[KW802]

Originally Posted by katie hunter

VB 4.x didn't have Sphinx Search as part of its core search function
VB 5.x did have Sphinx Search as part of its core function without charging customers for it.

And the price point for vB5 is what again compared to XF core & prior versions?

Originally Posted by katie hunter

If you had the choice of buying a product with a superior search function without needing to pay an additional $$ for it and a product with an inferior search function and you would need to pay an additional $$ for a better search, which one will you choose? Be honest with yourself.

I would buy the product that works. As you yourself said, that is not vB5, so buying a vB5 license to get access to vB4 would still require an add-on, whether free or paid, to the level of Sphinx searching that you're looking for.