XP Home or Professional? Does it matter?

B

blinddogblues

New member
I will be doing some computer recording with 3 Aardvark 24/96 cards using a new Pentium 4. I am going with XP, should I use Home or Professional? Does it matter? What's the difference? Thanks.
 
From all I've heard, Pro has easier networking, and supports dual processors. I use Home, and have no complaints, but I have heard that pro is worth the extra $.
 
A PC running XP Home can't be part of a network domain, so unless you are planning on doing a simple peer-to-peer home network, XP Pro is the way to go.
 
I am not real familiar with networking, but I will have a max of 3 PCs connected, I guess that is peer to peer? They will all be in my home office. I just want to be able to access files on one computer from another computer's hard drive, and I want to be able to have 2 people on the internet at the same time, accessing different sites, etc.
 
AlChuck said:
A PC running XP Home can't be part of a network domain, so unless you are planning on doing a simple peer-to-peer home network, XP Pro is the way to go.
Click to expand...

Are you sure about that?
 
I'm not sure if Home can benefit from the Hyperthreading feature of the latest P4's, because that makes the cpu appear as 2 cpu's. And since only Pro support multiple cpu's...
But like I said: I'm not sure.
 
It's unlikely you will outgrow the networking features of XP Home. Unless you need the other features of XP Pro, stick with the lower cost Home.

Ed
 
when using XP Home you can't put the laptop in a domain, but that won't stop you from adding to a workgroup.

when my laptop had winxp home I had it in my workgroup i could access its file, and it could access the files off of my desktop and my wife's laptop.

my laptop broke and dell sent me a new one, but the new one has XP pro. i don't see any difference at all, since i'm using workgroups and not domains, and i've only got 3 pc's connected.
 
I have a mixed PC network with both Domains and Workgroups. XP home machines have no problems one way or the other.

An XP home machine is technically a member of the workgroups but can still access data from other domains in the same network.

Domains are typically hosted by NT machines. I have 2 Domains and one workgroup. All machines can see data from all other PCs regardless of the domain/workgroup status.

Ed
 
XP Home won't support the Novell client, so using a NetWare server is out.

NTBackup is missing from the Home edition.

Domain membership is missing, and more importantly, Advanced Security. XP Home only allows for simple security and sharing.

Other than these limitations, XP Home is fine for a Windows peer network (no domain controller). I assume it will work just fine with a Samba server as well.

Check the license prices on www.pricewatch.com and other marketing services on the net. Also check Newegg and other big vendors. If you have access to the CD, buy only the license and save yourself some money. The license is the legal part.. works fine if you duplicate an XP cdrom, and is entirely legal.
 
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