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Windows XP Professional offers a number of features unavailable in the Home Edition, including:

* The ability to become part of a Windows Server domain, a group of computers that are remotely managed by one or more central servers.
* A sophisticated access control scheme that allows specific permissions on files to be granted to specific users under normal circumstances. However, users can use tools other than Windows Explorer (like cacls or File Manager), or restart to Safe Mode to modify access control lists.
* Remote Desktop server, which allows a PC to be operated by another Windows XP user over a local area network or the Internet.
* Offline Files and Folders, which allow the PC to automatically store a copy of files from another networked computer and work with them while disconnected from the network.
* Encrypting File System, which encrypts files stored on the computer's hard drive so they cannot be read by another user, even with physical access to the storage medium.
* Centralized administration features, including Group Policies, Automatic Software Installation and Maintenance, Roaming User Profiles, and Remote Installation Service (RIS).
* Internet Information Services (IIS), Microsoft's HTTP and FTP Server.
* Support for two physical central processing units (CPU). (Because the number of CPU cores and Hyper-threading capabilities on modern CPUs are considered to be part of a single physical processor, multicore CPUs are supported using XP Home Edition.)[3][4]
* Windows Management Instrumentation Console (WMIC): WMIC is a command-line tool designed to ease WMI information retrieval about a system by using simple keywords (aliases).

Author:	Qamar [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:31 pm ]
Post subject:	Video Card !!!!
is this a good video card, and would it be worth $79.99 + tax ?? http://www.shopmania.com.au/shop~online-graphic-cards~buy-asus-geforce-8400gs-512mb-ddr2-silent~p-2848152.html

Author:	[Gandalf] [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:42 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
Is that in Canadian dollars or Australian? I'd say no, rather go for an 8600GT at least.

Author:	Qamar [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:59 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Video Card !!!!
canadian.. lol i just pulled this link off a random site. but its the same video card. not sure for the specs.. title is the same, picture and heat sink look the same. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00783637&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=ca〈=en&product=3262025 this is my computer. bought it a while ago.. it has a 1.86 dual core on xp and the 7500LE video just broke... i don't do a ton of gaming... COD2, halo trial, Price of Persia, half life ... few games that i play barely. watch movies as well but i really don't want to spend a ton of money since i'm broke right now.. haha. oh and for some reason before it broke and before that, it felt really slow... specs crap ? Edit: The guy at the store (some random one) said it was a really good one, and i know for a fact no its not.. haha.. but what could i play with it with pretty good not amazing graphics ?

Author:	Vermette [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:25 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
I wouldn't recommend it http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/09/nvidia-g84-g86-bad edit: This is a little controversial. Depending who you talk to it's just the mobile chipsets, it's just some of the mobile chipsets, or it's every nVidia 83-8600 series chip from day 1.

Author:	[Gandalf] [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:32 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
What could you play with what? An 8600GT? Pretty much anything on decent/low settings, including Crysis. Though this also highly depends on your CPU and such, but if the CPU you're talking about is a core 2 duo, then you should be fine for pretty much anything.

Author:	Qamar [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Video Card !!!!
i see... well i want to get the a good video card without spending over $100 and still be able to play those video games as i said before. my old compsci teacher said that XP doesn't run Dual cores... it'll accept it.. but only run 1 core... is that true ?

Author:	TheFerret [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:38 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
That is not true, xp will run dual core easily, I think I've seen it go up to 8 or so...

Author:	Vermette [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:42 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
XP Home only supports a single physical processor, while it supports multiple logical processors, which covers multi-core and HyperThreading. Pro supports either.

Author:	Qamar [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:51 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Video Card !!!!
i have windows xp media centre edition 2002 ?

Author:	gianni [ Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:56 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
If you want the best bang for you buck I'd grab any recent ATI card. They offer more/better features at much lower price points. For virtually the same price, you can get a much better card: Radeon HD 4650 or Radeon HD 4670.

Author:	Zeroth [ Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:07 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Video Card !!!!
Actually, best buy is Nvidia. Their stuff actually has complete drivers. Plus, their drivers are the best supported in Linux. (I know, you use Windows, but still).

Author:	ecookman [ Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:46 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
Zeroth is right I have read that Nvidia cards are better than what is being discussed and perform better in SLI but it really depends on who you talk to personally i think they are better based on opinions I have heard and looking at some frame rate scores for Nvidia cards that support DX10 look for models newer than the 8700 series happy hunting

Author:	gianni [ Fri Dec 12, 2008 3:02 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
nVidia may have a better top of the line card. However, based on performance/features for price, an ATI card is a much more sensible decision.

Author:	andrew. [ Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:23 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
Don't get that card, spend a bit more and get at least an 8600GT. I personally don't like ATI, but gianni says ATI cards have good price/performance ratios. If I was buying a card cheap, I would probably go for an nVidia 9600GT or something like that.

Author:	Euphoracle [ Sat Dec 13, 2008 5:21 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: RE:Video Card !!!!
gianni @ Fri Dec 12, 2008 3:02 pm wrote: nVidia may have a better top of the line card. However, based on performance/features for price, an ATI card is a much more sensible decision. Listen to this man. Right now, ATI are walking all over nVidia in the mid-range to not-the-very-high-end gaming division. ATI is your BEST bet for price vs performance cards right now. If you want the absolute best card, nVidia holds that title. If you want a card that will make you happy for a good number of years to come, the 4870 is what you want. If you want a card to do today well, and tomorrow adequitly, the 4850 is what you want. If you want to pay too much money, go for the nVidia 8800+'s or the 9800+s. If you're not into gaming at all, the lower models will be fine. If you are into gaming and you want to see pretty on your monitor, you will have to pay some money. You get what you pay for. If you go cheap on parts, you will be less than pleased when they don't work as well as you wish they did

Author:	Qamar [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:49 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Video Card !!!!
yeah. i don't do a ton of gaming.. but some here and there... i am in the trouble of either chosing to fix my computer / buy a new computer and get a ps3 =P so i'm thinking of buying a 3.0 Ghz of my friend for $50 since xp home (MCE) doesn't run dualcore... and i'm thinking of these 3 video cards... http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10101192&catid=20397 http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10111362&catid=20397 http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10100525&catid=20397 and another Q... when i put the video card in... will it be that i just plug it in and it'll work ?.. or will i have to do some fiddleing around ? and same with the processor ?

Author:	S_Grimm [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:51 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
Plug and play. but you will need to install drivers to maxamize it's usefullness

Author:	Euphoracle [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:58 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
You also need to make sure you buy a PCIe video card if you have PCIe slots, or AGP for AGP motherboard slots.

Author:	gianni [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 5:02 pm ]
Post subject:	RE:Video Card !!!!
Hey, I wouldn't get a video card from BestBuy, they are hideously over priced. Instead I would check out a local computer shop. Also, I would recommend the Radeon HD 4650 over the 3450, especially since you can get it for the same price.

Author:	andrew. [ Wed Dec 24, 2008 12:50 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: RE:Video Card !!!!
Vermette @ Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:42 pm wrote: XP Home only supports a single physical processor, while it supports multiple logical processors, which covers multi-core and HyperThreading. Pro supports either. Really? I thought the only difference between Home and Pro was that Pro had special networking for businesses and stuff. Maybe I should buy XP Pro while I still can.

Author:	Vermette [ Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:16 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: RE:Video Card !!!!
andrew. @ December 24th 2008, 12:50 wrote: Really? I thought the only difference between Home and Pro was that Pro had special networking for businesses and stuff. Maybe I should buy XP Pro while I still can. From the wiki: Quote: Windows XP Professional offers a number of features unavailable in the Home Edition, including: * The ability to become part of a Windows Server domain, a group of computers that are remotely managed by one or more central servers. * A sophisticated access control scheme that allows specific permissions on files to be granted to specific users under normal circumstances. However, users can use tools other than Windows Explorer (like cacls or File Manager), or restart to Safe Mode to modify access control lists. * Remote Desktop server, which allows a PC to be operated by another Windows XP user over a local area network or the Internet. * Offline Files and Folders, which allow the PC to automatically store a copy of files from another networked computer and work with them while disconnected from the network. * Encrypting File System, which encrypts files stored on the computer's hard drive so they cannot be read by another user, even with physical access to the storage medium. * Centralized administration features, including Group Policies, Automatic Software Installation and Maintenance, Roaming User Profiles, and Remote Installation Service (RIS). * Internet Information Services (IIS), Microsoft's HTTP and FTP Server. * Support for two physical central processing units (CPU). (Because the number of CPU cores and Hyper-threading capabilities on modern CPUs are considered to be part of a single physical processor, multicore CPUs are supported using XP Home Edition.)[3][4] * Windows Management Instrumentation Console (WMIC): WMIC is a command-line tool designed to ease WMI information retrieval about a system by using simple keywords (aliases). Going back to Qamar's comment that started this: "my old compsci teacher said that XP doesn't run Dual cores... it'll accept it.. but only run 1 core... is that true ?" Before multi-core chips hit the PC market back in 2005ish, boards running 2 physically separate chips were colloquially called Dual-cores (for example a rig with dual P3 700MHz back in 1999ish).