This was my concern when I saw they'd release a beta, but to be fair, it has been my concern all along. XP has always been a bit of an FPS hog so something with new and improved visuals was always going to be in danger of making it worse. At least in early versions.
Point I was going to make was - does anyone else feel a little put out / conned by this beta release? (conned is a bit harsh, but it makes my point) For a while now they've been saying XP-11 coming this holiday season, then changed that to coming in November and now we get a beta. Releasing a beta is not the same as XP-11 product. A product of this scale SHOULD be in beta for a long time (unless they are very, very good and get everything more or less right first time), but I bet it won't be.
Meh, I pre-ordered, so I will still download it and have a play with it, and probably
like it, but I did feel a little deflated when I got that email come through while on my travels yesterday.
[edit] Oops, meant to say, probably 'like' it! I will most certainly not download it twice