Gaming and Windows (XP vs. Vista (32/64)???

[RedWingFan71]

I am getting a new gaming system and am wondering which OS people prefer for
hardcore gaming. I will also be doing some DVD authoring as well. I have
heard some bad things about Vista and gaming and was wondering if alot of the
bugs have been fixed. Also, if you do recommed Vista over XP, which version
do you recommend 32 or 64. Below is my system specs. I appreciate any
feedback anyone can give me. Thanks.

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz 1066FSB 8MB L2 Cache 64-bit
20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
16X DVD ROM
CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling System
500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory
w/ Heat Spreader
ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
1,100 Watts Power Supply Tagan TG1100-U96 TurboJet Quad Quiet SLI Ready
Creative Labs X-FI XtremeGamer 24-BIT PCI Sound Card
Logitech X-540 70Watts 5.1 Configuration Speaker System
2x SLI NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express EVGA

 

[Dustin Harper]

Some of the newer games coming out have DX10 support, which is only
available in Windows Vista. Also, you might want to upgrade your system RAM
to 4 GB for hardcore gaming. And as for 32/64 bit, check to see if your
hardware has the 64 bit drivers. If it does, then I'd recommend 64 bit.
There are a few games that also have 64 bit versions (Crysis, HL2) included.
While at the present time, there is little to no performance increase in 32
vs. 64 bit, it is getting better.

 

[VRG Scotty]

I am getting a new gaming system and am wondering which OS people prefer
for
hardcore gaming. I will also be doing some DVD authoring as well. I have
heard some bad things about Vista and gaming and was wondering if alot of
the
bugs have been fixed. Also, if you do recommed Vista over XP, which
version
do you recommend 32 or 64. Below is my system specs. I appreciate any
feedback anyone can give me. Thanks.

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz 1066FSB 8MB L2 Cache 64-bit
20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
16X DVD ROM
CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling System
500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory
w/ Heat Spreader
ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
1,100 Watts Power Supply Tagan TG1100-U96 TurboJet Quad Quiet SLI Ready
Creative Labs X-FI XtremeGamer 24-BIT PCI Sound Card
Logitech X-540 70Watts 5.1 Configuration Speaker System
2x SLI NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express EVGA

Nice setup I'm using Vista Ultimate 32 bit for gaming, and to be honest I
haven't come across and of my games that will not run on it, I only play FPS
though, BF2 being my game of choice, but as Dustin said you might want to
get another 2gb of ram .. here's my setup.

AMD Athlon 64 6400+ Black Edition..Asus Silent Square Pro Cooler...Asus
Crosshair Motherboard...ENERMAX GALAXY EGX1000EWL 1000W MODULAR
PSU...2x500gb Maxtors (raid 0)...2x500gb Seagate (raid 1)...2 x Gainward
BLISS 8800 GTX SLI(forceware 169.32)...4x1gb Corsair XMS2 CM2X1024-8500C5
CL5...WINTV-PVR500MCE...Plextor DVDR 716AL...Pioneer 112 DVDRWDL...Sony/NEC
18x DVDRWDL...Vista Ultimate 32bit...Thermaltake Armor Extreme...Monitor 24"
Dell(1920 x 1200)...Logitech Z5500 Speakers...Netgear DG834N Router..Maxtor
300gb External...Maxtor 500gb External...4Gb readyboost flash drive

 

[Andy [YaYa]]

I am getting a new gaming system and am wondering which OS people prefer
for
hardcore gaming. I will also be doing some DVD authoring as well. I have
heard some bad things about Vista and gaming and was wondering if alot of
the
bugs have been fixed. Also, if you do recommed Vista over XP, which
version
do you recommend 32 or 64. Below is my system specs. I appreciate any
feedback anyone can give me. Thanks.

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz 1066FSB 8MB L2 Cache 64-bit
20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
16X DVD ROM
CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling System
500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory
w/ Heat Spreader
ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
1,100 Watts Power Supply Tagan TG1100-U96 TurboJet Quad Quiet SLI Ready
Creative Labs X-FI XtremeGamer 24-BIT PCI Sound Card
Logitech X-540 70Watts 5.1 Configuration Speaker System
2x SLI NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express EVGA

What everyone else said, Vista is nice, there are some issues, but the ONLY
reason you hear so much about it is because the Internet is now the
Interweb, look it up on Wikipedia sometime. Everyone is on the Internet,
everyone has an opinion and they are all negative. (Present company
excluded)

Heh, as for your system, I'm running a amd x2 4400+ with 1x 8800GT and 2
gigs ram, and I like it a lot. Got the same X-fi card too, it's nice when it
works correctly, and what I mean by that is that the xFi had driver issues,
but it's cool now, unfortunatly some games are still not quite working
right. Most are, some aren't. DirectX 10 games look nice.

Why put in a second dvd drive? Drop one of your vid cards and all your
optical and find a cheap drive that plays back Blu-Ray or HD-DVD?
SLI=CRAP/IMHO, but that's your perogative. My PSU is a 550 and it's got
enough to drive a second 8800GT, just saying.

I don't know, personally I like the look of the new Phenoms over Intels
Quads, if you considered AMD and passed then I apologize, but if not you
might wanna take a look. On paper they sound like better processors, but I
have not personally tried one out.

-A.

 

[John Lechmanik]

Well if you are going to go 4 megs or over, get Vista64. If you are going
to stay with your 2 megs, then get Vista32. With 4 megs, your video cards,
and Vista32 you will ONLY see 2.5 megs. So why go for 4 since you can't use
it? If you want to use 4 megs, then Vista64 is the way to go, but there
will be install problems with 4 megs, so read up on that. But check any
additions you are going to add. Vista64 will ONLY accept certified drivers.
So check out your entire system to make sure all the drivers you will need
are supported.

I'm running Q6600 (O/C to 3.2 Ghz), 4 gigs memory, XFX 680i LT M/B, 2 DVD
drives, and 2 8800GT (512 Megs, factory overclocked) vid cards. I'm
enjoying Vista64, but there have been bumps in the road. Oh yeah, mine is
air cooled. With water cooling (assuming it is installed right) you can get
up to 3.6 Ghz on that chip....

Oh yeah stick with your 1100 watts. For dual 8800GT's and a Q6600 you CAN
get by with 600 wats, but you will be cutting it close, and eventually when
the power supply is older and you add some drives, you will be underpowered.
750 is the recommended minimum for dual 880Gt's.

As to Vista vs XP, I changed from XP. For a laptop, then it is tough to
play some of the older games on Vista because of the video drivers. But
with a desktop that isn't a concern since the video drivers are better. I
don't see much of a problem, but remember Vista hasn't been out as long, so
there are more "bumps" on the road than with XP....

 

[Andy [YaYa]]

Well if you are going to go 4 megs or over, get Vista64. If you are going
to stay with your 2 megs, then get Vista32. With 4 megs, your video
cards, and Vista32 you will ONLY see 2.5 megs. So why go for 4 since you
can't use it? If you want to use 4 megs, then Vista64 is the way to go,
but there will be install problems with 4 megs, so read up on that. But
check any additions you are going to add. Vista64 will ONLY accept
certified drivers. So check out your entire system to make sure all the
drivers you will need are supported.

Actually with Vista 32, and 4Gigs ram, my mobo see's 3.75Gigs. It's really
dependant on the hardware. Every mobo/chipset is different. I tried 4gigs
for a short time, but moved the ram back to my other system when I was done.

I'm running Q6600 (O/C to 3.2 Ghz), 4 gigs memory, XFX 680i LT M/B, 2 DVD
drives, and 2 8800GT (512 Megs, factory overclocked) vid cards. I'm
enjoying Vista64, but there have been bumps in the road. Oh yeah, mine is
air cooled. With water cooling (assuming it is installed right) you can
get up to 3.6 Ghz on that chip....

Factory Overclocked = High failure rate... Just saying.

Water Cooling = Gooy

PC Boys and their Toys...

Oh yeah stick with your 1100 watts. For dual 8800GT's and a Q6600 you CAN
get by with 600 wats, but you will be cutting it close, and eventually
when the power supply is older and you add some drives, you will be
underpowered. 750 is the recommended minimum for dual 880Gt's.

Pen is Mightier/Envy

As to Vista vs XP, I changed from XP. For a laptop, then it is tough to
play some of the older games on Vista because of the video drivers. But
with a desktop that isn't a concern since the video drivers are better. I
don't see much of a problem, but remember Vista hasn't been out as long,
so there are more "bumps" on the road than with XP....

Vista uses User Mode drivers, XP uses Kernal Mode drivers (as I understand
it). In a nutshell that's why when your video driver crashes in Vista you
don't have to reboot, where as in XP you'd have to reboot. Honestly the
drivers in XP are FAR superior to Vista in performance and compatibility,
BUT keeping drivers out of the Kernal in Vista means less chance of catching
stuff like Viruses and Rootkits, etc. It's a trade off, more secure vs.
better performance.

It's the times we live in...

 

[windyvoice]

I am getting a new gaming system and am wondering which OS people prefer
for
hardcore gaming. I will also be doing some DVD authoring as well. I have
heard some bad things about Vista and gaming and was wondering if alot of
the
bugs have been fixed. Also, if you do recommed Vista over XP, which
version
do you recommend 32 or 64. Below is my system specs. I appreciate any
feedback anyone can give me. Thanks.

Intel® CoreT 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz 1066FSB 8MB L2 Cache 64-bit
20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
16X DVD ROM
CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling System
500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory
w/ Heat Spreader
ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
1,100 Watts Power Supply Tagan TG1100-U96 TurboJet Quad Quiet SLI Ready
Creative Labs X-FI XtremeGamer 24-BIT PCI Sound Card
Logitech X-540 70Watts 5.1 Configuration Speaker System
2x SLI NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express EVGA

Simply put - Windows XP Pro is better for gaming, it is faster, more
compatibility, and with the new SP3 should be even faster if all reports are
true. I wish I could put it on my new computer but no drivers for my
hardware for WXP, have searched everywhere. The only bad thing is that it
doesn't support DX10, only Vista does, so WXP will not be a system for
future games, sadly.

 

[VRG Scotty]

Simply put - Windows XP Pro is better for gaming, it is faster, more
compatibility, and with the new SP3 should be even faster if all reports
are true. I wish I could put it on my new computer but no drivers for my
hardware for WXP, have searched everywhere. The only bad thing is that it
doesn't support DX10, only Vista does, so WXP will not be a system for
future games, sadly.

What an unbelievably stupid statement, if XP is the dogs danglys then why
aren't there driver support for your machine? I mean what is there hardware
wise that Vista and XP don't support? If you love XP so much then why the
hell dont you install it and play away...oh and post your love for it in the
XP groups?

 

[Andy [YaYa]]

What an unbelievably stupid statement, if XP is the dogs danglys then why
aren't there driver support for your machine? I mean what is there
hardware wise that Vista and XP don't support? If you love XP so much
then why the hell dont you install it and play away...oh and post your
love for it in the XP groups?

Down Scotty! Down! (kidding)

Now everyone is entitled to their opinions, no need to attack everyone in
retaliation.

As for the future of Gaming, I think Vista is really the ONLY non-console
gaming platform. Now if Microsoft decided to release DirectX 10+ on XP, I
may reconsider. There are things on Vista that annoy me a bit, but the stuff
that annoys me does not include "Does not run games." Quite the contrary,
Vista runs more games than my XP box does. There are some Win9x games that I
flat out cannot get started on XP, but Vista somehow runs them. I also like
that when Vista "crashes" it just restarts the part that crashed and I can
move on.

Ideally I think Linux Distros like Ubunto are the bees knees! I mean those
OSs are constantly slapping on new and cool eye candy (weather or not it
works) that just makes me Oooo and Ahhhh, but I'll be damned if I can get
Lord of the Rings Online to work in it.

And I'm sorry, but since getting my 8800 GT and running around Bioshock with
DirectX 10 turned on, I don't think I can go back to XP.

I'd also like to remind everyone that Book 12 of Lord of the Rings Online:
The Shadows on Angmar goes live today, and they are supposed to "fix" some
cool things like X-Fi support (apparently it's broken, but I never noticed).

Party on Gamers!

 

[Andy [YaYa]]

Oh, and if you join LOTRO, and refer "CADASH", make a character on the
Landroval server, I will send you some gold to get you started. No I don't
charge real cash, but the referal program gives me free playtime, so I
kindda am.

 

[VRG Scotty]

Down Scotty! Down! (kidding)

Now everyone is entitled to their opinions, no need to attack everyone in
retaliation.

Hehehe I was trying to point out that there is no new hardware in his
computer that wouldn't take XP because of drivers..

 

[VRG Scotty]

Oh, and if you join LOTRO, and refer "CADASH", make a character on the
Landroval server, I will send you some gold to get you started. No I don't
charge real cash, but the referal program gives me free playtime, so I
kindda am.

I can't play them type of games Andy..tis FPS all the way for me

 

[Andy [YaYa]]

I can't play them type of games Andy..tis FPS all the way for me

Yeah, I know, was just a general shout out.

 

[Andy [YaYa]]

Hehehe I was trying to point out that there is no new hardware in his
computer that wouldn't take XP because of drivers..

Which ya gotta admit is kindda a weird move for hardware manufacturers. I
mean is Vista that much easier to make drivers for that they can't just
shoot out a couple XP drivers at the same time?

odd...

 

[VRG Scotty]

Yeah, I know, was just a general shout out.

Oh well send me some gold anyways..I could do with a nice upgrade

 

[VRG Scotty]

Which ya gotta admit is kindda a weird move for hardware manufacturers. I
mean is Vista that much easier to make drivers for that they can't just
shoot out a couple XP drivers at the same time?

Well it would be weird if any manufacturer has actually done it, AFAIK there
isn't any hardware that will only work on Vista and not XP because of
drivers

 

[Andy [YaYa]]

Well it would be weird if any manufacturer has actually done it, AFAIK
there isn't any hardware that will only work on Vista and not XP because
of drivers

At the Best Buy that I hang out at on my weekends I find notebook audio
drivers, specficially intel chipset notebooks are lacking in XP drivers, and
the sound card simply does not work in XP. Don't know if that has changed,
we don't get nearly as many people as we used to who want to downgrade, and
most of the guys (and 2 gals) "dread" doing it.

I mean we have to charge $99 for a copy of XP Home, and $129 for OS service.
So it's kindda expensive. Fortunatly most BBFB (Best Buy for Business) can
order XP notebooks from Lenovo or Dell, so we just suggest that as a cheaper
and less of a hassle alternative.