Reformating...which os for gaming

Here is the situation...I havn't used my computer in a bit and I have noticed it's running like doo doo....so I have decided to reformat and start from scratch...I am also probably going to buy a 8800gt or gts depending which I find a better deal on in the classifieds....

So my question...with my current system....4gigs of ram and a cor2duo...should I go...Vista x64 or Vista x32 bit....I have always hated that I can't utilize the 4 gigs of ram on my system so I really want that...I also want to experience direct x10 and I really think with 4 gigs the memory hoggishness of vista wont be a factor....

so whats the rub...last time I used Vista x64 it STUNK BAD...errors and drivers issues...and lack of support etc etc etc....forcing me to stick with XP...

also, WHY DOESN'T using x64 HELP performance over x32!? it makes no sense to me...why are companies even making x64 procs if x32 has better performance...anywho.....

From what I am hearing....games really aren't even using dx10 and since service pack 3 on Xp Xp is smoking Vista in everyway....

let me know...I know this is the gagillionth thread on this same subject...but, for my specific situation of having 4 gigs...is x64 worth it?

thanks

Unless you have programs that will take advantage of the 64bit architecture it doesnt help you that much with gaming. Still too many driver issues as well IMO...

I'm using XP-64 and I love it...
No issues with any drivers, all my apps work great, all my peripherals work great, and all my games play great.......and I can use the 4Gb of ram I have.....its a win win for me..


I had Vista a while back and had a lot of problems...they are probably fixed by now, but I have no need to install it again as my rig works like I need it too...maybe down the road Ill give it another shot.

crosshairs said:

I'm using XP-64 and I love it...
No issues with any drivers, all my apps work great, all my peripherals work great, and all my games play great.......and I can use the 4Gb of ram I have.....its a win win for me..


I had Vista a while back and had a lot of problems...they are probably fixed by now, but I have no need to install it again as my rig works like I need it too...maybe down the road Ill give it another shot.

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The problem is, stuff that's x86 will install as x86, and will face the same limitations that conventional programs do under 32-bit versions of XP and Vista. (4GB total address space with only 3GB available for userland processes.) Although conceivably you can run two big x86 apps at once, which is nice.

If you are going to use Vista then use 64-bit

Dermen said:

If you are going to use Vista then use 64-bit

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+1

With a 64-bit machine and 4gb of ram, there's no reason IMO to even consider Vista 32-bit. I believe your choice should be either Vista 64-bit or sticking with XP.

Dermen said:

If you are going to use Vista then use 64-bit

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Provided that you (1) have signed drivers and (2) don't use vmware (for the same reason as (1)).

OK....so...just curious....would I be able to use DirectX 10 on XP with some sort of crack or no?

treepop said:

OK....so...just curious....would I be able to use DirectX 10 on XP with some sort of crack or no?

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We don't talk specifically about that here. You'll have to find somewhere else to talk about that.

Although if memory serves, they did significant changes to the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) between XP and Vista, and DirectX 10 depends on the Vista WDDM. Technically I suppose implementing WDDM for Windows XP is feasible, then moving over the DX10 libs and such to XP...but by the time you go to all that effort, you might as well just deal with Vista and its shortcomings.

(This is the price of closed-source.)

I wonder when the perks of DX10 are going to make up for the shortcomings of Vista...




.

Captain Newbie said:

Provided that you (1) have signed drivers and (2) don't use vmware (for the same reason as (1)).

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Only time I have ran into drivers not working was CoreTemp and ATI Tool. CoreTemp now works fine, but ATI Tool still doesn't work for overclocking (you can still test for artifacts though). Also, I use VMWare in Vista x64 without any problems.

The short and sweet of the story, Is that if your wondering which OS to go with.
As long as you have 4 gigs of ram, Take Vista 64 and my suggestion would be the business OEM version, its like 139.00 on newegg with SP1 on disk.
I have ran XP for the longest but i chose to move on to vista and i am a gamer only, I went with what was suggested above and am very happy with it, I did Format my HD and do a clean install, than again, I never have a ton of crap on my 1 HD, just few games and that's about it, It never hurts to move on from XP, but at least get the 64 bit version, I have had no problems with anything that i have used as of yet on vista.

Dermen said:

Only time I have ran into drivers not working was CoreTemp and ATI Tool. CoreTemp now works fine, but ATI Tool still doesn't work for overclocking (you can still test for artifacts though). Also, I use VMWare in Vista x64 without any problems.

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Must be Workstation - I'm a cheap (kind of broke ) guy at the moment. And I don't know if my Department has any reduced-cost licenses for VMW.