The show was great. And on Vista it can still use more work. Everyone up here has said what I think about it and more. But building a new pc you should go with vista. I use both vista32 and xp32 bit. Keep up the shows!

Seems like the argument for using Vista is "why not?".

For me thats simply not good enough. Some graphical fluff isn't enough to make me switch over indefinitely, not when the OS I've been using has no real downsides in comparison.

I've got vista installed for dual boot purposes though. Main reason being so I can play DX10 only games, secondarily so I can try it out for myself. Until games start requiring DX10, it's just going to sit their in anticipation. I'd rather have the slightly better performance in XP than the slightly better graphics from DX10.

The main thing I would say though, is if I was going to setup a 64 bit OS for >4GB ram (I like ram!), it would be a vista build, not XP. Drivers seem to be a real issue for running a 64-bit OS.

I like #4's idea to make "Windows 7" 64-bit only, as it would force hardware manufacturers to focus on supporting 64 bit architecture.

With regards to the migration of business, you guys are quite right, it's not going to be an instantaneous transition. You'll probably find client machines are going to stick with XP for a good few years to come. Servers are going to contunue to use Windows Server 2003 for the time being too, probably.
My company is in the process of ordering in some new servers, and since we also need new OS licenses, we have to buy new ones in. Apparently 2003 server is no longer shipping now that windows server 2008 has been released. M$ is essentially forcing transition, if not migration. One interesting thing about 2008 server is that I believe it can run *as* 2003 server, since I'd imagine 2003 is a subset of 2008. So at least by forcing you to get their new OS they are still making the old one available with an escalated price tag.

edit:
Just thought I'd mention:
Love the podcasts. It's an unexpected and interesting addition to an already excellent site.

I hope you get well soon, Jordan.

Re: DDR3 on X48 vs 790i, Geoff ought to have mentioned that the main bottleneck on these platforms is the FSB, which is like getting at a punch bowl through a straw, so to speak. The limitation is that the 64-bit wide FSB can transfer only 1.6 billion times a second, which comes to 12.8 GB/s. This is actually matched by dual-channel DDR2-800. Going to DDR3-1333 or DDR3-1600 or DDR3-2000 is not going to be a significant benefit except in terms of latency (which is something the higher clock rate gets you). This should explain why you don't see much of a real-world performance benefit going with DDR3 over DDR2 on Intel's current platform.

Nehalem, of course, is a different beast altogether. It eliminates the FSB "straw" so to speak, with the (triple channel!) memory controller on the package itself and connected directly to the cores. That will see immediate benefits from going with DDR3.

Let's hope things are as Intel and memory makers claim and that DDR3 production ramps up and the increased supply volume results in lower prices this year.

Re: Dunnington -- Is this http://techreport.com/r.x/2008q1/dunnington.jpg six cores (three pairs of cores) on one die, or three cores on one die (and two dies on one package)?

Hey! I just discovered the podcast, and went back to catch up with all three. I'm impressed. I listen to a number of podcasts on all sorts of topics and you definitely came out of the gate running. The production values, chapter labeling, musical transitions were all well done.

I do want to suggest, and this is NOT meant as any sort of negative criticism, that while Jordan should be a voice on the show, he should not be the host. He's a great producer, but when I'm taking the time to listen to a niche podcast, I want to get to the heart of the matter as quickly as possible. If the Tech Report isn't interviewing industry folks, than I want to hear the actual TR guys discuss the news, rumors, and latest benchmarks and hardware reviews. A guy like Jordan is needed to make sure the conversation has a listenable flow, advance the topics, and to break down some of the befuddling tech talk for enthusiasts without heavy technical chops. When he leads the conversation, it does seem as if I'm wasting my time. The TR guys have personalities, pick one to be the lead, or even rotate through the podcast schedule.

The podcasts the Future guys put out,ie Max PC, PC Gamer, or the indy Gaming Theory, have had good producers that the hosts encourage to participate in the podcasts. They keep the shows moving, but its clear that a lot of their work is done off mic. When they have an opinion on the topic they're welcomed to weigh in, but they don't take the spotlight from the folks the listeners came to hear.

All I'm saying, is that I want to hear the TR editorial crew direct the conversation. Again, I like a lot of Jordan's input, and welcome his participation, but perhaps just not as a lead to the discussion.

You guys are doing great, this is the first EVER podcast I would considering actually dropping on my MP3 player. Keep up the good work. I hope you guys can drop these podcasts at least once per week. As far as paying $300.00 for a motherboard...HA! Just not gonna happen. I have a $150.00 price purchase max per component and it has served me really well for the last 5 years. Sometimes I cheat on that rule for video cards and harddrives (-:

By all means, get a copy of Vista; you'll likely need it, someday. But don't pay anymore than it's worth. Keep an eye on Ebay and let some other sucker absorb the cost. If that's even possible; I've spent a few days with it now, and I still feel ripped off.

Listening right now at work (quiet day). Could you guys run the endproduct through a high-pass filter? The bass from people blowing into the mike can be kind of overwhelming on bass-heavy headphones.

Listening right now. I'm very interested. As for the ATI crossfire, I still think it is neat that you can mix and combine graphics cards. 3850+3870X2. I'll comment later on. I haven't listened to #2 but I see a lot of people buying 790 chipsets. Have you talked about that?

Hi, I just wanted to say that I discovered your podcast the other day. I would simply like to suggest that you make all of the podcast MP3 file links on one webpage, and come up with a good filename andID3 tagging scheme that will suit the listener's IPods without too much editing, such as make the Genre set to Podcast in the ID3 tag. Sorry if you've already addressed this. I have only downloaded the first podcast so far.

the one point about Vista that I definitely agree with is, if you're building a new PC that requires an O/S purchase and you get XP you're "nutso".
I feel differently about upgrading current XP systems.. and still don't have Vista myself. However, I would not purchase XP at this point.

My main beef with Vista is simply, what does it offer? Give me a couple compelling reasons that it's better? .. and I dont want "its pretty" because that I simply do not care about. And.. the only real reason I can come up with is better driver support for the X64 version.

I really wish MS would make Windows 7 64bit only. It may actually happen too because by that point Office 2010 will require 4GB RAM just to pre-load into memory. ;) Yeah, I really hate Office 2007 because I use it alot at work and its just dang slow.. plus they moved too many things that they should not have moved.

Doh I was hoping for some more of that wacky reader mail :)

danny e: "if you're building a new PC that requires an O/S purchase and you get XP you're "nutso"."

clone: "that said I also agree that anyone building a brand new PC today and is looking for a new OS shouldn't be considering WinXP, Vista is the only reasonable option..... sadly."

Neither of you seem very happy with Vista, so why do you say these things? I just built my parents a computer with all brand-new (as in, not existing when SP2 came out) components. I installed XP Home, and it works fine. Now, I had that laying around and didn't buy it. But if I had bought an OS, that's what I would have bought, not Vista. Why is that 'nutso' or 'unreasonable'?

Nice going guys,it's getting better each time.
Had to smile listening to your comments about the anti-Vista haters :)

Was using my iTouch to get my TR fix and saw this, then clicked on the MP3 and it started playing! Nice, no need to download the iTune POD!

one comment on the show.
Could you edit out the microphone squeaks and squeals, ect prior to uploading? just a half-second slice taken out here and there?

there were a couple that were kind of annoying in this round.

Scott, you're right about businesses and governments not moving to Vista. I used to work at a major oil and gas company in Calgary, Alberta and they still use Windows 2000. Although they are planning on upgrading to Vista some time in the future...

But excellent broadcast. All 4 of you did a real good job. Keep up the good work. Concerning those picketing signs though, Jordan, I want to see pictures! Lol. J/K

Amen..... I was so glad to hear someone mention the hassles with UAC and that they weren't necessary.

what hasn't been mentioned is the service calls I have to field on every computer I sell with Vista because even after informing the customer they are still surprised at it's initial intrusiveness.

I'm not bashing Vista I own it and although I've switched back to XP I will be giving it another chance once SP1 has been around for a while.

that said I also agree that anyone building a brand new PC today and is looking for a new OS shouldn't be considering WinXP, Vista is the only reasonable option..... sadly.

the problem with the OS is the equally dependent infrastructure that surrounds it..... once MS became a monopoly creating a competitive landscape was the casualty for users...... well have to see once we go to full online "OS less" computers.

Downloading the podcast now. These are great when I am on the road. I can change over to the podcast for something different instead of Sirius all the time.