People have been saying that Vista runs like crap for recording (as well as many other programs or functions) and it has been the complete opposite for me. My Desktop system which is spec'd pretty much the same - although not dual core and running XP pro - as my laptop crashes frequently and can't handle the same amount of tracks/plugs, etc. I have no latency issues, no driver issues, and no system crashes. I have the user account control turned on - which I was told to turn off for recording. But, turning it off disables some of my plugins...And with it on it's fine.
I use a Presonus Firepod and had no driver issues whatsoever, even though Presonus didn't come out with drivers for 5 months after I bought the laptop. I used the old XP drivers in Vista and it was great, stable, no dropouts.
System specs and all that play a role, but whenever I hear people gripe about Vista, I just don't get it. If you are a Vista user and had trouble, that's one thing. But, I see WAY too many claiming Vista sucks and whatnot, and they've never used it with their setup. My experience with Vista all around for recording, graphic design, general use, etc., has proven to me that it's superior to XP in many ways...Again, in my experience. YMMV
