What operating system should I get?

[Sketchie]

Ye, im sure its all good with the directx version.

Im pretty sure that the only real difference between Directx 10 and Directx 9 is the lighting....with directx 9 the lighting is not as indepth as the directx 10

 

[GN48]

Ye, im sure its all good with the directx version.

Im pretty sure that the only real difference between Directx 10 and Directx 9 is the lighting....with directx 9 the lighting is not as indepth as the directx 10

That's it!??? are you sure? So the graphics don't like you know, look real? Like real real. like in the reality. the grass look like as if it was a perfect image of it's real thing, the sky, people with no blocky hands or crappy graphics of them selves. So games using DirectX10 don't look virtual, right?

Bringing this here up, are there any virtual games out there? you know like your in the game, it's as if you're there and feel what it's like to be there.

 

[compdata]

Oh, yeah! In your face VISTA and 7!

Sorry had to do it, it was the moment!

Hope XP works well for you and that you don't end up needing to get Win7 in the too near future. Again there is really nothing wrong with XP, but support for it will be dropping fast and you will end up needing Win 7 in the next couple years. Not a huge deal as you will likely be able to buy an upgrade or OEM license for $100-150. If you are sticking for familiarity that is one thing, but I personally just don't see the logic of sticking with XP for a few fractions of a percent of performance. You would be better off taking that $100 and putting it into a better video card or an SSD.

 

[GN48]

hmmmm..........

Hope XP works well for you and that you don't end up needing to get Win7 in the too near future.

It has so far..... For like 5 years, no problems yet, maybe a little bit of BSOD there and here but I can handle, I've got my ways. So anyways, I appreciate what your trying to get me to do, but I'll eventually end up there (probably once I have completed in building my own gaming system with XP Pro 64-bit! But then again, that could take a while since barely know much about computer hardware - you which is better or best at this type and such), no biggies!

 

[Archean]

Speaking of XP and x86 ........ I wonder how long it will take for redmond to realise that x86 belonged to a different era .... and that has ended, so it would be better just to kill it and make life much more easier for users by narrowing choices to more logical solution(s).

 

[GN48]

hmmmm

Speaking of XP and x86 ........ I wonder how long it will take for redmond to realise that x86 belonged to a different era .... and that has ended, so it would be better just to kill it and make life much more easier for users by narrowing choices to more logical solution(s).

True, but it hasn't ended yet......

 

[compdata]

Just found a good review comparing DX9 performance in games between XP,Vista,Win7 so i thought i would post back here.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/windows_7_gaming/page12.asp

Here are the conclusions:

"While there were a couple of cases where WinXP outran Windows 7 and Vista, for the most part Windows 7 wins more than it loses, especially when you factor in multi-GPU technologies like SLI and CrossFire. In fact, if you’re a Windows XP gamer with SLI or CrossFire, I’d definitely urge you to upgrade to Windows 7 as soon as possible.
"

Win XP 64 bit lost in every single one of the tests so I would very much encourage anyone comparing these to discount XP 64 bit and go for Win 7 64bit if you have 4Gb+ of RAM. XP 32 bit was pretty close to Win 7, but for mult gpu and for DX 10+ which was not compared you need to get Win 7 anyway.

 

[Archean]

True, but it hasn't ended yet......

I guess it has, but it will take bit longer for many users to realize that the train has left the station and it can't be stopped anymore. One major reason is this, which is instilled in our nature i.e. resist to change or perhaps fear of it.

 

[yangly18]

You know what? I like performance than looks, I don't really mind 7 but 7 just isn't my type, not yet. Okay, I'll admit it, I do like the looks but I don't really feel the touch for the Windows Aero theme in 7 though, sucks up more than what you bargained for, hey I got my own experiences with VISTA okay?

Funny thing about them computers-----you can change the THEME -.-

so, I wouldn't exactly say that's a reason not to get win 7

 

[compdata]

I guess it has, but it will take bit longer for many users to realize that the train has left the station and it can't be stopped anymore. One major reason is this, which is instilled in our nature i.e. resist to change or perhaps fear of it.

Definitely agree, I know i have that tendency and so I force myself to at least give each new OS/software release a shot as there usually are many improvements with them. I try to observe and figure out what I think is an improvement or what i don't like as much, then give it some more time to settle in and then decide how to change the theme/settings accordingly.

Win7 is definitely an improvement in my book and has fixed a lot of the issues in XP and Vista. Yes you have to understand some of the changes (like the Memory Caching) for them to make sense, but on the whole I would recommend anyone who is making/buying a new system to go with Win 7 at this point.

 

[Archean]

Exactly; and I will add one more thing to this argument i.e. I really hope that MS will kill all x86 versions of windows after windows 7 as in my view there is no more need to have them around (only exception atm I can think of is netbooks)

 

[compdata]

Funny thing about them computers-----you can change the THEME -.-

so, I wouldn't exactly say that's a reason not to get win 7

I know i see so many people complaining about how they don't like the new theme/settings (usually they are the more suborn people stuck in their ways ;-) ), and totally miss the fact that you can make it look almost exactly like XP if they want.

 

[BMfan]

He has a machine that could run even vista fine and people are still recommending an outdated OS.

 

[Archean]

7 would be much more logical choice than vista, in my humble opinion; there are several reasons including performance which are in favor of 7.

 

[BMfan]

I know,i just don't understand why people would want to run an outdated OS like XP.

 

[Archean]

I know,i just don't understand why people would want to run an outdated OS like XP.

Yup i know what you mean; difficult to comprehend that fear; or perhaps we are bit more adventurous than others with little to no fear of trying things out just for the sake it.

 

[BMfan]

That sounds about right,been using 7 since last year march\april.

 

[Archean]

Cool; about couple months more for me; and as I said in one of earlier posts somewhere; I never had any problems with either vista/7 ...... call it luck or may be because I tend not to overclock my PCs hence I run into lot less hardware related issues/failures. Infact since 1991; luckily only one HDD, and one motherboard (during P3 days) has died on me

 

[BMfan]

The only problem i have had with any OS,is that i try different tweaks.
So the problem is me,now how do i get rid of the problem?:haha:

 

[GN48]

I know i see so many people complaining about how they don't like the new theme/settings (usually they are the more suborn people stuck in their ways ;-) ), and totally miss the fact that you can make it look almost exactly like XP if they want.

Would the different themes effect computer performance, in 7?

Or would they all be the same?

thanks

 

[Archean]

If you are using themes from MS i see no issues with performance; however if you are using some 3rd party solutions like windowblinds etc. you better be prepared to make sacrifices with regard to performance.

 

[compdata]

Changing to a Classic theme (without the Areo effects) will reduce memory and processor utilization slightly and could be beneficial particularly if you have an older video card. It won't change any of the underlying system or driver performance though. Gaming performance shown in the review link that i sent really shouldn't change much at all.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/windows_7_gaming/page12.asp

Ultimately whether you notice a difference or not is going to be based on your system specs, and what you are using it for. But it certainly won't hurt performance. You can turn down some of the visual settings in XP as well, but i never bothered and won't bother on Win 7 either as i don't find it makes an appreciable difference.

 

[Archean]

Even if it did i'm guessing it would be something like 1-2% range ... what's your opinion in this regard comp?

 

[compdata]

It is really going to depend on your GPU, and exactly what settings you pick, I have seen some conflicting reports that disabling Areo can actually decrease system performance slightly as it may decrease the overall resource usage and computation, but that it shifts more to the CPU rather then the GPU. I couldn't find hard data on the topic, but from the way windows ships their systems (without Areo enabled for the basic editions) i would think otherwise. Generally though i would agree with the 1-2% max performance difference - and only when you are moving a lot of windows around or something. There are much better ways to get 1-2% performance anyway, and worrying about windows theme settings is being penny wise, but pound foolish. Unless you have a very very good reason why it is an issue, i wouldn't bother messing with them.

 

[compdata]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&docname=c00815926

has good general recommendations for improving system performance (technically vista, but applies to win7 as well). Included in this list are not using the sidebar, setting visual effects to best performance vs best appearance, and disabling Areo.

Note that Areo and/or visual performance settings won't make a bit of difference in gaming as they are all disabled (caveat - they may reduce RAM usage slightly, but if you are running out or RAM while gaming you have other issues).