With Windows Vista comming out, should I wait until afterward to get a new computer?

Question

My computer is 7 years old. It has Windows XP installed with a 550 Mhz processor and needs to be replaced badly. However, as technology changes some part of me feels that there is a timing factor when it comes to buying something new. Getting a new computer right now would mean buying a machine with Windows XP, but then when Vista comes out I would have to fork out more dough to get the operating system. Maybe it would be better to wait until there are machines that have Windows Vista on there already. What would be better?

Oh by the way, nobody tells me to get a Mac. I prefer PC because that is what I grew up on and what I am used to so don't reply if "buy a Mac" is going to be your answer.

Answer 1

550 Mhz processor... damn... you should have upgraded 3 to 4 years ago.... .. but anyways

if i were you I'd get a new computer now..... even though Vista is due to be out this winter... its going to be full of bugs and glitches just like XP was and all the OS's before it... hell... think of it... Windows XP came out in 2001 and its still buggy... and its now 2006 and they finally have most of the bugs out of XP.. so you might as well buy a new PC now with a "Stable operating system" ... cause I'm sure Windows Vista won't go mainstream for a few years after its out. and by then there will be a few service packs out....

trust me.. Vista doesn't seem all that much better than XP so far... I've been using the Beta2 version of Vista for a few months now and its just fine.. not awesome just OK.. lol... personally it just looks like Microsoft is trying to make the desktop look a lot like the MAC OS X...

so, I'd definitely recommend that you buy a new PC now.. get something fast enough so that when you want to upgrade to windows vista you'll have enough power. get something along the line of:

Pentium D (Dual Core)
3.4 - 3.8 Ghz (800 Mhz FSB)
1 Gig of DDR2 PC4200 or greater
PCI Express Video Card with at least 512 megs of video memory
and a good 80 Gig or greater Hard Drive which is SATA

don't buy a crappy PC from Walmart or any computer made by HP or Compaq.. Dell or Gateway is a good choice

Answer 2

The question of when to buy really depends on how badly you need a new PC. Obviously, it would not be smart to hold off buying if your PC is fried and you have 20 essays you need to write by hand. However on the other hand, it is also not needed to buy a PC just because your old computer is not running the latest video game. Judgement :)

To answer the question in your situation, I'd say you can hold off until Vista comes out. A 7 year old 550 MHz PC is not in the area of "MUST UPGRADE". If you are just annoyed because the computer is lagging a lot, I recommend downgrading to a Windows 2000 or 98, most programs will still be compatible and you will save A LOT of system resources. In fact, my 9 year old 266Mhz Dell XPS is still running strong with Windows 98. If you can get your hands on some 5 dollar 128mb sticks of RAM, you will be fine until Vista comes out.

However, keep in mind that when Vista comes out, most computer stores will not immediately sell pcs equiped with it as with all Windows OS, Vista will likely come with tons of bugs that need to be patched. Vendors will only probably start selling PCs with it a month or two later to avoid a flood of support calls from customers complaining about the bugs.

Another reason to wait is because of the upcoming realease of the new Intel chipset. I'd say wait till February of 2007.

Answer 3

Well, it just depends on whether you are seriously relying on Vista or not. XP is not going to go away anytime soon, and there is considerable debate as to how many people are actually going to go to it when it does finally become available. If you have a reason for waiting - wait. If you're buying a new system, it should already be compatable,and the upgrades from xp to vista should be cheaper than if you're just buying the whole op system.

Check out the microsoft vista website for minimum system requirements...

Answer 4

My opinion would be to wait at least until December.. The reason for for a number of reasons. First is that most PC companies will be coming near the end of the 4th quarter and will want to show the stockholders good numbers, most of the best sales for computers by Dell and HP will be during December due to the above, and the upcoming holidays..

If you can wait 'till that next spring, for Vista, do so.. I've been beta testing it for several months at work and now at home and except for a few compatibility issues, it's been great. Same goes for Office 2007.

Answer 5

I would suggest waiting for Windows Vista as it is slated to be released later this year or early next year. I would also suggest that even when it has been released, keep your old PC as often Microsoft releases service packs for many of its operating system as soon as they are released. Keep your old PC means you have a sense of security and backup should the first service pack for whatever reason cause issues. In most cases, they don't since they undergo vigourous testing life cycles.

Answer 6

LOL I love mac's....but anyway. It really depends on how much longer you want to keep fighting with your current machine. There are computers out now for $300 and if you have the monitor you could save enough to later buy Vista. However if you can wiat you will probably save money on buying another operating system...but pay more for the computer itself. You choose.

Answer 7

I think if it was me, I'd buy now, and then only upgrade to Vista once the basic bugs have been flushed out with the inevitible upgrades. That probably won't be until 2008 at the earliest, so buying now seems to make more sense to me.

Answer 8

my gosh 7 years old you have donw well on that pc wait for you to buy a new pc it will have the windows Vista on it so that will save you cash ..all new pc;s will have windows vista on them they want us to buy the new pc so wait you will see

Answer 9

Buy a PC and put Linux on it!