[jimrh69]

I was wondering how many here are going to upgrade to windows Vista tomorrow.....does this new system worry you about gaming?

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

The chief worry here is hardware drivers. The OS itself poses no problems over XP as far as the gaming compatibility goes, but if your video card manufacturer didn't play ball with MS over the past couple of years, then it could have drivers problems.

If you get Vista (for other reasons beyond the scope of this AG forum) and can't play the AG you have installed, go up to the video card manufacturer's site and look for updated drivers.

I had a problem with a Toshiba laptop at work that didn't get resolved until this month, but I don't game with that machine.

The machine I game on at home has a Vista certified video card (I bought it only months ago and made sure it was certified).

Do you use any other specialized hardware with your gaming? (External controllers, etc.)

Btw: it should be noted that when drivers don't work with newer and better OS's, it's because the OS got more secure and closed holes, or removed undocumented routines that driver developers were relying upon (read: lazy driver developers).

That said, I personally am in no hurry to upgrade.

Speck

[Molgera]

Not to buy... already got Vista Business for free. There are definitely some driver and software issues still, so I'm going to keep it updated on my second hard drive until it's acceptable before replacing XP.

[Havrepus]

I am not going to upgrade to Vista now. Why? Exactly. Why should I? Windows XP runs just fine on my computer, and is going to continue to do so in the foreseeable future. I simply don't see any reasons to change something that works just fine. If and when I buy a completely new computer in a year or so, then I'll think about it.

[Tyrant]

The right question is: To download or not to download?

OR.. to install or NOT to install?

It's always unwise to run a completly new OS. The same recommendation goes now as for win98 vs win95. Wait at least one year before using the new operating system, else there are going to be certain issues you run into - especially in the area of drivers and finding new version of your good old software. Just the fact that Microsoft has already scheduled their first service pack for Vista proves that there are bugs they know they have to fix pretty soon.

Anyway. Vista looks more like mac than any other Windows version released so far. If one want to get Vista, then get a mac instead! now you can even get an intel based mac. Also, for Vista and gaming. Vista demands a lot more of the computer than XP or any other previous Windows operating system does. It's a known fact that games are one of those programs that needs the most resources. The chances for problems with slow running games are much greater than with any other previous operating system from microsoft. Also, it's a known fact that both users of 2000 and XP had problems with that their hardware were too slow the first year. Many even upgraded to get their PC running fast enough. No, it's better to stick with XP until Vista is proven stable(like any operating system from microsoft can be stable), and if one wants a gaming PC, then run a light os instead. The games needs all the power they can get.

[samIamsad]

I'm sure all of us Windows users will have it running eventually, but for now give me a good reason to and I'll consider it. It's hardly the step ahead (far from it) that was made by going from Win95/98/ME to XP. DirectX10 compatibility doesn't cut it just yet. People are working on implementing DIrectX10 into WindowsXP already, something Microsoft won't do for obvious reasons. And the new shiny look only eats up precious memory.

[Periglo]

Originally Posted by marsan

Anyway. Vista looks more like mac than any other Windows version released so far. If one want to get Vista, then get a mac instead!

If you want a fancy looking environment to impress your friends, try linux with the compiz window manager. OpenSUSE 10.2 makes the installation quite easy. I know, not a great advice as far as games are concerned (there was a thread about linux-based games recently), but at least you don't need to buy new hardware. Plus, it's free. I use that for work, XP for playing.

BTW: shouldn't this thread be somewhere else? It applies to gaming in general, not AGs...

[Keregioz]

Isn't there a thread here titled "Games that won't run on XP" ? I'm guessing pretty soon there will be a new thread named "Games that won't run on Vista"

[MoriartyL]

I don't have a fast enough PC to play the most recent games, so it doesn't affect me that MS is tying DX10 to Vista. I use StyleXP to access XP's built-in skin functionality, so it doesn't affect me that MS locked that off deliberately to get people to buy their latest coat of paint. I use almost only open-source or freeware programs (Firefox/Thunderbird, OpenOffice, VLC Media Player, etc.), so it won't affect me when MS ties all their upcoming software to Vista. I've got Google Desktop, so I don't need MS's desktop search or their sidebar. I've completely eliminated the Start Menu and replaced the Windows Explorer with an alternative program so that I shouldn't have to deal with MS's clumsy and slow interfaces, so I don't think I need their latest try.

No, I'm not upgrading.

[bysmitty]

The tech nerd in me is eager to try it out and explore the new OS but logically speaking, there just isn't much reason to jump on it yet. I agree with Sam, it isn't as much of a question of 'if' but 'when'. In time the added features and functionality will show through but right now, it's more of XP 1.5 with added driver hassles.

...bysmitty

Originally Posted by MoriartyL

I've completely eliminated the Start Menu and replaced the Windows Explorer with an alternative program so that I shouldn't have to deal with MS's clumsy and slow interfaces, so I don't think I need their latest try.

No, I'm not upgrading.

Ooooh. Which program is that? I want, I want!

Quote from bysmitty:
The tech nerd in me is eager to try it out and explore the new OS but logically speaking, there just isn't much reason to jump on it yet. I agree with Sam, it isn't as much of a question of 'if' but 'when'. In time the added features and functionality will show through but right now, it's more of XP 1.5 with added driver hassles.

...bysmitty
End of quote

True, unless we only play old games. It's also always an interesting question how long people are going to keep developing games for the old OS(XP) before just making games for the new OS(Vista). Win98 was supported by a lot of games until just recently. It's only recently that I am starting to see "XP only" games. But yeah, it's always a question of which games you play which OS you can use. After all, there are still people who use 98 and still love games. But they won't be playing the hottest games like Oblivion on it.

Another question is emulators for other operating systems. With qemu I am able to play all the 98/95/dos games that neither dosbox nor XP will chew. Qemu emulates a pretty good graphics card as well, so most games except those based on heavy 3D graphics works there. Beside that, Cedega is starting to make it possible to play more and more windows games on linux. WINE helps as well, even though that's kind of two sides of the same thing. There's a chance that it will be possible to play quite many windows games on mac and linux before the next operating system from microsoft is released. But I won't sit around and wait for it, so I'll probably just install Vista when I see I must have it to play most games(hopefully it will take at least 2-3 years). But like you said, no point in jumping at it.

[RLacey]

I will probably be upgrading shortly, if only because I've been forced to buy a new PC this week, and so I'll be entitled to a free* copy.

* Plus large P&P fees, most likely.

[MdaG]

When I get a new computer I'll get it. I will not replace XP on my current computer since it's working just fine.

[Dasilva]

When I buy a PC next year it will probably be one with Vista incluided.

[SoccerDude28]

Not to buy. It doesn't bring anything new to the table, and in my opinion, it will take another couple of years with a bunch of service packs to be secure just like every other Microsoft OS before it. Direct X 10 is an API and there is no reason why it shouldn't run in XP, except that Microsoft wants to "force" us to buy their OS.

[MoriartyL]

Originally Posted by marsan

Ooooh. Which program is that? I want, I want!

The reason I didn't mention the name is that I'm not completely satisfied with the program, though it is much much more muchly more usable than Windows Explorer. Specifically, it's called Directory Opus. I bought it because I really liked its renaming features (which have proven extremely useful), but I can't guarantee that it's the best one out there.

[Giligan]

Someone I know will be replacing their 5-year old computer with a new Vista-equipped PC fairly soon. I would be a little leery of anything that new, but I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

I suppose it would be rather naive to assume that anything in the works for 5 years should be almost bug-free.

[aries323]

I've wondered the same thing about win 98. However, my experince is
the same as others.

It is only in about the last year, I have seen WIN XP only when it comes to the system requirements for games. Some games mentions either win 2000, while a few (such as condemned, I think) already mentions win Vista.

Either way the compatibility mode in WIN XP is quite good, which means that I actually have been able to play most games in XP.

However, I'm not upgrading to Vista (yet), partly because of my money situation right now, partly because the drivers for soundcards and videocards haven't been written yet, and partly because I'm unsure about some one the aspects in Vista, like DRM and such.

[kuze]

Buy Vista? I've got a free copy right here on my desktop (MSDNAA, not pirated) - not that I'm going to install it anytime soon. Why should I? My Mac OS X does its job just fine.

This thread is now about which OS is better.