which operating system ?

[chaotic_russ]

which operating system should i go with ? , i have just changed my mobo and i now need to get a new o/s (bloody oem rubbish). i mainly play games on this rig , so which would be best and last the longest before i have to change ?

[redddraggon]

XP might give you the best performance at the moment, but eventually you might have to upgrade to Vista.

You could buy Vista and do a slightly immoral thing and reactivate your copy of XP for the new mobo and dual boot them.

Your system seems quite similar to mine and I haven't noticed much decrease of performance from XP to Vista, so I'd go for Vista personally.

[frazered]

which operating system should i go with ? , i have just changed my mobo and i now need to get a new o/s (bloody oem rubbish). i mainly play games on this rig , so which would be best and last the longest before i have to change ?

was the mobo faulty and required you to change it?

if so you could ring ms and tell them that, they will reactivate your old os

[chaotic_russ]

that is not what they said last time it happened , they said if the mobo is changed then a new copy of windows will have to be purchased

[redddraggon]

that is not what they said last time it happened , they said if the mobo is changed then a new copy of windows will have to be purchased

That's what they say, but if you ring up and go through the automated activation process on the phone it will reactivate.

[directhex]

windows OEM licenses are keyed to a single motherboard - except in the case of "direct replacements" for failed hardware. sometimes direct doesn't mean the same as identical (e.g. if the board you had is discontinued), but don't take the piss (a core 2 rig is not a direct replacement for a socket 754 board)

[Splash]

If the mobo is a warranty replacement or similar (ie a like-for-like) motherboard then yes, under the OEM agreement you are entitled to reactivate. If you are upgrading (perhaps a s754 board to a 775 board) then you'd be in breach of the OEM license. At the end of the day you're at the mercy of the person at the other end of the phone if automatic activation fails.

EDIT - pipped to the post there by Directhex