Thread: Selecting the right Vista version

Introduction

If you haven’t purchased Vista yet or you’d like to know whether or not it’s worth
upgrading to a more-capable version of Vista. A step-by-step procedure leads you through the ins and outs of selecting the right version of Vista for you.

A Quick Overview of All the Versions

It seems like Windows Vista has a lot more versions than Microsoft has ever offered before. But that isn’t quite true. The Redmond company years ago split Windows XP into almost as many versions as we have today with Vista.

Here’s a review of the major Windows XP versions (roughly in order of increasing power), which we’ll compare with Vista’s versions:

1. Windows XP Starter Edition (less-developed countries only)
2. Windows XP Home Edition N (European Union only)
3. Windows XP Home Edition
4. Windows XP Media Center Edition
5. Windows XP Tablet Edition
6. Windows XP Professional Edition N (European Union only)
7. Windows XP Professional Edition
8. Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

All versions of Windows Vista, except Vista Starter, come in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. If we ignore for a moment the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit processing, the Starter edition, and the N editions, Windows Vista can be categorized into as few as five different flavors:

1. Vista Home Basic
2. Vista Home Premium
3. Vista Business
4. Vista Enterprise
5. Vista Ultimate

In a moment, we’ll take you through a simple, step-by-step process that’ll help you decide which version you need (or which version you might want to upgrade to, if you have a less-capable version). First, let’s dispense with Vista Starter, N, and 32-bit versus 64-bit.

If Your PC Is 64-Bit Ready, Run 64-Bit Vista

The differences between 32-bit Vista (usually referred to as the x86 version in honor of the 32-bit architecture of Intel’s 80386, 80486, and Pentium processors) and 64-bit Vista are more complex. The good news is that, if you’re buying a new PC with Vista preinstalled, it will probably come with 32-bit or 64-bit processing already enabled, depending on the chipset that powers your machine. Any new 64-bit PC that’s sold with Vista preinstalled will almost certainly come from the factory with 64-bit drivers and anything else that might be needed to support 64-bit processing.


A Few Simple Questions to Determine the Best Vista Version for You

If you’re trying to decide which version of Windows Vista to buy for the first time, simply step through the following Q and A:


1. Will your PCs need to log on to an in-house network server?

a. If not, and your PCs will only need (at most) to access each other’s files and printers via peer-to-peer networking, you only need a Home version of Vista. Go to Question 2.

b. If your PCs need to log on to a network domain, you need a non-Home version. Go to Question 3.

2. (To determine which Home version): Do you have a tablet PC, do you want to burn DVDs, or do you want to record and playback video content with Windows Media Center?

a. If not, you can get by with Vista Home Edition.

b. If you need any of the above features, you need Vista Home Premium.

3. (To determine which non-Home version): Does your company have a Volume Licensing deal with Microsoft?

a. If yes, get Vista Enterprise, which enables you to create a centralized installation routine for Vista.

b. If not, get Vista Business, which is available at retail and has most of the features of Vista Enterprise.

4. (To determine whether you need Vista Ultimate): Do you need some features that are found only in Home Premium and some other features that are found only in the Business or Enterprise versions of Vista?

a. If you need, for example, Windows Media Player (which is available only in Home Premium) and BitLocker drive encryption (only in Enterprise), get Vista Ultimate.

b. If you don’t need such a comprehensive mix of features, save your money and buy a version of Vista that’s cheaper than Vista Ultimate.

Although not every Vista version correlates exactly with an XP product version, the pricing is in line with XP pricing. For example, XP Home is currently USD $189.00, compared to $199.99 for Vista Home Basic, whereas XP Home Upgrade is $89.97, just two cents off from the Vista Home Basic Upgrade. Upsells won’t be particularly expensive, either: Pricing for the much more capable Vista Home Premium is just $40 to $60 higher than that of Home Basic.


Pricing in countries other than the United States will vary, but should adhere to the relative. At this writing, Microsoft’s web site in Canada states that Windows Vista Ultimate will list for CAD $450 in that country, compared with USD $399 in the United States. Those two prices are about the same when currency exchange rates are factored in.