Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Best operating system for gaming

  1. #1
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    19
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Best operating system for gaming

    Apologies if this has been mentioned before (I did search and I was surprised I didn't find anything). Anyway, the question is what operating system do people consider best for gaming? Should I be sticking with the old school XP 32-bit with 3GB RAM or going for 64-bit Vista with 8GB RAM? BTW - this is for a new rig some HW specs are yet to be decided although I am looking at something like 4GB. QuadCore, HD 4850 512MB.

    I am in a fortune position to have a MSDN license so potentially any version of Windows is available to me!

    Thanks for your opinions, they will be gratefully received.

  2. #2
    Lovely chap dangel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Cambridge, UK
    Posts
    8,398
    Thanks
    412
    Thanked
    459 times in 334 posts
    • dangel's system
      • Motherboard:
      • See My Sig
      • CPU:
      • See My Sig
      • Memory:
      • See My Sig
      • Storage:
      • See My Sig
      • Graphics card(s):
      • See My Sig
      • PSU:
      • See My Sig
      • Case:
      • See My Sig
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • See My Sig
      • Internet:
      • 60mbit Sky LLU

    Re: Best operating system for gaming

    Quad/4GB = a very nice experience on Vista 64

    8GB is overkill though, no single game (yet) has been written to use more than 2GB of RAM (2GB is the limit for a non-large address space aware application which 99% of software is).

    I have 32bit XP installed and Vista x64. I can't remember the last time I booted XP.
    Crosshair VIII Hero (WIFI), 3900x, 32GB DDR4, Many SSDs, EVGA FTW3 3090, Ethoo 719


  3. #3
    Gentoo Ricer
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Galway
    Posts
    11,048
    Thanks
    1,016
    Thanked
    944 times in 704 posts
    • aidanjt's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Strix Z370-G
      • CPU:
      • Intel i7-8700K
      • Memory:
      • 2x8GB Corsiar LPX 3000C15
      • Storage:
      • 500GB Samsung 960 EVO
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0
      • PSU:
      • EVGA G3 750W
      • Case:
      • Fractal Design Define C Mini
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus MG279Q
      • Internet:
      • 240mbps Virgin Cable

    Re: Best operating system for gaming

    Quote Originally Posted by StrictlySocial View Post
    Apologies if this has been mentioned before (I did search and I was surprised I didn't find anything). Anyway, the question is what operating system do people consider best for gaming? Should I be sticking with the old school XP 32-bit with 3GB RAM or going for 64-bit Vista with 8GB RAM? BTW - this is for a new rig some HW specs are yet to be decided although I am looking at something like 4GB. QuadCore, HD 4850 512MB.

    I am in a fortune position to have a MSDN license so potentially any version of Windows is available to me!

    Thanks for your opinions, they will be gratefully received.
    Dual-boot and do both? There's a good few games (usually thanks to DRM-hell) that balk when attempted to run on Vista x64. But for the games that do run well on Vista x64, they're great, and Vista is a lot more sane for most other modern desktop software.
    Quote Originally Posted by Agent View Post
    ...every time Creative bring out a new card range their advertising makes it sound like they have discovered a way to insert a thousand Chuck Norris super dwarfs in your ears...

  4. #4
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    19
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Best operating system for gaming

    Thanks for the help guy's - that's one thing out of the way dangel, thanks for the advice on the RAM - I have been out of the PC building scene for so long I haven't got much of a clue about the HW side.

    Btw, How to I give thanks - normally there is a button on each persons post. I had a look in the welcome section but couldn't see anything there!

  5. #5
    Gentoo Ricer
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Galway
    Posts
    11,048
    Thanks
    1,016
    Thanked
    944 times in 704 posts
    • aidanjt's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Strix Z370-G
      • CPU:
      • Intel i7-8700K
      • Memory:
      • 2x8GB Corsiar LPX 3000C15
      • Storage:
      • 500GB Samsung 960 EVO
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0
      • PSU:
      • EVGA G3 750W
      • Case:
      • Fractal Design Define C Mini
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus MG279Q
      • Internet:
      • 240mbps Virgin Cable

    Re: Best operating system for gaming

    Quote Originally Posted by StrictlySocial View Post
    Btw, How to I give thanks - normally there is a button on each persons post. I had a look in the welcome section but couldn't see anything there!
    I think you need some more posts before you get the 'thanks' button.
    Quote Originally Posted by Agent View Post
    ...every time Creative bring out a new card range their advertising makes it sound like they have discovered a way to insert a thousand Chuck Norris super dwarfs in your ears...

  6. #6
    Senior Member 2Cold Scorpio's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Greenvile, NC, U.S.A.
    Posts
    802
    Thanks
    15
    Thanked
    13 times in 12 posts
    • 2Cold Scorpio's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Abit IP-35 Pro, Sound Card: Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 w/ G0 stepping - stock: 2.66 GHz OC'd to 3.6 GHz 1.48v
      • Memory:
      • 4x1GB Patriot PDC24G6400LLQK Extreme Performance PC2-6400 OC'd to 900MHz 5-5-5-18 timings 2.2v
      • Storage:
      • 2TB Samsung Spinpoint F4 5200rpm (main), 2x 250 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA in RAID 0 (backup)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • eVGA Geforce GTX 460 1GB Superclocked
      • PSU:
      • Antec NeoBlue 650w
      • Case:
      • Raidmax Smilodon Steel ATX
      • Operating System:
      • Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung 226BW 22" LCD Widescreen (S-Panel) @ 1680x1050
      • Internet:
      • 15Mb/s Cable, Optical Drives: 1. Lite-On DVD+-R/+-RW/RAM w/ Lightscribe, 2. LiteOn CD-RW 52/32/52x

    Re: Best operating system for gaming

    With your RAM, I'd recommend Vista 64-bit. I've had no trouble running all the games I've tried so far under Vista 32-bit; some stuff like KotOR can be tricky to get to run, but its usually doable. I've yet to try Jade Empire or Serious Sam on Vista, but I can confirm that Doom 3 works (with its newest patch), F.E.A.R. works (I updated the DX9 runtimes before I tried it; that could make a difference; I've heard it does), and my Windows 95 versions of Ultimate Doom, Doom II, and Final Doom all work fine. Newer games like Call of Duty 4, Crysis, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion work great (so does TESIII: Morrowind).

    One suggestion I'd make is do *not* install your games in Program Files, especially if you like to use mods; UAC will give you hell. Its best to install them elsewhere (I use C:\Games) where UAC isn't set to watch it by default (and its a good idea to not turn off UAC's monitoring of the PF directory, either; its a nifty safety measure. Personally, I say just set UAC into silent mode with something like TweakUAC so you still get the protection without all the admin elevation prompts).

    If you have stuff you can't get to work in Vista, you can dual-boot XP and Vista and use XP for that older stuff that just won't run under Vista. However, I've yet to have to do this.
    Quote Originally Posted by aidanjt View Post
    I think you need some more posts before you get the 'thanks' button.
    I believe this is correct. I think its 5 or 10; might be 20. When it becomes available, it'll appear as a button to the right of Send PM, Quote, Multi-Quote, and Quick Reply in the bottom right-hand corner of the post you're wishing to thank.

  7. #7
    Jay
    Jay is offline
    Gentlemen.. we're history Jay's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Jita
    Posts
    8,365
    Thanks
    304
    Thanked
    568 times in 409 posts

    Re: Best operating system for gaming

    for DX10 = Vista for DX9 = XP
    □ΞVΞ□

  8. #8
    Admin (Ret'd)
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Posts
    18,481
    Thanks
    1,016
    Thanked
    3,208 times in 2,281 posts

    Re: Best operating system for gaming

    Quote Originally Posted by 2Cold Scorpio View Post
    .....

    I believe this is correct. I think its 5 or 10; might be 20. When it becomes available, it'll appear as a button to the right of Send PM, Quote, Multi-Quote, and Quick Reply in the bottom right-hand corner of the post you're wishing to thank.
    25.

    See FAQ for this and other things.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Blue screen on boot up
    By Zyte in forum Help! Quick Relief From Tech Headaches
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 26-05-2007, 12:41 AM
  2. PSP Operating System : Guide
    By Steven W in forum HEXUS News
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-01-2006, 04:38 PM
  3. Replies: 6
    Last Post: 16-12-2005, 11:56 AM
  4. Dual Operating System Setup
    By kinkladze10 in forum Software
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12-05-2005, 07:19 AM
  5. Abit NF7-S revision 2 information
    By Lee H in forum SCAN.care@HEXUS
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 30-10-2004, 07:13 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •