I have recently purchased a Lenovo X61 notebook with Windows Vista Business pre-installed - the user of the computer now tells me that it is slower than her previous X40 with XP Pro.

Looking at past Internet comments on the differences between XP Home and Pro and having used both for the last 4 years I am in a dilemma on which to use in a dual boot.

I have successfully configured a dual boot on a $379.99 wireless notebook, Windows Vista Home Basic and WindowsXP Pro. My IBM user observes that the sub $400 Sempron machine is in fact faster than her new X61 - especially when booted into WinXP.

I can downgrade the X61 for free with an XP recovery set from Lenovo, machines supplied with Vista Business and Ultimate have "downgrade rights" until sometime in 2008. However, I would like to configure a dual boot on this computer so that the user can experience the inevitable use of Vista sometime down the line.

My question is: I have seen little difference in the performance of XP Home and Pro and the research supports this observation. I am aware of the differences as stated by MS and other sources. I am interested in this communities opinion.

Martin

Theres a couple of reasons I would choose Pro over Home. First Pro has a much more in depth UI as far as the admin options go. There is more control over the computer. I have a dual core so i use pro because home does not support it. Just think of XP Pro as a buffed up version on Home which has a lot more perks. I've been using XP Pro from the time it came out. I tried Home but did not like the feel to it. It was very noticeable that it was missing a few things while configuring it after a fresh install. Media editions wasn't all that great either. All in all I'll go with XP Pro for it is a more secure and has very powerful admin tools.

Kilmako,

Thanks for your input.
The main issue as I saw it was the "dual" aspect - I don't need all the admin stuff on this pc - or rather the user doesn't.

I was interested to see if anyone would weigh in on the dual processor issue. From the research that I have done XP Home works just fine on Dual Core processors - I have even heard it claimed that it will also handle quad core processors.

The test seems to be (whether the cores are recognized and supported) it to see if two CPUs turn up in Task Manager. I have seen it reported that they do - however, it is also recognized that computers will not run significantly faster unless the software is designed to capitalize on the multi-core architecture. Most software isn't because of the fact that there is still a lot of single core machines around. If I were using sophisicated CAD and video processing software that was written to do so I would not be looking at saving $100 on such a machine!

I agree about the extra perks of XP Pro - I have used it for a few years now. I also agree about the Media editions and I would go one to state (IMO) that Vista Home Basic is also better than Vista Home Premium (because that Aero is just window dressing - sapping processor power - and the media extras are like the comparison between XP and XP Media editions)

As for XP Pro being more secure. I am not sure that I agree. Having fewer options for the user to set potentially makes home MORE secure - not that my user is likely to enable IIS or perform any admin tasks!

I also switch between machines that run XP Home and XP Pro and frankly I can't really report much of a difference when it comes down to what I can and I can't do wrt admin tasks. I also run a Linux box with and Apache web server and Samba shares for my Windows users - so I have performed a fair amount of configuration for sharing and security.

Martin

I never used Home edition with my dual core. Because I do a lot of overclocking and I like to stick with XP Pro. I just download my Dual Core drivers and optimizer and im ready to go. With Pro i don't have to worry about the performance of the cores. I sometime assign them to different programs and the results are noticeable. Pro is more solid and with all the updates its even better. Home imo is for casual users. Its all about the feel of the system. When i was troubleshooting a Home system I was not able to go in depth on some things. I noticed "advanced" buttons were missing. I give pro props for stability and performance. I would still take XP Pro any day over Vista. and thats why i dual boot them Good luck in setting it up. Its up to you what you feel more comfortable with. Get another Opinion (just not from sales ppl).