April 26, 2005 12:00 AM

Paul's Picks

Paul Thurrott

Windows IT Pro

InstantDoc ID #45894

Rating:

(0)

Summaries of in-depth product reviews on Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition RC2

Contact: Microsoft * 800-426-9400
Web: http://www.microsoft.com
Summary
Pros: Almost identical to the 32-bit version of Windows XP Professional Edition; huge memory and resource-allocation improvements
Cons: Incompatibility gotchas will dog many users
Rating: 3 out of 5
Recommendation:
XP Pro x64 RC2 is a near-perfect migration of XP Pro to a 64-bit code base that doesn't sacrifice performance for 64-bit capabilities. XP Pro x64 isn't compatible enough to meet the needs of average users, however, so I recommend that most XP users stick with the XP 32-bit edition at least through the end of 2005.
Full Review: http://www.winsupersite.com/article/reviews/windows-xp-professional-x64-edition-rc2-preview.aspx

Windows Server 2003 SP1 RC2

Contact: Microsoft * 800-426-9400
Web: http://www.microsoft.com
Summary
Pros: Free; should be a simple upgrade for most Windows 2003 users
Cons: Its best new feature—the Security Configuration Wizard—isn't installed by default
Rating: 5 out of 5
Recommendation:
Windows 2003 SP1 RC2 is a hugely important security update and an excellent upgrade for all Windows 2003 systems that will likely prove to be a noninvasive upgrade for most businesses. Businesses should test this release as soon as possible to ensure that their upgrades will go smoothly.
Full Review: http://www.winsupersite.com/article/reviews/windows-server-2003-service-pack-1-preview.aspx

Paul's Picks

Related Content: