PC or Mac?

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

my new computer is at a gig of ram and an onboard video card. I've had zero stability problems with Vista.

Stability isn't really an issue with only a gig unless you game a lot and crank up the options as high as you can.

Is that an issue for our dear Pemberly? Is she a power gamer? I was under the impression that she was, at most, a casual gamer.

I should also note that I have not had performance problems either. My only problems have been finding where things are now. One of my great peeves is the "log off" option not being available in the "classic" style menu. Since I despise the Vista menu, this annoys me greately. CAD makes it available, but the menu would be preferable.

[Spriggan]

I never said it had benchmarks.

And 700MB of ram is an insane amount, I have yet to even hit that amount when doing things like Rendering in 3D Max, while having Photoshop open and playing music in WMP11.  If areo took 700 MB when idling then that has to be the most ineffective use of memory I've ever seen especially considering 3d doesn't even use that much ram unless you're swapping out lots of textures and stuff.

[Spriggan]

So we did some testing here on our vista machines and found Areo uses about 70 megs of ram which is significantly different then 700 megs.

[Phaz]

So we did some testing here on our vista machines and found Areo uses about 70 megs of ram which is significantly different then 700 megs.

That sounds much more likely.

However, if you fresh boot the system, and monitor memory usage, you should find that the memory is being used in increasing amounts, without the user actually doing anything.

If you check later, it is very likely that you could have 700 megs or much more in use.

This is a good thing though, this is how Vista is designed to work.  Ram isn't something that should be kept free.  If you have 2 gigs of ram and never use more than 1 gig you are wasting your money.  Computer OSes now (Linux has done it for years) load files/programs that it predicts you are going to use into the available memory when the system is idol, so that when you need those things, they are available.  If you need the memory for something else, it simply frees it up.

The long and short of it, is that the memory usage in Vista really isn't something most people should be concerned about either way.  As long as you have a gig or so (which most new systems should now) you'll be fine.

If people are interested, Vista actually has a really slick system that allows you to use an inexpensive flash drive as a faster hard drive of sorts.  The system will load up programs into the flash drive, and then access them from there when needed.  It more or less acts as a much more effective swap file.

[Spriggan]

Yes but that 700 mb isn't just for one processes like Areo but all processes.

[Faster Master St. Pastor]

I'll admit that my views are rather skewed, since I only ever really hear things from gamers and overclockers, but as far as I knew I had correct information. My apologies for unintentionally misleading. My main points against Vista however, which I mentioned previously, is lack of drivers (for now) and ridiculously insane DRM (which could be around for a long time).

[Spriggan]

NP on the memory comment, I've learned that you can never trust just one source when it comes to the information in the Net, people tend to complain a lot--especially gamers and moders--so I read news article, tech reviews, and other sources that are more objective and then make up my own mind about things.  I don't think any less of someone for saying something wrong, as long as they're willing to look at the possibility they might be mistaken.

The DRM on Microsoft's side is the same as XP, and that's not really DRM that's a miss-label.  It's a licensing agreement which all software has to an extent (and Adobe is the worst offender, you connect to their database when ever you run their software and they check the license).

And the DRM for videos were required by the movie studios, if MS hadn't placed them in Vista couldn't run HD DVD or Blue Ray in high def (which XP cannot).  Apple has to do the same thing as well, which is blocking access to the video buffer under certain conditions.  I can't think of any other DRM in Vista however, so if there's something worse I'd like to hear it.

[vadia]

P. Let us know what you decided! (please, pretty please with microchips on top)

[Pemberley]

Thanks, everyone, for all the input.  I knew I was coming to the right source with my question.  Anybody else who has more info, feel free to chime in.  I'll certainly let you know what we decide to buy. 

[Faster Master St. Pastor]

The DRM on Microsoft's side is the same as XP, and that's not really DRM that's a miss-label.  It's a licensing agreement which all software has to an extent (and Adobe is the worst offender, you connect to their database when ever you run their software and they check the license).

And the DRM for videos were required by the movie studios, if MS hadn't placed them in Vista couldn't run HD DVD or Blue Ray in high def (which XP cannot).  Apple has to do the same thing as well, which is blocking access to the video buffer under certain conditions.  I can't think of any other DRM in Vista however, so if there's something worse I'd like to hear it.

I was talking about how MS was freaking out before Vista's release and saying that one copy of Vista got you one install. Period. Also the fact that if you upgraded pretty much at all you had to buy another copy. However after poking around a bit it looks like they've loosened up a bit because of complaints and such, so this isn't really valid anymore as far as I can see.

[Spriggan]

Ya they pulled back pretty quite after that announcement, the PC mod community have always been a fairly loyal group for MS so it was a good idea not to anger them, but that was for OEM ($100)versions only and they've always been more restorative.  When I replaced my motherboard last year because I fried the old one I had to call MS and get an activation key since my OEM license on XP didn't like that.  Regular retail versions (ie the one's that cost $200+) were always you can transfer multiple times. The versions you get from Dell, HP and others like them are non-transferable, has been as long as I can remember, but you are--reportedly--only getting Windows for around $40-$50 from big box PC makers.

[Faster Master St. Pastor]

What I think is funny is the way MS and Sony keep trying to do a bunch anti-piracy and DRM stuff and they keep getting beat down. Whether by the consumers in MS's case, or the courts in Sony's case, with the whole rootkit fiasco a couple years ago. I wonder when they'll learn to take it easy and think before going overboard and being made to look pretty stupid when they have to retract what they've said.

[Aen Elderberry]

The funny thing about this thread is Macs are PCs, a PC isn't just something that runs Windows it's any Personal Computer.  I get a kick out of those apple ads since they're trying to say they're not something they are.

Do people still use the term WinTel?   (as in MS Windows running on a computer using an Intel processor)

Or is there some other more accurate distinction?

[Spriggan]

WinTel is still used from time to time on some blogs, but ya you really hear Mac or Windows or Mac and PC.

[dreamking47]

Threads like this are why people buy Macs! 

Seriously, beyond the obvious questions -- what kinds of work will you be using it for, how many existing files do you have to worry about converting, what will the people you want to exchange data with be using, and advantages and disadvantages of having both a PC and a Mac in the house -- the main deciding factor between Macs and PCs has always been choice.  Macs present a minimum of choices in an effort to make things simpler and charge a premium price for that simplicity.  PCs give you a much greater range of choices but require you to make those choices.  With a PC laptop you can choose between a keyboard with big keys vs. little keys, mushy keys vs. clicky keys, a mousepad vs. a trackpoint, various levels of size, weight, computing power and battery life, etc.  They thus appeal more to people who can pinpoint what they want and are willing to shop around for the optimal configuration.

MattD