Hi,
Xp pro, XP pro x64, Vista Ultimate 32bit, Vista business x64. Those are my choices, though am not too keen on using Vista if im honest (too many bugs and changes).

Question really is, if i could continue to use XP (ideally 32bit for compatibility at this point), would it be able to handle my dual core processor effectively? i dont want it running an idle core just becuase it dont know what to do with it!

xp pro is built on 2k. its fine with smp.

Ive had nothing but problems with XP on a Duel system, why not try a Linux Os?

Vista Ultimate 32bit all the way, I ran XP on my Dual Core Athlon 4600+ for over a year and a couple of months ago I bought Vista Ultimate and I have to say, Vista is a lot more responsive and runs a lot more smoother than XP ever did.

Vista is the biggest pile of junk ever. i may go back after service pack 1, maybe. Had it running on my old pc for testing purposes for a while (since RC1) and loaded the retail version of ultimate recently. Wasnt too impressed.

Was even more displeased when Vista blue screens on first boot when trying to use my RAID driver (a known problem which was a total pain).

Ended up going back to good old 32bit XP, runs an absolute dream

InfraSound said:

Ive had nothing but problems with XP on a Duel system, why not try a Linux Os?

Click to expand...

prolly cos he wants to able to use his system and not spend time looking for beardy alternatives to commonly used programs?

I built a computer containing a Pentium D on the WinXP Pro Platform. No problems and as far as I can remember XP pro acknowledges the Dual Core.

Maybe its just fast because the Pentium D is @ 3.4 GHZ.