Windows XP or...?

[Manny]

My computer's at the store right now for an upgrade, and I just received an email where they ask me if WindowsXP should be one there. If they have to install it it'll cost 30 euros, which isn't really a problem; the catch is that in their pricelist online it says under 'software' that WinXP costs more than a hundred euros! I'm assuming those 30 euros are only for their installation of XP, and not for the actual product on cd, which I obviously like to have in case Windows needs reinstalling after a format or whatever. Now I do have Win98SE on cd, which I've always used. The store however told me it'd be best to have XP on a modern PC, so I'm in doubt now. I'd really, really hate to have to pay over a hundred euros just to have XP on there, and if I could just hang on to 98SE without it causing trouble on the new PC I gladly would. So do I really need XP? Or rather, does my computer need it for some reason?

 

[gh0st]

it is best to have xp. id just buy it, not nearly worth 30 euros to have the store install it for you.

 

[Cybernoid]

Win98 has one problem: it can't handle a lot of memory. I can't remember the upper limit, but it's definately a problem on modern systems.

 

[Tarkus]

i had 98, changed to XP (100 euros), i'm friggin happy with it!! go XP all the way

 

[blahblahblah]

XP has a lot of advantages to it - more memory, larger file sizes, more stable, better support for newer technolgies, etc.

If you are simply going to use the computer for word processing and internet browsing, no I wouldn't go with XP. If you are going to use the computer for gaming (and audio/video), go with XP.

 

[[Matt]]

dont go with the 30 euro install... if everything goes tits up you wont have a disk to re-install XP...

 

[Manny]

Concerning the memory, my 'new' pc (if all goes well) should be an Athon 2.8 with 512M Ram and a Radeon 9600XT with 128 RAM. I guess Win98SE shouldn't have too much trouble handling that, or am I wrong there?

 

[Maxi]

It will handle it, but in the future when you wan't to upgrade to a gig of ram you'll need to buy winxp or longhorn(which isn't out yet). Also WinXP is ALOT more stable then Win98 is, and generally is faster too.

 

[Play4Fun]

Are u kidding? win98?? olddd...
and AFAIK Microsoft doesn't support win98 any more..

 

[blahblahblah]

Concerning the memory, my 'new' pc (if all goes well) should be an Athon 2.8 with 512M Ram and a Radeon 9600XT with 128 RAM. I guess Win98SE shouldn't have too much trouble handling that, or am I wrong there?

You need to have Windows XP. Windows 98 will have serious problems trying to handle that much memory.

 

[Asus]

Are u kidding? win98?? olddd...
and AFAIK Microsoft doesn't support win98 any more..

Yeah it is old. MS pulled support but they renewed it recently. For a few more years anyway.

But many other companies have pulled their support at the same time and they will not renew their support. Time to move on.

 

[slicktick]

You shouldnt have to pay full price for XP if you have 98, you can get the upgrade, which is still really expensive, but I would definatly go for XP if you have the means.

 

[Subatomic]

Just like you would not use a six year old computer to play games, as it would be obsolete, you would not use a six year old operating system =D.

 

[theGreenBunny]

You need to have Windows XP. Windows 98 will have serious problems trying to handle that much memory.

No offense meant, but that's bullshit. I'm on win98SE (actually switching to win2000 tomorrow because of 98's instability) with 512 RAM, and I have no memory related problems. 512 is actually the largest amount 98 can handle.

I would recommend upgrading, though I agree it's damn expensive. That's microsoft for you.