computer, definitely not and especially considering I'm going to have the system I just purchased for several years.
Now that makes a lot of sense and it would be what I had thought, but I have to admit that I was scared off by that rep from Gateway and the salesman at Best Buy because he was basically telling me the same thing.
I want to thank you for the info you posted because it proves that I was not wrong in my suspicions. I am lucky though in that I am not paying any more than I would have for the same unit by ordering it from them. I was going to be able to get the same unit at Best Buy but it would have had Vista on it. I was able to find the drivers I would have needed but I was going to have to buy another full copy of XP and the cost of the XP would have added another $199.00 or thereabouts. So, I basically out ok on the deal. I am glad to know this for the future though. Again, thanks so much for the info you were able to find.
I don't have much idea but I could provide you a website which could help you. I think for getting information regarding latest laptops (http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/category/14/laptops-reviews - broken link)
This is an old thread but in case someone doeas read it I will post.
I am on my first laptop. I bought a decent Celeron M 520 @ 1.6GHz processor with 2gigRAM (I added it). Vista home basic OS. There were a ton of programs on it. I found out later that most were junk and just trial offers. If I had put any content in them and didn't copy it I wopuild have been screwed or forced to buy after the 30 openings had run it's course. They take up about 40% of the Hard Drive.
It runs well, and will meet most needs as long as speed isn't critical. I saw a compaq laptop at Fred Meyers the other day the was for $529 nafter rebate. I don't remember the specs but I do remember the feel of the mouse pad was divine. No finger stick and no crannies for gunk to catch. the whole area around it was seamless. Very nice design. I can't say much for the machine but starting programs and changing windows was fairly decent, but so was my Satellite in the store!
I recomend you spend as much as you can to buy the biggest processor you can afford. Get a system that has minimal programs on it or none at all and put your own stuff on the machine. If I had my way I'd have an OS, MS Office pro 2000 which I own, a browser and an email program (which I expect to be in the OS) to run it and an antivirus. That is all I want or need. Maybe if there is something better than Media player to get internet radio I'd get that. If I could just load Word from my Office CD that'd be even better. I know one can I just don't know how.
To do all that you'll have to have it built but that costs a lot.
Big processor, minimum programs, big RAM spend as much as you safely can. If in doubt go bigger you can always use the extra space. If you go to small you're stuck.
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