Still trying to upgrade my poor 'ole PC ...

Anyone care to enlighten me on the difference between Windows XP and XP pro? Is it worth paying extra to get XP Pro, considering my PC will be mainly used for games/some serious stuff/(no networking). Which, if either, would be better for running old games?

Thanks in advance ... !!
Pang [img]graemlins/cat3.gif[/img]

If you're not going to be doing networking then there's no point in getting XP Pro. Stick with Win XP Home. [img]smile.gif[/img]

While were on the topic of OS's I was wondering, I recently redone my comp and put ME on, not the upgrade from 98 but full ME, and ive had troubl with it before and was wondering if anyone thought Windows 2000 was more stable and just all round better? I have the full retail of this programa and am wondering if its worth installing, keeping in mind that the task itself is of no concern to me :D

Ive never heard of anyone that was happy with ME. But ive never used it myself, so thats hearsay.

2k is supposedly stable, but its not a gaming OS. Its the Nt kernel, not the 9x, so its more for business apps.

XP is the NT kernel with games support added on, making it the best OS at the moment.

XPpro is better than XPhome, but the major differences are only important for business or networks, so there is no real advantage. Get XPpro if possible, since you might one day connect to a network or something, but XPhome will be more than adequate.

So with 2000 not been a great games platform what disadvantages would I find gamewise in using that over say ME, and XP....good or not? WIDLEY SUPPORTED OR NOT

Drivers may be hard to find, and DirectX is always slow at being ported over. You could probably make BG2 work without any problems, but NWN may take more effort. Depends on your hardware. At the least, visit manufacturer sites and see if they support 2K or not.

no i dont think it is worth it to upgread to XP pro
the differences are substantional it is not worth it
i would stick with XP home edition

I had the same question about two months ago. My answer, XP Home. XP Home can network with a few computers, so even if you're gonna network other home computers in the future, this won't be a problem. I can't see the need for XP Pro unless you're going to network more computers than a household has people.

<font color="#00ccff">Just an update, I am useing XP Pro and have no problems at all with games or hardware. My guys in desktrop support tellme the only real diff between XP Pro and Xp are the multi-processor support...I got Pro free so I can't complain.</font>

Avoid ME unless you like to reboot a lot and watch the machine freeze a lot. Use 98SE before ME. XP is my current platform, and does quite well, which is probably how Billy Gates got the "XP" to raise his stats, as indicated on another post. :D

If you are running a dual processor machine then you will need XP Pro. XP home does not support dual processors. The only other major difference is with XP Home you can not join a Win 2k/NT domain.

I use XP Pro... I've seen XP home ed... don't get Home ed [img]tongue.gif[/img] It tends to freeze and not work as well... with anything...

Which goes a long way to explaing why my boss keeps ordering laptops with XPhome on them :(

This also kicks in when trying to connect to a sophisticated system such as a VPN (in theory, a LAN operating over the net for simplified access to remote computers. In practice, an incredibly slow LAN operating over the net for somewhat problematic access to remote computers). An absolute *bugger* to do properly with XPhome.

AS I said, not major differences for the majority of home users, but it might come up especialy if you intend to build an multi-processor box (IMHO these will be common in the not to distant future, even the new terahertz technology has its limits, multi-processor games are not incredibly far away now). And companies are increasingly using VPN technology, so being able to connect to it effectively is useful to say the least.

And its slightly more stable according to some sources. I dont see why because they both use the same drivers & kernel. XPhome is more commonly installed as an upgrade though, which might explain it.

None of this is enough to justify the extra cost for most people though.