Which Version of Windows?

A non 64 bit version.

Hi Sewer Sleth;

IMHO, neither.

If you must have Windows then you need to get the version that is need for whatever Windows application you need to run. There is no way for us to tell you the answer to that unless you tell us exactly why you need to have Windows.

Allan

Sewer Sleuth wrote:
I've just ordered a new 3 GHz 24 inch iMac with 2GB RAM.

Which version of Windows is most suitable for this machine?

XP or Vista? 32 bit or 64 bit? Home, Pro, Business or Premium?

Etc.

Thanks in advance.

You might get more information in the BootCamp forum here:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1244

In my opinion, they all run fine. I am using Vista Ultimate 64-bit on this MBP and XP on my other MBP. I also run XP on my G5 PPC with Virtual PC. I have had no problems with any of them.
Bear in mind that XP is on the way out and even Vista is already being readied for replacement in a few years.
I have read that Vista actually runs better on Macs than PCs because of the EFI rather than BIOS support. I would find it difficult to find fault with my installation of Vista 64-bit OS.

My personal rule is to use the top-of-the-line OS wherever and whenever possible, which would be Vista Ultimate or XP-Pro. However, I would not recommend the 64-bit version of XP.
Also bear in mind that you cannot upgrade from 32 to 64-bit Windows OSs. You have to redo everything and start from scratch, so once you make your choice, you will probably stick with it.

Hi Sewer Sleuth;

Where did this "XP Pro in virtual PC on a G5 PPC" question come from?

In your original post you said you are getting a new iMac. That will be Intel and not PPC.

Allan

Given the way it is running on his G5, in an emulated environment, it does work fine. I wouldn't expect anything to run particularly fast in emulation, but it does run and serves its purpose. So, fine is a perfectly fine descriptor, in that case.

I have Windows XP Professional SP3 and I use it at work where I need to run Visual Studio and MS SQL Server, I also (sometimes) play americas army, a 3d first person shooter game very nicely.

so, for what you say you want it, go for this, XP is still more stable that Vista, asks less from the machine, and runs smoothly 🙂

Sewer Sleuth wrote:
Sorry, I don't believe that XP Pro in Virtual PC runs fine on a G5 PPC. I already have that setup and it is so slow that it is unusable.

I beg to differ. Your belief is incorrect. It is perfect usable on my dual G5 2GHz box.
Why are you asking if you already know the answers?

Barney-15E wrote:
Given the way it is running on his G5, in an emulated environment, it does work fine. I wouldn't expect anything to run particularly fast in emulation, but it does run and serves its purpose. So, fine is a perfectly fine descriptor, in that case.
Barney-15E wrote:
Given the way it is running on his G5, in an emulated environment, it does work fine. I wouldn't expect anything to run particularly fast in emulation, but it does run and serves its purpose. So, fine is a perfectly fine descriptor, in that case.

Which is why I chose the word, "fine." I choose my words with thought for their meaning, ala Nero Wolfe 🙂
But why is the OP concerned about a G5? I thought he was interested in Winders versions.
I think this thread is leading down a drainpipe 🙂

Hi nerowolfe;

I think it crossed over the event horizon of the black hole of total worthlessness already.

Allan

This thread has gone off the deep end. The "best" version of windoze to run on a Mac is none. But if you must run windoze, expee is the way to go. Vista bites completely in any version. It is bloted, overpriced and is not long for this world. Expee Pro runs "extremely well" under in boot camp with "extremely well" meaning as well as windoze can run.

David DeCristoforo wrote:
This thread has gone off the deep end. The "best" version of windoze to run on a Mac is none. But if you must run windoze, expee is the way to go. Vista bites completely in any version. It is bloted, overpriced and is not long for this world. Expee Pro runs "extremely well" under in boot camp with "extremely well" meaning as well as windoze can run.

I still maintain that the best platform for Vista is a Mac 🙂 Vista was written to use EFI, AFAIK. I think most of the issues with Vista are trying to run it under BIOS which is funny but I think true.

I installed Vista 64-bit under Tiger on this box, with an early beta version of BootCamp and had to dig up my own 64-bit drivers. Got it working. Migrated to Leopard (default install no less) and updated to new BootCamp.
It's now running the very latest BC drivers and SP1 without a single event of note.
Luck? Nah. I know winders inside and out - was a beta tester for the original MSN network and a card-carrying member of MSDN. But I spend most of my time on my MBP. Isn't that special?
If you want to "backup" a DVD, it's a piece of cake on a Mac and it's free.
My basic rule is that under the hood it's all the same dots and dashes. Sorta. 🙂

Message was edited by: nerowolfe