What version of windows and what processor

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ColdAsh

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In the not too distant future im planning on setting up a home studio from demos and to help improve song (but eventualy i want to expand on it so i can record something of quality) Ive heard alot of people say that AMD or PIII is better than the P4. Surely with the 1.7Gig or 1.8Gig chips the P$ should be faster. Or am I wrong? Im also buying Logic Gold v5 which I have been told will incorporate the new audio commands of the P4. Does anyone think i still shouldnt bother with the P4??
Also I've heard a bit of talk about what version of windows works best (and crashes less), but im confused as to which one is the best. Could you people give me some ideas of what you think and also any experience/problems you have with the different chips and versions of windows.
Cheers
Edward
 
PIII is the safest route. Some new AMD mobos are apparently working just fine. P4 is a risk.

W2k is my favourite OS but some soundcards and apps don't get along with it. NT may or may not be more stable than 98, depending on HW. 98 is the safe route, although it dergades over time like nothing else and you ahould plan on reinstalling at least once per year.
 
While there is nothing "wrong" with the P4, the P4 works best with software that has been written to take advantage of its features. Such software has been slow in coming. This Logic Gold is the first I have heard of, actually. With most software out there now the P4 runs at best no faster than a P3.

Likewise there is nothing "wrong" with the AMD Thunderbird (K7). There have been reports of problems with the motherboards these chips use, partularly those using VIA chipsets. I have a P3 system using a VIA chipset (two systems actualy) and have had no problems, however other have.

As for the various flavors of windows -

Win95 - Out of date. Dont use it.

Windows 98 (second edition) - has the best hardware driver support. Also the best software support - virtually everything runs on it. Because it is based on the old DOS kernal is can be unstable, especially if you install a lot of software on it. If you keep your system clean and don't go overboard, it can be stable (I'm using it with no problems). Has plug'n'play.

Windows Millenium - Should have been called Windows 99. Its basicly Windows 98 with a few updates and a new user interface. It does have some useful new features (better support for USB devices is one) but again some users report it more buggy than Win 98. Better plug'n play

Windows NT - Stands for New Technology. It was new about 5 years ago. Built on a more stable kernal than Win 9x, but limited support for multi-media apps and less driver (hardware) support. No plug'n'play. Replaced by Windows 2000

Windows 2000 - Based on NT and thus more crash-proof. Has better multi-media support (has Direct X which really didn't exist in NT). Less likely to support games & exotic hardware than 9X but better than NT. If you can find hardware drivers for your stuff this is probably the best choice.

Windows XP - This is coming out in about a month. It is supposed to merge the NT and 9X families, have the stability of NT but the wide support of 9X for games and hardware. At this point no one really knows how well it will work, but it is safe to say that early buyers will probably have some grief

Hope this helps...
 
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