Which should I buy? XP Pro or Media Center Edition o my new Notebook?

[pnwn]

I have no idea which OS to order when I configure my new machine. I don't yet do much with video, but the features of MCE do sound nice. I have old family movies on dvd that I want to edit, but for now that's all. I have a home network that is secure and I want it ot stay that way. The programs I run most are Adobe products such as CS, plus MS Office 2003. ny words of wisdom are welcome. Thanks.

 

[Mirob]

I have MCE05 and don't like it. It has many bugs and the media software is not any better than you can get for free. You are better off with Xp Home.

 

[Lunatic]

I have MCE as well, i dont have a problem with it.

My choice was XP Media Center Edition or XP Home. XP MCE is the same as XP Pro except it has the media center stuff.
you dont have to use the media center. i have it and dont use it at all.
personaly i like it better than home.

 

[Samstoned]

if you are doing more as workstation and are not using mostly for movies and or video edit stick with xp pro
you can always dwnld the extras later ($$$$)

 

[kk2264]

I guess besides what these posters said you really need to look at the specs of the laptop you are purchasing. MCE adds a lot of added services and tasks that run constantly that eat up resources as fast as you feed it to the OS.

I personally think MCE is over hyped and not worth the hassle. XP Pro on the other hand is the best XP OS available.

I agree with the poster who said you can get video/music editing software for free from many sources that are just as good if not incredibly better than what comes bundled with MCE. Anything Microsoft bundles with their OSes can most likely be found freely distributed by open source parties that are mush more resource friendly and better made in the first place.

 

[wizardtres]

I prefer MCE over Pro, I have them on computers that both have the same mobo, cpu and other similar hardware. The MCE does seem a little slower at startup but the idea of having more media options is something I do like.