[UK-CONTEST] XP Home vs Professional

[Clive Whelan]

Hi list

I recently replaced my old Dell desk top with a dual core
Pentium 3.0Ghz machine, and confess to being very
disappointed with the performance- at least in respect of
stability.

The machine does all the usual domestic stuff- WP,
Spreadsheet etc- as well as serve as the contest driver. To
this end it now uses no hardwired serial ports at all, but
relies upon third party USB converters including ICOM C-IV
interfaces from PIEXX and microHam. Also the microKeyer from
the aforementioned uses virtual USB serial ports for all
control within N1MM logger. These all work pretty well in
their own right, as they did under the Dell.

I also use a Linksys Wireless G device for connecting to the
BT 2500V Wireless modem router. However, the latter has been
giving me so much grief, that I have latterly run an
Ethernet cable across the shack at great risk to life and
limb, in respect to tripping over the cable! The connection
is so much more reliable and faster, even though previously
the 2.4Ghz antennas were only about 3ft apart. The jury is
still out on whether this will reduce the aggro. when using
other apps. and increase stability.

A non radio friend tells me that XP Home is very poor in the
field of wireless networking, and although it does work, it
should not be considered for a "serious" system. Just
looking at what the machine is doing, it's clear that my
system is far from simple. Additionally I am pretty much
convinced, that although the USB to serial protocols do seem
to work well, that they present a large processing overhead
to the system, even a dual core processor. I therefore
wonder if I should consider upgrading to XP Pro. Clearly if
this were a low cost option, I would do it without second
thoughts, but sadly that is not the case. Therefore the
perspective of anyone who has personal experience in the
area would be welcome.


tia


73


Clive