Am I missing out on anything by sticking by Windows XP? [closed]

I've seen Vista come by, and while it looked cool, I assumed that it would run slower on my machine with the Aero theme. I also run my XP with animations, shadows and the like turned off, and also set to Windows Classic theme.

With Windows 7 on the horizon, is there any reason I should be thinking of upgrading?

Update

To clarify, I turned off the animations to get better performance.
My computer is about 2 years old, and is running these specs:

Intel Core(TM) 2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86GHz; 1 GB of RAM

Update 2:

I now run Windows 7. :)

Solution 1:

XP 64-bit isn't very "polished", with a lot of missing drivers, and a 64-bit OS is the only reasonable way to get more than 4Gb of addressable RAM.

Solution 2:

Try out the Windows 7 RC (while you can), it doesn't really matter if your computer is old.

Tom's Hardware reported they got it working on a Pentium II. I got it working on a 6-7 year old laptop with a P4 processor and 512 MB ram. Only had a problem with my network card drivers, which I had no idea where to get compatible ones, but the rest worked straight "out of the box".

If you have a spare hard drive or your current one is large enough (+20 gb to be safe), just create a dual boot and give it a try! You will find out if drivers are an issue and if it runs smoothly.

In general I found Windows 7 a nice improvement over Windows XP, if only it were for the UI, so just give it a try, that's what the RC is for!

Solution 3:

I though that too, and there was a campaign in the media saying Vista was a nightmare.

The truth is I found it very easy to use. Granted I got it from a new computer. I guess the problem was the upgrade from existing XP installation.

It runs fine. I do that too on XP, bu in Vista there was no need. It all in the new hardware you buy.

If you have the money, go on, upgrade, or even better: Switch to mac

Solution 4:

My understanding is that Vista offers two main, practical benefits over XP:

• Security is better in Vista, though that can be a hassle too
• The interface, if your hardware can handle it, provides some more visibility and convenience if you're running multiple apps

There are probably others that are not so visible. Outside of that, the hardware demands and gaming incompatibilities make me want to wait for Windows 7. And as you may have found, there are third-party utilities you can use to enhance XP.

Solution 5:

Since your computer is two years old, upgrade to Windows 7 when you buy your next computer.