Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit for System Builders DVD

Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars A pretty good update
I installed Vista Ultimate OEM on my Dell XPS laptop with minimal trouble. The basic install had drivers for almost all of my hardware. The drivers for the nVidia graphics aren't the greatest, there are some screen flickers when opening some programs/windows that didn't go away after installing the latest driver. Also, I've had the screen lock up and display only multicolored lines when restarting a paused DVD. I'm pretty sure that this is an issue with nVidia's drivers and not Vista. Hopefully this will be fixed when a newer driver becomes available. My only other real complaint is the lack of support in 3rd party utilities, particularly firewalls. These issues aside, Vista seems pretty stable and to be more secure than XP. The interface is pretty nice, with many small improvements. If you aren't buying a new computer right now or absolutely need to have the newest thing, waiting till Microsoft issues Service Pack 1 for it may be a better option. Hopefully most vendors will have better drivers and better program support by then.

2 Stars Not Ready For Prime Time
I am a CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+ Certified Technician and a Microsoft Certified Professional working in the industry for over ten years and I have professionally supported and personally owned and used every Microsoft Windows Operating System since Windows for Workgroups version 3.11 and this release of Windows is by far the least worthy comparatively speaking. I actually returned my copy back to Amazon since (although my hardware passed the specifications before buying Vista based on tests done through the Microsoft Site) too many of my gadgets and their firmware / softwares, such as Gaming Keyboard, Gaming Mouse, Joystic, Data / Voice Fax Printer, and so on had Driver issues. I must be honest here and admit that my system developed other issues after the installation of VISTA that may not necessarily be attributable to the Vista OS but never the less the system had major Driver and Firmware issues with other industry standard and modern (Post 2003) hardware peripherals. I may try it again some time next year when I purchase it as a preinstalled part of a Laptop or something but for the time being I had no time or patience and willingness to come home from working on supporting computer problems and work on solving problems caused by Vista.

In the end this WIndows version does have some redeemable qualities (IIS 7 is a blast) and I imagine that there are some home built custom PCs and some DElls and HPs (both of which I have also supported VISTA Driver Issues on for commercial clients) that don't remind one of the first release of Windows 95 or Windows ME (lots of Blue Screens and Lock ups), but by comparison to XP Pro edition, which was almost completely stable and played really well with others from release 1, this release of Windows is Not Ready for Prime Time and I do not recomend it, especially for custom PC builders using OEM Hardware and Software and for beginning users.

5 Stars Surprised to find that Vista is actually stable and very nice
After having read a lot of reviews on another "egg"cellent site, I was afraid that I would dislike Vista either for incompatibility or the sluggishness of it. I was bracing myself for the worst, but very pleasantly surprised to find that on my clean install, everything worked perfectly. Vista seems much more "automated" than XP and found all the drivers for my hardware automatically from the web. After the very easy install, which by the way, unlike XP, uses a graphical interface, I began to reinstall my software. I chose the 32 bit version of Vista because at the time of this review (Nov '07), Apple's iTunes v7.5 was still not compatible with the 64 bit version of Vista due to a programmer's bad judgment in creating a "hardpath" to a 32 bit Windows file. Evidently, this type of program is unlikely to see an easy fix to 64 bit compatibility.

My software all installed without any problems, including Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, PC-Cillin 2007, Fidelity Active Trader Pro, Sony Picture Browser with AVCHD Player, and of course iTunes.

Vista is just simply gorgeous when compared to XP. I was a hardcore Apple fan since 1979, having used the Apple //e, Mac SE, Mac IIci, and original Apple PowerBook 20 MB HD. Since I haven't used Apple's OS extensively since the System 7.1 days of the 90's, I can't compare it to the current Apple OS Leopard. I have heard that Vista has taken (i.e. stolen) a lot from Apple's OS X. In any case, Vista is just simply beautiful when compared to XP. It's quite obvious that the graphics for even the windows are rendered with my graphic's card's 3D engine.

As for security, I am uncertain if it is any more secure than XP, but you will probably all want to turn off the "UAC" which is an amazingly annoying feature in Vista where almost any action causing a new file to be installed to be verified by the Vista user. It is really quite amazing that Microsoft actually thought that any user would actually leave this feature on. It's almost something Microsoft would do to just cover their behind by telling a user that it was their fault if their computer was violated if they had turned off Microsoft's "recommended" safety feature. It is utterly the worst obvious feature of Vista, but thankfully, very easily can be turned off.

Regarding hardware, I have a self-made PC with an AMD FX-60 (2.6 gHZ dual core socket 939 cpu), 3 GB RAM (latency 2.5), DFI LanParty UT nF4 motherboard (NOT overclocked), and XFX 7900 GT GPU. This used to be a fairly mid-high end PC about a year ago, but far from it currently. Intel's quad-core CPU's are just tremendously faster (and ridiculously cheap). The DDR2 RAM is also sickenly cheap nowadays.

Why did I list all the hardware specifications that you think only a techno-geek would be interested? Because it's important that you understand that Vista is a much more "active" OS and requires a dual or quad-core CPU. Vista even does a hardware check and gives individual ratings for your CPU, RAM, video, and hard drive. It is thought that in the future, 3rd party software written for Vista will not just state what minimum hardware is required, but give specific ratings on each of those components. This way, you can check to see in a very clear manner, if your specific computer can run a piece of software.

One very last important consideration, is the decision to purchase this OEM "system builder" Vista vs the "retail" version. The "retail" version costs almost twice as much as the system builder OEM version. Unlike the past OEM version of XP, you CANNOT re-install the OEM Vista (32 or 64) on more than one PC (as defined by its motherboard). In other words, if you purchase this systembuilder version, install it. Then in 1 year, by another faster computer, you cannot re-install this single copy of Vista onto the new PC, even if you delete the old copy. The "retail" version allows you to transfer your copy to a newer PC and costs a lot more consequently. The "retail" version also provides you with both a 32 bit and 64 bit installation. Although you get only 1 key and thus can only have either 32 or 64 bit installed (but NOT both), you can switch from the 32 bit to 64 bit version later as you upgrade your hardware or for whatever reason.

I am quite pleasantly surprised by how easy I was able to install Vista and by how fast it runs on my PC. I recommend that you back up all your information before your install, and do the "clean" install, rather than the upgrade. Also, although you can keep your XP on a separate drive or partition and dual boot with Vista, there is a known problem with confusion that occurs with vanishing files important for Windows to perform a RESTORE operation. But, if you use 3rd party software to back up your drives (disk imaging), then dual booting with Vista and XP is a nice option. (Remember, to dual boot, it is tremendously easier to first have XP installed 1st, then install Vista later. If you have Vista 1st, and then add XP, it is significantly more difficult and requires some technical knowledge.)

Sorry if this review is somewhat rambling, but another "last point". Vista uses RAM in a very different manner from XP. Vista will try to have your frequently loaded files ALWAYS LOADED. Studies at Anandtech show that Vista must have a minmum of 1 GB to just be functional. At 2 GB, there is a DRASTIC increase in real world application speed. 3 GB also gives a big performance boost over 2, but not as drastic as going from 2 to 3 GB. Should you get 4 GB RAM, which is the theoretical limit of the 32 bit version? I would say probably not. Because of a strange technical problem, Vista 32 bit will only access 3.5 GB and not the full 4 GB. If your finances will not permit the purchase of more RAM, then Vista does offer a method for you to use your USB flash drive, believe it or not. Just plug in (up to 4 GB usable) your USB flash drive, respond to Vista's request to utilize it, and it will try to use your USB flash drive rather than your hard drive when virtualizing RAM to speed up your OS.

Good luck to all. I certainly was afraid of upgrading after reading so many mixed reviews and knows that it will always take a little "courage" to go and upgrade before Service Pack 1 is out.

5 Stars Always Buy OEM
Again Vista is another reason why you should always look for OEM deals. It's even better that Microsoft lifted the restriction of having to buy OEM software with a piece of hardware.

5 Stars Vista Ultimate OEM Very Good option
Is a very good option, you don't need to buy the FULL VERSION, this DVD include everything also the anytime upgrade, that mean that include ALL VERSION of Vista just that you can only activate the version you buy.

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