Win2000 or Win XP with sonar?

[Flash]

I was just reading about Sonar and the new WMD Drivers. They say it requires windows 2000 or XP. Does it matter which and what would you recommend? I'm using win98se right now, guess now I have to upgrade my OS! It seems never ending, upgrade this to upgrade that....

[A1MixMan]

I am using WinXP Pro.
It runs really good.
Besides the fact it has WDM drivers,
I wanted WinXP Pro because it supports dual monitors and dual processors AND it is an UPDATE to Win 2000.
Lots of people say wait to upgrade to WinXP because of bugs but I haven't really seen much myself.
I didn't want to go from Win98se to Win 2000 THEN to WinXP Pro.
As far as going to WinXP Home edition, I don't know about the other differences besides the two above.

And as far as the continual upgrading process goes,
Watch Out!
After getting WinXP Pro on the day it came out, I wanted to get a dual monitor video card, with no intention of getting new dual 19 inch monitors right away...
Well 5 thousand dollars later, I have bought lots of stuff for my studio.
You should stop and think about what your goals are as far as music goes, then you can make the right decisions on what to upgrade or buy next.
Although I have NO regrets about buying all this stuff
($800.00 microphone?), it did happen pretty fast as I was caught up in it. Just know where you want to go, and the rest will take care of itself.

Good luck and the most important thing to do is,
Keep On Making Music!

A1MixMan

[redheadedboy]

i'm using windows 2000 instead of xp for 2 reasons:

1. i didn't want all the graphic foofoo hogging my ram
2. 2000 is the same is xp, but without the fancy graphics and all the nagging ties to microsoft services

2000 supports dual monitors and dual processors (which i'm using with GREAT results -- glad sonar is optimized for it -- my latency is down to 3ms)

however, i think both would suit you well -- and xp pro is cheaper (i already had 2000)

[brzilian]

I have run 2000 and am running XP Professional now. My system is not the latest or greatest:

PII-400
256Mb RAM
ATI All-in-Wonder 128
3DFx Voodoo3
SB Live Value
Midiman USB Midisport 2x2

XP actually runs better and faster than 2000 did even with its new UI. I use Home Studio 2002 (Sonar Lite) and have not run into any problems yet.

It is quite easy to get rid of all the "nagging" stuff the previous person talks about.

Visit this site for more info:

http://www.tweakxp.com

[Flash]

So far it sounds like xp pro is the way to go. I do like the idea of dual processors, arg, another upgrade.... oh well, you can't take it with ya. The one thing I am worried about is my D-Man 2044, I wonder if xp pro will be able to use the drivers? Midiman no longer supports the D-man. I know, I've been looking to upgrade to the delta 1010 anyway..... ahhhhhh, I love upgradin'.

[A1MixMan]

Flash,
once youv'e used dual monitors in Sonar, you will wonder how you survived this long without them.
Very cool.
I have the Delta 1010, works great with Sonar and WinXP.

A1MixMan

P.S. I just did a search for the D2044 drivers for win Xp at midiman site.
No drivers available for that card. sorry! Upgrade time!

[heinz]

XP Pro has been working well for me... I've been thinking recently about jumping on a Delta 1010 (glad to hear you've got one up and running A1!) since I had to bag my Aardvark setup when I upgraded. I've been scraping by with my SBLive in the meantime.

Win2k is nice and lean, good productive operating system with a mature set of drivers. Good choice if you're trying to get work done. XP just enhances it with some nice new features especially in the remote access area.

The best thing about XP is we're finally pushing the market away from (and getting rid of) all that 16-bit legacy audio crap hanging around in Win9x. WDM is a huge improvement in technology and really makes your computer a valuable audio tool that rivals higher-end studios.

[keith turner]

Hey Flash, just for the record,win98se does support wdm drivers. I run that os on a p3-800/cusl-2 and on a 1.2tb/Iwillkk266plus with sonar xl and motu 2408. 2000 is supposed to be better and if I can ever get my motu's drivers to load on it ,I will probably make the switch. Just thought I'd let you know you don't have to make the switch if your not ready to yet, though win 2000 would be a good choice in the long run. Keith

[tntkemp]

I'm dual booting 98se and XP Pro. I hardly even look at 98se any more. I love XP Pro. I actually get better performance, meaning more tracks or more pluggins with XP than I did with 98se, and XP is much more stable than 98. I can't speak for W2K with this setup, because I've never tried it, but I love the XP interface. Very simple and clean. You must give it some time and use before you go for the old look option...this simple interface grows on you.

I have a PIII-700, 512mb ram, two 40GB drives, Sonar v1.0.2, Dakota sound card with WDM drivers.

Tom Kemp