My MESH PC spec - quad-core Intel CPU, 4 GB RAM, 8800GTX,SB Fatal1ty Platinum 7.1 surround sound, 2 x 500 GB HDs, 2 x external HDs (40 GB & 80 GB), 22" flat screen. This spec will run FSX with all sliders maxed out while FSX my former XP PC was a "slide show" BUT . . . . loading quite ordinary business and utility sw, starting almost any sw, entering online game servers, loading maps or running scans etc are all FAR slower than using XP on a much lower spec PC, which is precisely why I am reading this thread to try and improve the OS speed.

I own the PC, the SW, am the system administrator and the sole user BUT with almost everything I attempt to run VISTA Ultimate Edition, the OS obstructs access claiming that I "lack sufficient permissions" and plenty of key software refuses to run at all, even though some people can get the same sw to (just) run on lighter flavors of VISTA.

Many business users see gaming as "trivial application " for a modern PC, but I would stress that it is cutting-edge multi-player online simulations like FSX and COD4 (FAR more than mere "games") and the requirements of militay and civilian simulations on PC, that drives and finances the whole engine of system development and enhancement regarding every aspect of the PC except the OS. Indeed the budgets and personnel involved now exceed Hollywood and the movie industry in the West.

As the co-founders of a global industry MS should by now have managed a super fast slick OS that does "exactly what it says on the tin" out of the box without needing third party "managers". VISTA should do what we consumers want, rather than what MS wants.