Windows XP Pro or Windows Media Center

Hi..purchasing a dell pc that is loaded - technically it's a gamer PC - high end graphic card, etc. Chose the high end model because I keep my PCs for years and don't want to upgrade down the road. I want them to install Windows XP Pro as my OS - their tech says I will be able to do more things with video, music, etc. if they install the Windows Media Center OS. I work on graphics and photos using imaging software.....even with xp pro I assume I could still work very well on videos and music if I so desired because of the high end configuration.. Can anyone help me with this decision? thanks for any info...Michelle

 

Hi Michelle,

Here are some links about MCE - what it is as opposed to Pro.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP_Media_Center_Edition

http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_mce2004.asp

http://windows.about.com/od/updatingupgrading/p/windows_xp_mce.htm


I'm running MCE on my Laptop that's dual booting Vista. So far, it might as well be XP Home or Pro as far as my use of it. Vista contains the MCE media extensions.

You'll find that MCE is a sub set of Pro, and the only difference aside from the media options, is that you can't join a domain the way you can with Pro, although I've read that that can be done with registry hacks.