On Vista it's easy, use the sound drivers from the manufacter website or from the drivers cd... On Linux it's more hard, you have to make sure your kernel supports your soundcard (else you'll need to recompile it), then modprobe, then enable support for it... (yes, even the absence of one configuration option can make your sound gone)
One Linux it's easy, just use the drivers included with your kernel.
On Vista it's more hard, you have to get the drivers from the manufacturer or from the drivers CD.
On Vista it's easy, desktops effects are already available, and they get even faster if you download the graphics drivers. On Linux you have to install the NVIDIA drivers, if you alread y did then your gnome/kde or compiz fusion might got broken somewhere, reinstall?
Only 14-year-olds use desktop effects. They get in the way of actually using your computer, and they slow everything down. There's a reason real Linux distros don't come with Compiz.
Also, I've yet to find even a single case of Compiz not just working if the right video drivers were installed.