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Windows XP or 320 GB HD?

R

rasmusschaal

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 4, 2007
66
0
In denmark, Århus
Hello im quite in a dilemma.
I have just the money to buy a licensed Windows XP or a 320 GB harddisk.
The reason for buying a new harddisk is that my current one is only 80 GB (MacBook 2 GHz standard) and i wanna be able to have Windows on it with a good bunch of space.
But if i buy the windows i havent got enough space to enjoy it?
And if i bought the harddisk i dont know what to use the space for..

What would you guys/girls choose?
 
rasmusschaal said:
Hello im quite in a dilemma.
I have just the money to buy a licensed Windows XP or a 320 GB harddisk.
The reason for buying a new harddisk is that my current one is only 80 GB (MacBook 2 GHz standard) and i wanna be able to have Windows on it with a good bunch of space.
But if i buy the windows i havent got enough space to enjoy it?
And if i bought the harddisk i dont know what to use the space for..

What would you guys/girls choose?
Click to expand...


I would get the hd. Windows is the devil.
 
rasmusschaal said:
But if i buy the windows i havent got enough space to enjoy it?
And if i bought the harddisk i dont know what to use the space for..
Click to expand...

Why not save up and see how you feel in a month? If you still want the drive and XP, you'll be in a better position to buy. On the other hand, you might find in a month's time that you didn't really want/need either. That's what I'd do.
 
rasmusschaal said:
What would you guys/girls choose?
Click to expand...

What do you need the space for? Do you need it for large amounts of music / photos / video etc. or for games for example? Cos then obviously the hard disk drive is the option to go with.

On the other hand if you just like the idea of having a large amount of space but don't necessarily need it right now, then go for Windows. There's only a couple of programs that I really need Windows for and so Windows and the software I use for it doesn't take that much space up anyway.

Of course if you want to use Windows for gaming (which is the most common reason) then those games will take valuable hard disk drive space up and you'd need a large hard disk AS WELL. Which of course doesn't help your situation!

There's always a third option, and that's to get a smaller hard disk drive AND Windows, although that still might not be economically feasible.

BigJohno said:
I would get the hd. Windows is the devil.
Click to expand...

Windows is not THAT bad, not to the extent that people make out anyway. Don't go around installing "free" programs from the net and generally be sensible with your download choices and you'll have no problems.

Windows has advantages over Mac OS and vice-versa. Don't let fanboyism blind you; it's how you use them and what you use them for that counts. Personally I like both operating systems. I just prefer Mac OS. That doesn't mean I should automatically hate Windows.

Windows XP OEM edition is not that expensive. I don't know why you downloaded it illegally. If its cos you hate Windows or something and don't like the idea of paying for it then why are you using it in the first place?

If it's cos you don't have enough money then ask yourself; would you steal an item from a shop if you didn't have enough money at the moment to purchase it?

Christmas is not a time for stealing ...
 
Neutral Gamer said:
What do you need the space for? Do you need it for large amounts of music / photos / video etc. or for games for example? Cos then obviously the hard disk drive is the option to go with.

On the other hand if you just like the idea of having a large amount of space but don't necessarily need it right now, then go for Windows. There's only a couple of programs that I really need Windows for and so Windows and the software I use for it doesn't take that much space up anyway.

Of course if you want to use Windows for gaming (which is the most common reason) then those games will take valuable hard disk drive space up and you'd need a large hard disk AS WELL. Which of course doesn't help your situation!

There's always a third option, and that's to get a smaller hard disk drive AND Windows, although that still might not be economically feasible.



Windows is not THAT bad, not to the extent that people make out anyway. Don't go around installing "free" programs from the net and generally be sensible with your download choices and you'll have no problems.

Windows has advantages over Mac OS and vice-versa. Don't let fanboyism blind you; it's how you use them and what you use them for that counts. Personally I like both operating systems. I just prefer Mac OS. That doesn't mean I should automatically hate Windows.



Windows XP OEM edition is not that expensive. I don't know why you downloaded it illegally. If its cos you hate Windows or something and don't like the idea of paying for it then why are you using it in the first place?

If it's cos you don't have enough money then ask yourself; would you steal an item from a shop if you didn't have enough money at the moment to purchase it?

Christmas is not a time for stealing ...
Click to expand...
Thank you. Im basically gonna use MS cause im a kinda new Mac user so i dont have that much software for it. And i got Photoshop, MS Office and other stuff for windows so i kinda wanna keep that and dont spend 3000$ more on software i already own.
But theres a third way; CrossOver
 
rasmusschaal said:
What is OEM??

And btw.. Why not get the HD and install linux? :D
Click to expand...

OEM is the version that you can buy if you're building a new computer or upgrading your current computer. It's cheaper than the retail version but won't come with any manuals / boxes and you won't be entitled to any support. And of course you have to buy some hardware at the same time, such as a memory upgrade. Not sure if an external hard disk would count or not. Anyone want to confirm?

Over here in the UK you can buy the OEM version of Windows XP for as low as £51 and Vista for around £55.

Actually, Linux is a good idea. There's so many different versions that you could have some fun for a month or so while saving up for Windows! Also some of the 3D effects (although mostly pointless) do put Leopard's Time Machine and Spaces to shame in terms of coolness! :D
 
Neutral Gamer said:
OEM is the version that you can buy if you're building a new computer or upgrading your current computer. It's cheaper than the retail version but won't come with any manuals / boxes and you won't be entitled to any support. And of course you have to buy some hardware at the same time, such as a memory upgrade. Not sure if an external hard disk would count or not. Anyone want to confirm?

Over here in the UK you can buy the OEM version of Windows XP for as low as £51 and Vista for around £55.

Actually, Linux is a good idea. There's so many different versions that you could have some fun for a month or so while saving up for Windows! Also some of the 3D effects (although mostly pointless) do put Leopard's Time Machine and Spaces to shame in terms of coolness! :D
Click to expand...

Yeah actually i just found out that i have a Linux Ubuntu version on my PC. Think im gonna go for that job and save up for some months :D
 
Neutral Gamer said:
OEM is the version that you can buy if you're building a new computer or upgrading your current computer. It's cheaper than the retail version but won't come with any manuals / boxes and you won't be entitled to any support. And of course you have to buy some hardware at the same time, such as a memory upgrade. Not sure if an external hard disk would count or not. Anyone want to confirm?

Over here in the UK you can buy the OEM version of Windows XP for as low as £51 and Vista for around £55.

Actually, Linux is a good idea. There's so many different versions that you could have some fun for a month or so while saving up for Windows! Also some of the 3D effects (although mostly pointless) do put Leopard's Time Machine and Spaces to shame in terms of coolness! :D
Click to expand...


What the.... Since when you get support from M$?
 
To rasmusschaal:

Since you already ordered your HDD, I guess my advice is now a bit too late. But, if I were you, I'd save up to be able to buy both the HDD and Windows XP Pro (OEM) at the same time.

[In the US, you can get XP Pro OEM for ~ $100 -- which is ~ $20 more than for XP Home.]

I'm recommending this because HDD prices come down. In a month or two, 1TB drives will become even more popular and depress pricing for lesser capacity HDD's. And, look for sales.

Thus, with a bit of patience and planning, you can get the most value for your money. And, when it is time to spend, you can decide if you want XP Pro or XP Home, what size HDD to get, and maybe even have enough extra HDD capacity for Solaris 10 x86 or Linux if you really want to get crazy.

[There are many places to get free Linux distros; I use Fedora myself but I hear Ubuntu is quite excellent! Also, you can get free Solaris 10 directly from www.sun.com.]

Good luck.

EVP
 
evillageprowler said:
To rasmusschaal:

Since you already ordered your HDD, I guess my advice is now a bit too late. But, if I were you, I'd save up to be able to buy both the HDD and Windows XP Pro (OEM) at the same time.

[In the US, you can get XP Pro OEM for ~ $100 -- which is ~ $20 more than for XP Home.]

I'm recommending this because HDD prices come down. In a month or two, 1TB drives will become even more popular and depress pricing for lesser capacity HDD's. And, look for sales.

Thus, with a bit of patience and planning, you can get the most value for your money. And, when it is time to spend, you can decide if you want XP Pro or XP Home, what size HDD to get, and maybe even have enough extra HDD capacity for Solaris 10 x86 or Linux if you really want to get crazy.

[There are many places to get free Linux distros; I use Fedora myself but I hear Ubuntu is quite excellent! Also, you can get free Solaris 10 directly from www.sun.com.]

Good luck.

EVP
Click to expand...
I've just quitted the order.
Thank you.
Do you have any idea about what the HD's are going to cost?
 
Do you have any idea about what the HD's are going to cost?

I just paid 269 USD for a 1TB drive from WD from the local retail electronics store (Best Buy for those who are familiar enough with the US). When on sale, I've also seen 500GB drives go for 99 USD.

EVP
 
evillageprowler said:
Do you have any idea about what the HD's are going to cost?

I just paid 269 USD for a 1TB drive from WD from the local retail electronics store (Best Buy for those who are familiar enough with the US). When on sale, I've also seen 500GB drives go for 99 USD.

EVP
Click to expand...

Your kidding me, right? 500 GB for 99 USD??!?! :O
Do you think they can ship to denmark? :O
 
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