Windows server 2003 vs. 2008 performance

Question

on my development workstation in work I have Win server 2003 R2 x64. Now PC and OS are dead, so I decide to install new OS. I am thinking about Windows server 2008 R2 x64.

So I have couple of questions:

• what about performance comparison on same HW?
• what about desktop work on 2008 (VS 2008 development, web development, coding graphic, multimedia, gaming :) )
• stability

Edit: HW on which I need OS reinstall: MB:Asus M2n SLI Deluxe, CPU: Athlon X2 5000+, 4GB DDR2, and some HDDs

I appreciate all advices and personal experiences.

Thanks

Answer 1

Server 2008 R2 is built of the same code as Windows 7. You'll notice the same performance increase between going from Windows XP to Windows 7 as you will with Server 2003 to Server 2008 R2.

Answer 2

Not knowing your PC's specs it mgiht make a huge difference. I was running Win2003 Standard on a desktop box, Core 2 Duo e6400 (if I remember correctly) with 4gb of memory and a Raptor X 150gb drive. When I moved to 2008 Ent it decrease my boot time by about 20 seconds and overall performance of my app went way, way up due to the increase performance in the way is handles memory.

Stability is about the same. I never really had a crash on the 2003 install, and have gone 136 days with no reboot on the 2008 install. Only reason it rebooted was due to a change in roles.

I've not gotten the chance to install R2 on it yet, but am sure the new improvements will only add to the stability and responsiveness of the box.