Vista or XP?

stilltrying wrote on 9/10/2008, 5:46 AM

I am buying a new computer & upgrading to Movie Studio 9 Platinum. I would like some advice as to whether I should get the new computer loaded with Vista or XP? I have a Panasonic Mini DV camera NV-DS99 - about 9 years old, & have been able to capture videos using Movie Studio 4, so hope there will be no capture problems with version 9??? Appreciate any suggestions. With thanks.

Comments

Ivan Lietaert wrote on 9/10/2008, 6:24 AM

Minidv is very standard, so that should be ok. Make sure you have firewire on your new pc, though!
Many people prefer XP on this forum. If you opt for Vista, make sure you have the highest amount of RAM possible (4GB).

stilltrying wrote on 9/10/2008, 6:42 PM

Thanks Ivan. Is it still advisable to partition your hard drive & keep one section only for video editing?

Chienworks wrote on 9/10/2008, 6:49 PM

Separate partitions doesn't help much at all. Performance-wise it's almost no benefit over a single larger partition. Having a separate physical drive can help a lot.

stilltrying wrote on 9/10/2008, 7:08 PM

Thanks Chienworks. I could reformat my old hard drive & put it in the new computer as well. It is about 55GB. Do you think that would be big enough & worth doing?

Terry Esslinger wrote on 9/10/2008, 10:20 PM

New, decent size (500G) hard drives are pretty inexpensive now. I think you'd be better off going that way. Especially when you consider that capturing 1 hour of DV would take up about 1/4 of your hard drive.

stilltrying wrote on 9/10/2008, 10:47 PM

Good advice.....I have just been speaking to our computer supplier & he suggested the same. He also thought Vista a better chioce now that SP1 is out. Is anyone using Movie Studio 9 Platinum with Vista? I'd be interested to know if there are any problems??

stilltrying wrote on 9/11/2008, 9:42 PM

Next question! I am tossing up between a quad processor or a dual processor. Any advice? Sorry for all the dumb questions, but I want to get the computer right as probably costs just as much to get it wrong! I am trying to decide between ...
1. Pentium 3.16 GHz Core 2 Duo
-Asus/Gigabyte Pentium 4 DS3 Motherboard
and
2. Pentium 2.33 GHz Core 2 Quad
-Asus/Gigabyte Pentium 4 DQ6 Motherboard
I appreciate your input.

Ivan Lietaert wrote on 9/11/2008, 10:20 PM

I too am considering a new system. For the moment, considering the price as well (I'm on a budget, and who's not?), I'd opt for an Intel Q6600 processor and 4GB ram. This Quad core cpu is one year old now, but does still very well compared to the competition.

stilltrying wrote on 9/12/2008, 4:35 PM

I guess what I have to decide is a quad core CPU going to be better than a duo core CPU , & does it have any downsides when not video editing?

dibbkd wrote on 9/12/2008, 5:28 PM

I say go with Vista, the hype is that it's bad, but it's not at all with a new system.

If you go with 32-bit Vista (or 32-bit XP), the most RAM it will see is 3GB, not 4GB.

Only the 64-bit Windows see 4GB or higher.

stilltrying wrote on 9/12/2008, 7:03 PM

Is Vegas Movie Studio 9 Platinum a 64-bit program & does it work ok with Vista Ultimate?

dibbkd wrote on 9/13/2008, 4:31 AM

VMS 9 is 32-bit. It will work with Vista Ultimate 32 bit for sure, and most 32 bit applications work OK on Vista 64, they just run in 32 bit mode.

stilltrying wrote on 9/13/2008, 3:49 PM

Thanks for the help. I've been trying to get my head around the 32 bit versus 64 bit, but have decided to go with Vista Home Premium, as at this stage I think the 64 bit Vista would cause more problems than benefits.

Can't wait to get my VMS 9....hope it will load.