Im not sure if this is the correct place to post, but couldnt find a better spot.I am running win xp pro sp3 and everything is fine....but would like to upgrade to Vista Ultimate 64 bitThe reason is that I use linux from time to time and love their security features and windows effects. However I use too many windows programs to use it full time.I downloaded the Vista readiness test and it said my computer was good for vista business.So I did not get Vista at all.A couple days ago I saw a trial download for 2008 server and had read posts about it being basically vista in its core, so I downloaded and installed it to see how my system would handle it. I dont know anything about servers. I spent about 20 minutes setting it up to run as a workstation but could never get firewall or anti-virus programs to install. Anyway I got Aero to working and I applied all the eye candy that I could find.I then opened an online poker game and started 4 active tables. I opened firefox 64 bit beta and opened 15 tabs, I also had 3 server windows open.The results were that it ran great, very fast and no problems at all. It was only using 3% or less of my CPU and 43% of my memory. I loved it.Now here is my question. Will I have a simular experience with vista ultimate 64 bit running Aero??I ask this because I live on social security and really cant afford to buy OS that dosnt run well. But 2008 server ran a whole lot better than my xp pro does.My system is: amd 64 running at 2.4 2gb ddr 400.....planning to add another 2gb nvidia 6200 agp x8 256mb....planning to upgrade to agp x8 512mb before i uninstalled 2008 server it was running on seagate 500 gb sata tested at 82mb sustained throughputThanks for your help

There have been a few blogs out there about getting better performance with Windows Server 2008 as a desktop instead of Vista. However, there are some other things you will need to consider.First, you are concerned about cost. Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition runs about $1000 compared to about $400 for Vista Ultimate (retail prices).Then, there is support. The device drivers that come with Windows Server 2008 are meant for server systems. This generally means that things like video cards are very low cost cards, not supporting the features you would want on a workstation. Of course, Windows Vista drivers generally work fine on Windows Server 2008 - I do it all the time. But if you need to make a support call for operating system or device and even ISP support, you may run into problems. You have to be willing to provide your own support for things like this.Lastly, there are features. Not all the things that you might want to do on your workstation will work on Windows Server 2008. There are many application programs that actually check the edition of the operating system before they install. If they don't find Windows XP or Windows Vista, they simply won't install.There are also some little idiosyncracies that pop up here and there with other applications and settings. Some people rate them quite bothersome, other people are fine with them.So, if you are a hard-core person that enjoys supporting your custom environment, and you want to eke out a few more cycles, and you are willing to pay 2.5 times as much for the operating system, have fun! But for what you described as your test, I don't know that you would notice much difference between 2008 and Vista from a performance standpoint.tgc

Tim Cerling said: There have been a few blogs out there about getting better performance with Windows Server 2008 as a desktop instead of Vista. However, there are some other things you will need to consider.First, you are concerned about cost. Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition runs about $1000 compared to about $400 for Vista Ultimate (retail prices).Then, there is support. The device drivers that come with Windows Server 2008 are meant for server systems. This generally means that things like video cards are very low cost cards, not supporting the features you would want on a workstation. Of course, Windows Vista drivers generally work fine on Windows Server 2008 - I do it all the time. But if you need to make a support call for operating system or device and even ISP support, you may run into problems. You have to be willing to provide your own support for things like this.Lastly, there are features. Not all the things that you might want to do on your workstation will work on Windows Server 2008. There are many application programs that actually check the edition of the operating system before they install. If they don't find Windows XP or Windows Vista, they simply won't install.There are also some little idiosyncracies that pop up here and there with other applications and settings. Some people rate them quite bothersome, other people are fine with them.So, if you are a hard-core person that enjoys supporting your custom environment, and you want to eke out a few more cycles, and you are willing to pay 2.5 times as much for the operating system, have fun! But for what you described as your test, I don't know that you would notice much difference between 2008 and Vista from a performance standpoint.tgcThis

I think a person responding misunderstood what you were asking.I think that you installed 2008 as a free test to see if Vista would be okay, since 2008 and vista are somwhat the same as far as how heavy they are on your computer.Looking at your specks, you should be fine with Vista. If you run heavy games, you would do good by following through on your Mem and Video upgrades, but other than that, it should work good.Just make sure you update your BIOS if needed, and get the most current drivers for everything. Even if Vista installs a graphics driver, go and get the most recent one for your card from the vendor. I have found this is one of the most common causes of computers not running Vista Okay. The newer the drivers the better...