Gaming Upgrading to Vista?

[Jiggah]

Normally I'd be inclined to agree with you, but this is microsoft we're talking about.

I have Vista x64 installed myself. The advantage of running the 64bit version of Vista isn't just getting over the 4gb limit of ram.

Supposedly the 64bit version is more stable and with some added security that isn't in the 32bit version. Signed drivers come to mind for instance. While you can install unsigned drivers in the 32bit version, the 64 bit version refuses to install them as it could compromise stability.
Of course there is the matter of whether your hardware even has 64bit drivers, though if it's a modern pc there should be. Microsoft now require all hardware vendors to make both 32bit and 64bit drivers to get WHQL certification.

For security reason, 64-bit is much better. However, the ability to use drivers that aren't signed is a huge plus. Namely for devices that are so out of date that you'd end up using the XP drivers instead, which many work just fine.

QUOTE(Jiggah @ Sep 27 2008, 07:40 PM) Vista is slow if you have a computer that still running a pentium 3 and 128 mb of ram.

lol the comp won't even accept the disc.

@op: how bout this? u post us the specs, and tell u if it can handle vista decently. dunno y i didn't think of that earlier.

EDIT: 2gigs of ram? son don't even think about gaming (unless u turn like everything off before u do. and i mean everything)

Oh...bull. I game with 2 gigs just fine. I don't know, maybe Vista just hates you?

wat kind of games r u playing? and yeah i no ram isn't the only factor.

Let's see, the most intensive ones:

Bioshock
Half-Life 2
Oblivion

At this point though, I'm getting sick of gaming in general especially computer gaming.

 

[Jiggah]

Do a clean install on a new partition. Do a dual boot.

 

[Elritha]

A clean install may sound like a pain, but if you are serious about installing Vista I highly recommend you to do it. Just backup any important files to another partition, flash drive, etc, before you do it, then just format your c drive and do a clean install.

Windows XP has a habit of keeping onto older drivers and system files that could cause a conflict down the line, which could lead to your computer becoming unstable, or just plain slow.

 

[da_head]

Let's see, the most intensive ones:

Bioshock
Half-Life 2
Oblivion

u should rly stop double posting...

but wow rly!?! u must have a rly good graphic card and/or cpu. u have aero on while ur gaming?

 

[War]

Yeah, MapleStory. I play private servers every now and then. I would do a lot more computer gaming, but my grpahics card is just plain horrible... so no gaming for me. Anyway... I guess I'll think about doing a clean install. What should I save though? Just my programs? I've never done a clean install before...

EDIT: Jiggah, how do I do a clean install on a new partition/dual boot? This is all Greek to me.

 

[Jiggah]

Let's see, the most intensive ones:

Bioshock
Half-Life 2
Oblivion

u should rly stop double posting...

but wow rly!?! u must have a rly good graphic card and/or cpu. u have aero on while ur gaming?

Can't because of the stupid quote limit.

No, actually at this point my system would be probably considered on the low-mid end, probably closer to the mid end though. With Aero on 32-bit Vista Home Premium.

A8N-SLI Deluxe
AMD64 x2 4400+
2 gb OCZ RAM
Creative Audigy 2 Gamer
Sony DRU-720A - firmware upgraded to 800A
2 HDD - a 78 gb SATA and a 120 PATA, had 2 more but they started dying out.
ATI 650

War - http://apcmag.com/how_to_dualboot_vista_wi...screenshots.htm

 

[War]

So wait... I'm confused. Does this mean I can install a clean Vista on my external hard drive and still keep XP?

This tutorial is for dual booting them on the same drive (C:?) How do i do it with my external hard drive?

 

[Jiggah]

No, you want to clean install Vista on your current hard drive. What you're doing is installing it side-by-side with XP. Vista's installation will be clean because it won't have any files from your XP install, but you'll be able to access your XP drive for files (not programs, which will need to be reinstalled within Vista).

Unless you're running your external through eSATA (if it's connected through USB), don't bother installing to the external.

 

[War]

Yes, my external is connected through USB.

Ok, so let me see if I understood... if I use this method, this will take an amount of memory (lets say 15Gbs) and "set it aside" Then I install vista in that "set aside" memory, and every time I turn on my computer, I can select wether I want to boot into XP or Vista. If I boot into Vista, I will only have the predetermined amount of space in it. (In this care, 15Gbs) So in those 15Gbs, I'd have to reinstall all my programs. Does that sound right?

If I got all the above right, then I would REALLY like to do all this in my external hard drive. That would be awesome, because that way, I could dual boot any computer by just plugging in and installing my EHD to it, right? Also, my computer came with BARELY any memory. My C: drive has a total of like 54Gbs. And I have about 29Gbs left. If I could do this dual boot business in my EHD, I could set much more space towards my Vista drive. My EHD is 250Gbs, and I have over 150Gb left.

 

[Jiggah]

The USB is too slow. I don't think you can even install it on an external USB, as the installer won't be able to find it, which is why my recommendation is to move files over to the external hard drive to clear some room for Vista.

 

[War]

Ah... I see. That's a shame :\ Well, let's see... Ah, I don't know what to do. How much space should I leave for Vista? Cause it's down to this: Do I want...

-A cramped dual-boot
-A single boot with a good amount of space.

Right now, I have 29Gbs of psace in my C: drive, and 18Gbs in my D: drive. Should I dual boot to the C drive? If so, how much space should I leave for Vista? Or should I just dual boot in the D: drive and keep the entire C: drive for XP? (Im guessing this would probably be the better option of the two...)

Or maybe I should just go ahead and do a clean install (single boot). I'm looking through my C: drive, and I really don't have THAT much stuff... not much at all. All my programs could be easily redownloaded. I'm just kinda scared that Vsta will suck for me, and I'll be stuck with it...

 

[Elritha]

Disk space from your hard drive is not memory either. Normally memory is referred to as ram.

If I got all the above right, then I would REALLY like to do all this in my external hard drive. That would be awesome, because that way, I could dual boot any computer by just plugging in and installing my EHD to it, right?

Not exactly... Windows is very picky about what hardware it's installed to. If you simply took the hard drive out of your computer and installed it into another with completly different hardware, chances are that windows will be screwed up. Also your main bootable drive will need a boot loader installed on it to choose between dual booting. So simply taking your external drive with windows installed on it and plugging it into another computer won't work.

External drive is pretty slow. I'd recommend using that for storing large files, while using your internal for your actual OS or multiple OSes.

 

[War]

Can someone please answer my questions at the top of the page? Also, I just realized that for the 64bit Vista, its a whole different DVD... so which should I get? Also, which version of Vista is the best? Because there's Home, Ultimate, etc.

 

[Jiggah]

A typical Vista installation takes up about 10 gigs. All 32-bit Vista DVDs have all versions of 32-bit Vista on it, the version is only determined by the key when you enter it, it should be the same with 64-bit Vista.

Since you're getting it "free." Go with 32-bit Ultimate. If it's an actual purchase then I'd say go with Home Premium.

I'm confused on your setup. You state that you have a C drive and a D drive. Is the D drive your external or is it a partition of the C drive? Is it a restore partition? In which case I wouldn't delete it, or at the very make a backup to create a restore DVD.

 

[War]

Yeah, my computer came with 2 drives. one is C:, which has the 29Gbs left over, and one is D:, which was labeled BACKUP. It has no files in it whatsoever, and it's 18Gbs or so. I don't use it at all. Then I have my external HD, which is H:, and that one has like 150Gbs left. However, it's connected through USB, so you guys said I shouldn't do it.

The only thing I found on a torrent site was Vista 64bit all versions, so i guess I'll have to install 64bit... I thought that it would be kind of like XP, where if you go into your desktop properties, there's a tab where you can switch to 16bit, 32bit, 64bit, etc. But I guess not?

Should I run that vLite program on the iso file I got? The iso I downloaded is like...almost 4gbs...

And one last thing (sorry, so many questions @_@

you said I need at least 10Gbs for Vista... well, I'm gonna be installing programs like NOD32, Photoshop, etc, so I'll probably need more than that. What would be a reasonable amount?

 

[Trolly]

Yeah, downloaded it, burnt it, worked absolutely 100% fine. Got 64-bit ultimate as well.
Then again, I haven't used it since, because there's no Vista driver for my Wi-Fi stick. Kinda useless if I can't even connect up to the internet.

And I would leave about 15GB for the installation plus the drivers and stuff like that. So just install it onto your D: drive in that case.

 

[War]

I just found the 32 bit version, so I'm downloading that as well. If I install the 64bit version and I don't have 4Gbs of RAM, what will happen? Will my computer crash or become really slow?

Also about the D: drive, you say leave 15Gbs... well, the D: drive is only 18Gbs, so does that mean I'd only have 3 Gb's left for programs and applications? (Such as NOD32, Photoshop, WinZip, etc etc)

 

[playallday]

If I install the 64bit version and I don't have 4Gbs of RAM, what will happen? Will my computer crash or become really slow?

No, I have a computer running the 64 bit version and it only has 2GB of ram and it works nice and fast.

 

[War]

Ok then, I guess I'll just install 64bit. Btw, how much nicer do images look in 64bit?

Okay, so the last questions I need are:
-How much space should I leave for Vista? I hear everyone saying 10-15 Gbs, but I don't think that's including space for programs such as WinZip, Photoshop, etc.
-Should I run vLite before installing?

I think that's it.

EDIT: vLite is making me install some 2Gb iso thing that I apparently don't have installed...should I go through with it?
EDIT2: Finished downloading the thing, and it's called Windows AIK...dunno if to install or not.

Ok, I need help again... I try to run the Vista installer, and I get this:

Setup can not run on this version of the Operating System. To install Windows please try booting from the install media.

What do I do?