Opinions of Operating Systems Switch?

I recently just obtained this laptop pc as a gift
HP Pavilion dv9700t Entertainment CTO NB
- Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T5550 (1.83 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
- 17.0" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
- 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
- HP Imprint (Radiance) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection
- 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
- LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2007

I really dont like the vista though and want to switch to xp. would it be wise to, since its not all that powerful or a pc, or stick with vista? pros, cons, opinions???

Your computer can easily handle vista, but you can switch to xp if you want, it may even run better especially with service pack 3 that just came out
pros for vista
ready for future
better visuals
quicker searching (time management)

cons
may be slower than xp for now especially for games)
already know how to use operating system
works with more software/devices for now

basically its a personal preference, they both feel the same to me, currently im using vista and i dont mind it

With the fact that Windows Vista has come out with Service Pack 1, many of its reliability problems have been corrected. However, if you are looking for something that will run a bit faster, not take up as much hard drive space, then switch back to Windows XP.

The only thing to keep in mind if you decide to do this is that you will have to completely wipe your comptuer to install XP because it will not let you "downgrade". Windows only lets you go from older versions to newer, not the other way.

Hope that helps!

Well currently the system requirements for VISTA are much higher than those for XP. So, technically the system would probably run better with XP.

I have heard mixed reviews from people on VISTA but I think what it really comes down to is personal preference. They are releasing updates and patches for VISTA to improve performance issues, which is exactly what they did when XP was first released.

If you want to get the max speed out of your computer then use xp. Vista sucks the speed out of any system with its visual effects.

The only difference between xp and vista is that vista sucks more speed and then it bugs you every time you want to install or run a program. People thing this is good security but its not.

Bugs still can get it and its no more secure then xp sp2 was.

Its basicly the same but more bling bling.