vB5 vs vB4 vs vB3
 

Its great to see the vBulletin Solutions team working hard on vB5. Based on that, my perception is it will be the best ever. BUT I have never tried it so I honestly don't know.

Based on the opinion of those who have tested vB5, which is the best vB to date? Is it still vB3 (seeing these forums still run it)?

Is vB 5, even in it's beta, better then vB4? is vB5 more server intensive than vB4?

vB5 doesn't have a lot of the features that you get in vB4. If I were to start a new site today, I would go with vB4. (vB5 is in beta, you may try it here - https://www.vbulletin.com/vb5demo/ )

I havent been reading up on it too much, but I heard vB 5 focused on customization(templates, themes, ect)? So we can make a much more attractive and smoother running site. I thought this would be a good opportunity to ask you about that Lynne? Let me know if Im completely off base on the rumor mill.

Sorry I haven't read much on it, nothing I have heard has blown my socks off and caused me to jump on and start looking it up. When vB 4 came out the built-in and integrated front page and CMS caught my ear. But vB 5... meh.

Well, as I said, you can try the demo to see what it looks like from a users point of view. You can also try the site-builder, which is what allows you to easily customize pages, here - http://www.vbulletin.com/vb5-trial

Lynne thanks for responding! I am only interested in the forums not the CMS and all that extra garbage.

Which forum is better? vB4, vB3, or vB5?

Also is vB4 more or less resource intensive then vB5?

There is no CMS yet in vB5.

As I previously said, there are several features you will not get in vB5 that are available in vB4. Only you know which will be useful/needed in your community. You should try the demos and see.

I too would start a new forum with VB 4 at his point. No idea which is more server intensive but VB5 is clearly feels more browser intensive. Hopefully it gets better before it goes gold, it's much better now than the early betas.

vBulletin 4 is the best choice, VB5 isn't really a finished product so I wouldn't run it until it's officially up to date. I know the VB team is working hard to fix all the bugs, but for myself personally I'm not comfortable with it's high server load and other issues.. If you elect to run vBulletin 3, make sure it's 3.8.7 Patch Level 3, currently what I plan to use myself for a new install. (Even though it's older it's my favorite) Just acquired another license again.

god, not had to pick, VB3.8.7 all the way.
VB4-VB5 Junk. no offense.

As you can see, it's really a matter of opinion at this point. vB4 had a rocky start, and that stigma has stuck with it with a lot of older vBulletin owners who took issue with it's initial problems and never really forgave them for it. Others choose not to upgrade because of the certain types of mods that weren't migrated to 4.x. Now that seems to be slowly changing, and 4.x is seeing a lot of modification activity. Newer vB owners who don't know or care about all that mess seem to be having no problem using vB4. As has been said, it really just depends on your needs.

And as was mentioned, vB5 is in Beta. That means it isn't finished. Can't really say it's better or worse until it goes Gold. (Which hasn't stopped anyone, but still.) What can be said is that it's different. And for people coming in from the last two versions, just by nature of being different makes it bad.