Which operating system is the best right now? I need to know which i should stick with.

Best? Well, that's a matter of opinion. It works out somewhat like this:

Windows = Compatibility and Gaming
Linux = Happy Medium and Security... also free
OSX = Some would argue graphics, but really it's just this: Overpriced

The thing is though, you can always dual boot Windows and Linux very easily. Why have but one?

There is no best OS, it depends on what you like doing.

I am a gamer therefore I would say Windows is the best OS, but you could ask a mac user and they would say OSX is the best.

inb4 mac vs pc flamewar

I heard Macs are better for graphical designing somehow.


But pc's are defintely better for gaming. Just go with good old Windows if you wanna be able to download software without searching for an alternative for your OS.

I already told you that OSX is just a ploy. It's overpriced and it's only ever bought because it comes with slightly better software installed. There are equivalents and better options on Windows.

Before I got Vista, people were whining about how sucky and glitchy it all was.

Most of those people had never even seen a Vista computer.

I started judging Vista too just based on what others said.

I absolutely love it now I have it, so I'm not gonna be judging any OS anymore before I've seen how it works.

I used macs twice. Once booted with OSX. It was horrible. The other booted with Windows XP. I couldn't understand why...

From personal experience, it's overpriced for no reason. The logo is correct, you're not even buying the whole product... somebody's had a bite out of it

Why not get all three?

I meant to say which windows operating system is the best. Like XP, windows 7, and vista. For gaming purposes. I have 3gb of ram btw

Macs are not inherently better then PC at anything maybe slight stability and less malware(They are not immune to malware)

But as far as photoshop a PC may have more power at it then a average Mac.

Caboose doesn't need to flame OSX so much. As others have said, windows is better at games, as well as general office tasks. However, vista is a little slow and bogged down. Linux can't run that many games, and doesn't run Photoshop or Microsoft office products, so it has a lot of compatibility issues, and people like those programs better than their free alternatives (gimp, open office ect). OSX is a very nice operating system, and runs programs like photoshop well, albeit not that much better than windows. The main reason people have it is because it comes standard with macs. That being said, it is still a very nice OS.

Not knowing your situation, I would find an old cheap copy of XP, or wait for windows 7 to come out. I am running vista, and it really isn't that great (no fault of my hardware, it runs fine, it's just generally annoying.)

Wanna know a secret?

Vista runs faster then XP on better hardware due to better scalability.

A Quad Core PC will run Photoshop better then a iMac and OSX doesn't include Photoshop it includes iLife and pales in comparison even in the shadow of Photoshop.

Have you ever even used OSX? It seems not.

I like OSX, it's very simple, clean, and easy to use. Apple thoroughly designed it to allow anyone with any level of computer knowledge to access all of the operating system's applications, unlike Windows (as I've seen from previous times). If someone does get stuck with a feature on OSX, though, they can always ring up Apple's customer support which has been ranked better than Microsoft's customer support for like as long as I can remember. However, not only the easiness of use makes me think OSX is better than Windows, but also a very reliable sleep mode (for notebooks), extremely fast boot times, easier troubleshooting (for the average computer user), many useful applications that come straight out of the box, no crap (subscription expirations) coming up when the OS is up and running, and there is no need for additional security software.

But before anyone tries to put words into my mouth, hold up.

I'm not saying that OSX should be used for gaming, but if you're a casual gamer (few times a week or online games) then OSX can work for you. I'm not saying that OSX is for people who want to build and upgrade systems who want to chop and change parts at will. And finally, I'm not saying that Apple is a really good company. They have their faults, just like Microsoft and Windows, but as far as I'm aware, Apple makes really good products and their customer service beats Microsoft.

But overall, I would say that Apple and OSX are for day-to-day, average, typical computer users who are not hardcore gamers that want to twist and turn parts to 120 degrees every time they can. A lot of people also say that Apple and OSX are good for editing media which I would have to say is true. Most of the programs that you can use to edit media come packaged with your Apple system, and those programs are probably the most bad-cabbage media editing programs that you can get your hands on for free with any computer system. But umm... if you like gaming (as in everyday gaming), or if you like the best performance out there... get Windows.

Oh, forgot to point this out. With Windows, some of you here like twisting and turning hardware, to go with your everyday gaming. Sooner or later, you'll find yourself paying a total price that is higher than an Apple system. I mean, let's see it this way. You buy a $1000 system, and a month later you get a video card worth $400. With an Apple system, you'll probably never do that (seeing as you can't unless you have the Pro), and probably all the applications (including Mac games) that you'll use with an Apple system won't need an upgrade in hardware.

But umm... the value for both systems are at a tight balance.


You actually need good hardware, though, usually totaling your system to like $1200 which is the same price as an Apple system. And even then, OSX looks sexier than Vista. Additionally, PS isn't better than iPhoto. If you've used an Apple system, sure you can say that, but seeing how much you are a Windows fanboy you probably haven't. But anyway, PS is basically iPhoto. And even then, Apple users can upgrade to Aperture for the same price as a Windows person upgrading to PS. Also, iPhoto is default, and as far as I'm aware, iPhoto SCHOOLS paint.

@above: Only good thing I know about iLife is iMovie, which is $80. You can get better and cheaper with Sony Vegas.

And a $400 graphics card would run for well over four years before even thinking of upgrading.

iPhoto sucks compared to Photoshop. And OS X is far from sexier than Vista.

iLife (iMovie, iPhoto, etc) is free with every single Mac. No exceptions.

iPhoto and Photoshop aren't on the same level. I have both and Photoshop is a much higher level program. iPhoto manages my nearly ten thousand pictures and Photoshop does any sort of editing that needs to be done, aside from a quick cropping.

OS X is meant to be unified; to have everything connect to each other and make it easy to use. I see that every single day I do a project with my MacBook. So easy to get things done. Much better than Office for Windows, or Mac (I have both; '07 for Windows, '08 for Mac). iWorks just works.

Macs are for people who don't need to be in there tinkering with their internal components. They are very good for getting things done, both quickly and professionally. Windows is for those that like to be able to change every damn thing.

Personally, a Mac works best for me. I love every part of it and haven't missed Windows at all. I don't even need to dual boot on it. No use for it. I can get everything I do on Windows on a Mac now.

~Bcloutier~

~ And I enjoy Front Row when laying in bed - all of iTunes and all of my movies on my TV hooked up to my MacBook.

First of all, I would say XP<Vista<W7 if you have a good rig.

Now, I just want to point out a couple things:
- Garageband is my most used Mac app, and I enjoy using it more than Guitar Pro 5 on my PC, and I've also had a ACID trial.
- Macs are overpriced, but the whole pull (IMO) like Bcloutier said are they're unification. All the programs and hardware interact seamlessly, because they were meant to be in a nutshell.
- I can get a 2GB RAM, 250GB 20" iMac for $1200, or I could get an awesome gaming rig with 4GB+ RAM, 1TB HDD, etc with PC.

Well, iLife comes for free and already installed with any Apple system. Even then, you can upgrade to Final Cut Express (which is the equivalent of Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere) or Final Cut Studio (which is used by professionals). Additionally, like I mentioned before, there's iPhoto which is practically like PS Elements. Aperture is the photo-editing tool that many would say is better than standard PS.


If right now you decide to get a 512MB card, in four years you'll see games that run best with 1GB of video memory. With that upgrade, you'll be spending about $400 depending on the card. Additionally, you'll probably want to upgrade your memory and processor. You might as well throw in another $300, which brings the total up to $700 worth of upgrades. If you originally bought a $1000 system, your grand total (over four years) now is $1700. There's also the time you spent putting together your system, and after all, time is money.

With an Apple system, as all of the programs automatically update over the years, they are all designed so that they can run and perform well on your Apple system that you bought two or three years ago. With a Windows system, you'll find yourself having to update parts or get a new computer all-together. Why? Because Apple independently makes their computers and operating systems, whereas Windows cannot support and continuously update their programs for the Windows computers that are made by 50 different companies.


PS Elements and iPhoto are basically the same. Aperture, however, is equal (and some may say better) than PS. And no, OSX is way sexier than Vista. It wears a teeny-weeny yellow polka dot bikini, and Windows wears a business suit.

You may end up paying $1700 over a total of four or five years, but that sure beats buying a new $1000 Mac every four years.

And who says business suits can't be sexy:

Except you don't have to buy Apple systems every four years. Like I mentioned before, Apple applications and programs easily update and with each update they are still designed to run well on systems up to two generations back. Now let's look at Windows; when Half-Life 2 came out on the PC in 2004 it could run well on a 2GHz, 1MB RAM, 128MB video card system - when Crysis came out in 2007 it could run well on at least a 2.7GHz, 1MB RAM, 512MB video card system. (This is based on my friend's system). But anyway, in those three years you had to go through lots of upgrading to get to play another game. Contrary, an Apple computer built in 2003 or 2004 can run a big application like Final Cut Studio really good.

And... this is still sexier.

It's all personal preference when upgrading the computer. I still have a 10 year old computer (Pentium 3) that I use on a daily basis that runs windows. I'm not saying that old computers don't work, but people like to upgrade to newer faster computers. With a PC you're still saving $300 every four years, and that's with a $400 graphics card, which is over kill.



And don't judge my tastes.

Notice that in my post, I didn't say that it was slower. It is however, more annoying. My hardware is great, and vista runs fast, but things like UAC (and don't tell me I can turn it off, that's not my point.), and general unnecessary bloatedness are bad, especially after using 7 beta.

I knew this would happen... still, since the OP said for gaming purposes then you can't beat Windows 7, but i would dual boot it with Linux for when you're not gaming.

And they aren't pictures that represent the OSes at all



Chunky (left) and Sleek (right)

A Rubik's cube is annoying if you don't know how to solve it.

Vista may be annoying if you don't know how to use it either.


And turn off UAC.

'NO'

This light is shining in my eyes. It's annoying. Don't tell me I can turn it off, it's not my point. RIGHT.

Uhg, I really don't want this to turn into a flamewar, but...

I have vista. It is fine. It runs fast on my PC (GeForce 9800m GS, dual 2.5ghz dual core, 4 gigs of ram etc). I have UAC turned off.

My point was not that vista is annoying because I don't know how to use it. My point is that it is a very resources intensive OS, and has unnecessary clunkyness and bloatage. This becomes increasingly true having used windows 7, which runs MUCH faster on older hardware, and is much sleeker.

@ caboose

I love windows 7. It's great for gaming and office tasks. OSX is also an amazing OS. It is extremely user friendly, and fairly safe from viruses etc (although this is becoming increasingly less true). It is also a more stable than windows. Both are good OSs, just better at different things.


As for all three OSs:
I have no knowledge of what the OP has hardware wise, or what he wants to do with his computer. All three operating systems are great products, just in different ways.

-Windows is good at gaming and general office tasks. It has a fairly shallow learning curve. I would recommend either picking up a cheap copy of XP, or waiting a few more months for windows 7.

- OSX is great for graphics, music, and office tasks. While it's gaming is quite lacking, it has the easiest user experience. Unless you are buying a mac I would not recommend installing it, mainly because of hardware incompatibility issues.

-Linux is probably less for an average consumer, and more for "enthusiasts". Any linux fan boys out there, please don't take this in the wrong way. (I love Ubuntu, and have a pc downstairs running it which I ssh into.) However, it is not as compatible with common programs, and has a fairly steep learning curve. OP, I would recommend not installing this directly, and if you would like to use it, dual boot with it for a while first.

hey watch it. how would you know how good iMovie is compared to Sony Vegas? Last i heard you were asking me how iMovie compared to WWM.
But i have to agree with you. iPhoto does suck compared to Photoshop. But it does have it's uses.

honestly can someone just tell me which is better for gaming with 3gb ram. xp vista or 7

Yeah, sorry about us all getting onto another Mac vs PC thing. We just like to do it too much it seems.

For gaming, I'd say either XP if you have a copy or Windows 7 if you snagged a Beta copy. I use W7 for gaming and it's been fine. Has more compatibility than Vista and I enjoy the UI a bit better.

Needless to say, still a Mac guy; but I'll recommend XP if you have the disc, or W7 if you got a Beta copy. Both seem to need the same resources, or at least I've found.

~Bcloutier~

Vista for DX10

FPS in Vista and XP are now virtually the same.

Really?

A quad core can run programs better than a dual core all in one?

__

And how is iPhoto supposed to be like photoshop?

Photoshop is an image editing program. iPhoto is an image organization program.


iLife is awesome at what it supposed to do. It's a consumer suite, not a prosumer suite(ie, Final Cut, Logic, etc.)

Where do I say iPhoto?

That bit wasn't aimed at you, it was aimed at LP Forever.

How could you compare iLife to photoshop of course photoshop is going to win. You seem to hate OSX and love windows so much from your post on other tech threads. So you pay more, but you pay for what you get and apparently everywhere you go people are always saying OSX is better. Im not saying windows is trash i love using it to. But you treat OSX like a piece of crap im tired of your biased responses. Also iLife comes on every new mac for free (and it's not that trial crap) photoshop cost money you can't compare that.

With 3GB of ram I would say vista is the best, W7 is currently in beta and I wouldnt recommend using it as a main os(even though I did on my laptop, I faced a few compatibility issues)

With XP you cant take advantage of dx10 and the soon to come DX11 (for both vista and windows 7) and its a pretty outdated OS now.

well see when i used vista left 4 dead ran slower than it did on windows 7. So would xp run faster?

No. Windows 7 is your best bet, but on a decent rig then there's nothing wrong with Vista.

WinXP - good frame rate, but dated technology and can't take advantage of DX10.
WinVis - worst frame rate, quite resource heavy but if you have a good enough CPU and RAM then that's not much of a problem (2-3GB RAM and 3GHz Dual Core or more).
Win7 - same/better than XP, can take advantage of the latest technologies and is better to use anyway.

Its been said multiple times already but Windows Vista is fine, just with a decent hardware set, running it on the same old-aged hardware as you are currently running XP, isn't going to work. Stick with XP if you won't be upgrading or simply cant upgrade your hardware, otherwise Windows 7 if you can wait for it.