What?? - Help!!! WinXP / OEM / SP2???

[Maxwell_5000]

Hello all,

I just finished picking the parts for my new computer I will be building in the next 2 weeks.

I now have to pick an OS. I am most likely to buy WinXP Pro but there are multiple items with wierd extentions on them such as OEM or SP2 or whatever.

I have NO idea what OS to pick...

Please help me choose a stable OS after reviewing my parts for the computer... (also a link to the OS item to pick would help a lot!!!)


Ok here is my system...

CASE
Lian Li PC-65B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

PSU
ENERMAX All in One Noisetaker Series EG701AX-VE SFMA(24P) 600W Power Supply - Retail

MOBO
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4200BVBOX

HDD
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 - OEM

PRIMARY OPTICAL
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - OEM

SECONDARY OPTICAL
SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM

MEMORY
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory

VIDEO CARD
BFG Tech BFGR78256GTXOC Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

SOUND CARD
CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum 70SB035000003 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

KEYBOARD/MOUSE
Microsoft Black Wired Keyboard - OEM

OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows XP Pro ???(HELP!!!!)


LAN
No need (MoBo has)

MONITOR
No need (already have monitor)

SPEAKERS
No need (already have speakers)


Thank you

[kram 2.0]

You will want to look for Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 OEM. It costs around 90 USD.

kram

[Maxwell_5000]

Thank you for the reply but I have some questions...

1.) what is difference btw Home XP vs. XP Pro?

2.) What is special about SP2 or OEM or whatever it is.

3.) Will either XP home or XP Pro be compatible with my rig? Please see original specs above.


Thanks!!!

[Stryker]

Hiya Max,

Have a look here for differences between XP Home and XP Pro.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...choosing2.mspx
For most home users, XP Home is perfectly fine as most of the advanced features in Pro wouldn't be used.

SP2 (service pack 2) is the most recent BIG update for Windows XP. It is a critical update, so new versions of XP are just sold with XP integrated to avoid having to get the update. Either version will be fine for your system.

OEM stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer", and it means the item comes without all the fancy packaging and accessories that generally aren't needed anyway. For example... if you buy a hard drive OEM, you will get only a hard drive. You won't get a pretty box or instructions or cables or anything. In some cases, buying OEM will also change the amount of customer support you get... but that's why we're here!

Hope this helps,
Stryker

[ffreeloader]

This is probably just me, but if you're going to spend money on an OS, spend the money to buy XP Pro. Don't even mess with XP home.

As to SP2 thing. If you have broadband then XP or XP SP2 is fine. However, if you have dial-up internet make sure you get the SP2 version. You will be more than a little unhappy with the download time for that service pack. It's a very large file that will take many hours to download on dial-up.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by ffreeloader You will be more than a little unhappy with the download time for that service pack. It's a very large file that will take many hours to download on dial-up.

SP2 is also available on CD from Microsoft (at no cost) to avoid download for exactly this reason:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...s/default.mspx
I got the disk and keep it in my "CD Goody Case" for maintenance.

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by ffreeloader This is probably just me, but if you're going to spend money on an OS, spend the money to buy XP Pro. Don't even mess with XP home. As to SP2 thing. If you have broadband then XP or XP SP2 is fine. However, if you have dial-up internet make sure you get the SP2 version. You will be more than a little unhappy with the download time for that service pack. It's a very large file that will take many hours to download on dial-up.

Why recommend Pro? It offers no real improvement for the home user. It's advantages all lie in the security and networking areas aimed at business use. I even have business customers using Home in a peer to peer (no domain) network.

Second, better to get the version with SP2 installed. If you should have to do a repair/install at some future point, you'd have to reinstall SP2 again.

Here's where I buy XP. Prices are the best I've found and freight is free. Plus they ship right away.

[wilcopshot]

this is a top spec PC your building so i'm assuming you are reasonabley interested in PC's. my advice is buy Windows XP Pro Sp2 OEM. I'm afraid i disagree with panama red about XP home after performing maintenance on all of my uni friends computers. There is no reason at all why home users should not have access to the features Pro provides. if anything was to go wrong those features could be the key to fixing the problem and as far as functionality goes XP home is a bind when you want an easily compatable computer. Are you planning to play games on a network? Top spec machine like this would slay the best games out there.

[Auriga]

I think Panama was kind of getting at that if he's never going to use these features then why bother to have them.

[Panama Red]

Many US colleges and universities REQUIRE students have XP Pro installed on their pc's because of the Domain access issues. They often require their own security/networking software like Novell be installed also. However, I've yet to encounter a repair that needed tools available only on Pro. All too often I see people buying Pro versions of software because they think it "sounds cool" or it will make them a "Professional".

I have several machines running in my house. Some have Home, some have Pro and a couple old timers are running 2000 Pro. I see no difference in performance. I'm not a gamer so I don't know if Pro offers any advantages over Home in that regard.

[Auriga]

Originally Posted by Panama Red All too often I see people buying Pro versions of software because they think it "sounds cool" or it will make them a "Professional".

All too true Red.

Do i sense a HomeEd v. Pro debate...

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by Auriga Do i sense a HomeEd v. Pro debate...

Nah, no debate. Wicopshot is entitled to his opinion based on his experiences and I'm merely stating mine. Don't know that there is a "right one" solution unless you analyze ALL of the uses someone may experience - both known and anticipated. And that's pretty hard to predict.

[ffreeloader]

Why recommend Pro? It offers no real improvement for the home user. It's advantages all lie in the security and networking areas aimed at business use. I even have business customers using Home in a peer to peer (no domain) network.

I just agree with wilcopshot. It's just been my experience's with XP home that make me dislike it. It's basically just another ME as far as I'm concerned. If someone likes it though, more power to them.

I just can't see buying it myself so I wouldn't recommend it to someone else. But, I'm hardly the "average" home user either. However, those machines that I work on that have XP home on them have a lot more problems than the XP Pro machines I work on, and it's not user ability either because the users I'm referring to are pretty much equal in skill level.

I didn't go out and buy a Yugo just because they were cheap, and I wouldn't a Mercedes just because of it's price and "coolness" either. I just buy as much quaility as I can afford, and the price difference between home and pro isn't that great when spread out over 3 or 4 years. To me it just doesn't make sense to buy XP home.

[ffreeloader]

BTW, this comes from someone who doesn't own either XP home or XP pro. I still run Win2K on the lone Window's desktop left in my home. I run Linux on everything else, except for my lab. I have a Win2K and 2003 server in it so I can work on integration projects using Linux and Windows. As far as I'm concerned Linux is the OS of the future.

[wilcopshot]

I know the OS's are fundamentally the same, but the thing is you never know when that extra feature might just come in handy. I'v used remote desktop more than a few times but i never would have predicted ever having to use it. I am at a british uni and the network features that the uni provided were pnp for all platforms. To install DC++ however and use it on our uni network was a nightmare for Home and no problem for Pro. Not only that, i have no real explanation for this, but a have seen considerabley more Home XP's unstable and problematic. I feel it isnt just the features that are different but that Home is fundamentally less versatile than Pro. i will gladly have an expert on the NT Kernel tell me otherwise but in my experience i have had more difficulty fixing and more fixes to do on XP Home users.

[Maxwell_5000]

Hello all!!!!

I want to thank all of you for your intense but very knowledgable inputs.
After reading all this, here is the way I am thinking.

If you read my specs, I am investing some dollars into my new build. I am expecting this baby to last me for quite some time and the ability to upgrade easier in the future.

With this said, I also spoke to several IT folks I came across in my work and most of them told me it would not hurt to spend a bit more to get the PRO version. They said pretty much what Panama Red said earlier about not needing all the features in PRO however if I were ever to need PRO features (for whatever reason) later down the road, it would be a hassle to upgrade from a home version. (At least for me it would be. :P)

So I think I will spend the extra couple bucks to go with the Pro and hope I made the correct decision.

Thanks all for the awsome inputs!!!!

You all ROCK!!!

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by Maxwell_5000 So I think I will spend the extra couple bucks to go with the Pro and hope I made the correct decision.

There isn't really a "correct" or an "incorrect" decision between Pro and Home as far as I'm concerned. Only the decision that's right for you.

You're gonna have a sweet little system there, so enjoy it (can I come over and play?)! I'm doing an X2 build for a friend right now using the 4400+, just waiting for the PSU to arrive and we're all set. I think I might have to keep it for a few days, you know... just to make sure it works and everything.

Stryker

[wilcopshot]

I'm broke so i have spent the summer trying to convince my dad he needs a shiny new fast computer, just so i can build a new system. Havent built for a year or so and i'm itchin to get my hands on some of this duel core 64 bit tchnology and see what it can do! Its a shamefully poor life being a student!