VS2K5 - First Thoughts

[ntg]

I've used VS2005 briefly on my brand new system. My first thoughts:

Vast improvements in ASP.Net.
Cool new dev features (controls, click-once, xml doc).
Healthy framework namespace additions, excluding My which I hate - I much prefer System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping than the My.Computer.Network.Ping.
MSBuild seems quite versatile.
The documentation seems enhanced to me - however, the document explorer is a hog.
I have 1 GB of RAM but it seems that I'll need another one to work with a couple of VS instances and SQL2005.

Still haven't tested it but I hope the web VSS feature works well - it has been long overdue.

Your thoughts?

[gigemboy]

havent used it much... sometimes the controls in designer would mess up for some unforseen reason, like the wouldnt paint right anymore... and the only way to fix it would be to delete the control and drag another one on the form... 'tis the reason I still use 2003... that and the fact I'm waiting to get my hands on a full copy before switching...

[RobDog888]

Same here as Gigemboy. I have seen issue related to the designer not being able to view/draw controls that are on the form and installation issues but I am waiting for my MSDN subscription to arrive with VSTS

Until then its 2003 all the way. I do notice that even with 2003 you need allot of RAM to run multiple instances of the IDE. I usually run 2-3 of VS, 4 of IE, 2 of Explorer, PhotoShop, and Outlook. I think I am going to need 2.0 Gigs of RAM. Guess I'll have to wait for my Dual P4 3.0 system.

[Kasracer]

Dual P4 3.0 system.

Go with AMD

[RobDog888]

*Cough* *Cough*

No way man! Pentium all the way. Dual Core 3.0 1024 FSB Dual CPUs! Its going to kick butt

[Kal_Torak]

Lol, I can run 2 instances of VB Express + Netscape + MS word & Excel + WYSIWYG editor on my computer which has exactly 128MB RAM

I really need a faster computer...

[RobDog888]

ntg, are you running the Pro version or Express?

[gigemboy]

I have an AMD 3000+ Athlon... underclocked to 2800+ (due to cheap motherboard that craps out on the stock chip fequencies) I can run like ... one instance.. and yahoo messenger... before Im kinda nervous.... hehehe (kiddin.. i can run more than that.. I just like having the title "UnderClocker"... )

[ntg]

ntg, are you running the Pro version or Express?

Pro. My MSDN arrived with the VSTS beta.

I don't understand what's with all the talk about CPU power, unless you're running BOINC on your dev boxes. Most of the time my bottleneck is I/O speed, being that hard disk or RAM (hard disk mostly). The rest of the time I'm limited by amount of wired RAM. I've never encountered a situation where compilation or development in general was slowed by CPU speed. Some of my $ for my new box were spend on a really fast drive from which I boot up and I can tell you that the difference is huge (same box at the office without fast drive).

[RobDog888]

Ah! The dredded Beta version. That explains it. The RTM version should be out in a few weeks.

[ntg]

From what I've seen about VSTS, I can't afford to use it on my shop - I'd love to, but it seems that the overhead is too high for five people.

[Kasracer]

*Cough* *Cough*

No way man! Pentium all the way. Dual Core 3.0 1024 FSB Dual CPUs! Its going to kick butt

I don't want to get into any kind of arguement about Intel vs AMD, but at the moment, every benchmark I've seen comparing comparable P4s and AMDs, AMD is always on top in every area. Comparing Intel's top offering to AMD's, AMD beats it. Intel has doesn't have a 64-bit offering that allows you to also run 32bit software natively.

Just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing, because when everything moves to 64bit, your computer won't be of much use. Plus, AMD is currently cheaper and higher performance than Intel.

Just fyi. I'm done derailing.

[gigemboy]

*Cough* *Cough*

No way man! Pentium all the way. Dual Core 3.0 1024 FSB Dual CPUs! Its going to kick butt

A little off-topic.....

Theres an article in the new Macimum PC magazine comparing the new Athlon 64 FX-60 dual core chips to the new Pentium Extreme Edition 955 dual core chips. In quoting them, overall, the "Pentium Extreme Edition 955 still gets spanked by the Athlon FX-60" (however in some tests it was faster...) In converting an MPEG-2 movie to Nero's MPEG4 format, Athlon was 60 percent faster than the Pentium...

[RobDog888]

Ok, I made this thread to help us with the Intel vs. AMD issue
http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=380517