How many simmers would purcase a new system today with VISTA or would you look around for a system with XP? A great many computer companies a re loading up with VISTA on their specials.Anyone happy with VISTA and fs 9 .System specs if possibleThaks Mike

Hi Mike,"How many simmers would purcase a new system today with VISTA?" Not me, I'm quite happy with XP Home. Does all I need it to do and, in any case, there isn't any software out there yet to justify making the change. Perhaps in a year or so.I am hopeful SP1 for FSX will consolidate this view.Sure, Vista offers many new features and better ways of doing things but, if I'm honest, it's more than likely that after the initial knee jerk response of wonderment and amazement I would trim things down just as I have done under XP.I see Vista as an alternative but, arguably, not necessarily the best option at this moment in time. Anyway, why would I want to start again from scratch when I have things just as I want them under XP? I ain't no masochist!This is, of course, the view of one who is already running XP. For anyone starting out, Vista is likely to be their only option as XP will soon be relegated by the powers that be to the bottom drawer out of sight. Possibly for the first time we have 2 operating systems from Microsoft that potentially could compete with one another in terms of stability and end-user satisfaction. XP is mature and has a huge and comprehensive knowledge base whereas Vista has just started along that oftentimes rocky road. That knowledge base is important to me when sometimes things go wrong as I enjoy (did I really say 'enjoy') the challenge of troubleshooting.Microsoft would have you believe that the uptake of Vista is in excess of 20 million since it was released. However, my understanding is that this figure relates to the number of licences sold rather the number of actual physical purchases of boxed items or PCs with Vista pre-installed. Right now, I think that it is more than likely that I am not alone in preferring to stick with the 'devil you know'. However, this situation will slowly change as support is withdrawn by MS from XP in a few years time. The choice is yours to make. If your software installation base is complex and highly configured and you are not being forced to make the change, then I would stick with XP for another year or so. In time Vista will become the attractive option just as XP did with the release of SP2.MikeEdited to add my specs:ASRock 939Dual-SATA2, AMD Athlon 64X2 4800+ (2400MHz)(Toledo), 2GB Crucial PC3200 DDR400 Ram 3-3-3-8 (2T)(Dual Channel), (PCI-E)Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB (Catalyst 7.1 WHQL), Hyundai ImageQuest Q17 17" TFT LCD 20ms Digital Monitor (1280x1024x32), SB Audigy2 ZS Platinum (Drivers version 5.12.0001.1196 WHQL), WD Caviar SE16 250GB (WD2500KS) SATAII + Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 ATA133 UDMA-6 (320 GB), ASUS DRW-1608P2S Optical Drive, Antec P150 case with NeoHE 430W PSU, CH Products USB Yoke, Pedals and Fighterstick, Plantronics Headset and Mike combo, TrackIR Pro ver. 4.1 (build 29), Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse, Windows XP Home Edition (SP2), DirectX 9.0c

I would encourage you not to make a decision regarding Vista or WinXP without some understanding of the DRM issue(s) involved. IMNSHO, flight simulator performance should not be the determining factor in selecting the OS. A good summary of these issues can be found here: http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html .Doug

This should go in the FS9 forum, but if you check, there's already a Vista thread active in there.