Can we keep this civil please. Up to now everyone has had a good debate on the pros and cons of Vista v XP.Disagree by all means but there's no need to call people, or something they've said, "stupid".

>Yeah. But what about FS11?Wait for DX11.scott s..

Nobody is suggesting that everyone with a currently stable and functioning XP system needs to go out and upgrade to Vista. All I'm suggesting is that anyone who is about to get a new system needn't be alarmed by the negative hype that seems to be so much in evidence regarding the new OS. Its a good operating system - probably every bit as stable as XP and not much more complicated to use. It looks nicer, is DX10 capable for the future, has some decent security upgrades, and is not at all the horror that so many people make it out to be...

I don't call you stupid, just your assertion that Vista is useless just because FSX is no DX10 application.

Dell were made to do that because a number of large corporate accounts weren't ready to upgrade their infrastructures to Vista and would cause them a lot of lost revenue if they didn't offer them XP instead.If you've thousands (or even dozens) of machines you want all of them to install from a single image, and those take time to prepare.We've gone through the upgrade ourselves over the last few months. Combined it with replacing ALL our PCs with new ones, consolidating not just the software on a single model (Vista Enterprise, Office 2007 Enterprise) but the hardware as well (down from I think 4 configurations, caused by manufacturer changes, to 2 (2 models depending on staff function requirements)).It's a major operation, I think it was 6 months in the planning. Don't ask me about the cost, but it involved replacing something like a thousand highend (when purchased of course) notebooks with new ones (highend).

Tom,can you post a link to this benchmark topic you mentioned by RESETMCP. I've tried looking for it and can't find it.I have however installed my original XP at the moment as the copy I was reliably given of Vista doesn't activate properly

the "stupid" comment was uncalled for...I assume you called the idea of using XP stupid.Regardless, it was MY OPINION, based on MY experience using both OS...To ME, there is no advantage in using VISTA for FS.Having and using both OS, I am aware of the differences, advantages and shortcomings of both, and I don't consider VISTA an obviously superior product all round.

Stay with XP.I installed the Vista x64 SP1 and what a nightmare -- it broke much and fixed nothing. Fortunately I wasn't one of the folks that got stuck in the "infinite reboot loop" after they applied SP1 (those poor folks had to reformat and start over).WinXP is anywhere from 10-50% faster pending the game/sim/application.I've had 5 DX9c/DX10 based games that don't work well under Vista x64 - GTR2, rFactor, Race07, and FS9, and FSX.DX10 Preview mode of FSX introduces more problems that it tries to solve. Limited AA, scenery shadow problem, AF problems, etc. etc.I was hoping SP1 for Vista would solve many problems, but it turned out to be a very bad experience (google it and you'll see some of the issues and Microsoft's little mistake). I have since removed Vista x64 SP1 and I'm now back on WinXP and enjoying my games and FS9 and FSX considerably better and my frame rates are much higher.I use Vista x64 on another PC I have that is dedicated for software development, but I'll never play games or do any simming on Vista based system unless I'm testing my own software.If you feel Vista is important to you, you might want to setup a dual boot so you can use both WinXP and Vista -- but there have also been issues around dual boot so do at your own risk.I'm an MSDN member and hence have access to SP1, but it is due to be made available via Windows Update sometime in March.If you go the Vista route, good luck, you might need it.

As a developer, I have no choice but to use Vista as there are those who think "Preview DX10" is superior and I need to deal with it.However, my opinion is that the current preview of DX10 is not worth the check box for it.Otherwise, really no issues with Vista so far. Then again I do not use UAC or Defender at all, and did my best to get it to emulate my other machine, which is XP Pro, and is one that is networked with the Vista machine (both are Dells).Then again I do not have AV programs that flag my Flight1.exe's as viruses either. So far the two best things I like about Vista are (perhaps there will be more to follow), and this is important to me:1. When I rename a file, it does not automatically highlight the extension.2. When I drag and copy a file ("copy here") it puts the word "copy" after the file's name instead of before ("copy of"), and that puts the copy next to the original, which makes sense to me.So far, no problems with Vista. Everything works just fine. Then again I took the time to learn the potential pitfalls and avoided them.So far, I am pleased with Vista. Then again, aside from one HD crash over the years, I never had to reformat or re-install an OS or even FS. I install FS once, and that's that.Maybe I am lucky? ;)Regards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg

How about when something crashes and it sends those mysterious reports off to cyberland you actually get something back with some recommendations? I always wondered what happened to the xp ones...never got diddly on them.http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/1b5baf...b9f427f694g.jpgMy blog:http://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/

You get something back? ;)I don't send the reports out, can't afford the time. If I am concerned I just look at what caused the problem and that's that.Then again, I do not get them very often, and considering how I run my machines (often with a ton of apps running at the same time) it does not surprise me when something goes haywire.Imagine running FS, Outlook, a web browser, MS Messenger, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Windows Explorer and Dreamweaver all at the same time (plus all the other stuff running in the background).That's pretty typical for me and, yes, FS actually runs with enough frame rates for me to use it!Regards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg

FWIW, I've never had a BSOD on Vista 64. Been using it since October. I have 150gigs of games to put it through it's paces too.

So far I only have 5-and 3 of them concern the nvidia drivers-no surprise there.I used to not send the reports either-but now it is like email-kinda fun! :-lolhttp://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/1b5baf...b9f427f694g.jpgMy blog:http://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/

>Not sure if anyone can help here. I'm about to build my new>system, Q6600/2gb DDR2 6400/8800GTS 640mb.>>The system is mainly used to FSX and not sure whether to load>on Vista to make use of the DX10 or XP.>>Can anyone advise?Simple Vista :-)http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/awf1/sign.jpg