Vista - Question about Vista +64 +nVidia

Hi everyone,

I have a rather simple question. In the near future I am planning on
creating a new gaming machine, that will feature amd64 processors. I
was wondering how is Vista's current support for 64-bit and is it a
better idea to stick with windows xp 64-bit edition.

Another question is the current support of nVidia cards.

Windows Vista x64 driver support is much improved over Windows XP x64
Edition. Windows XP x64 Edition support is optional for a lot of vendors,
but the Windows Vista logo programs mandate Windows Vista x64 support.

--
Chuck Walbourn
SDE, XNA Developer Connection

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

"inputOutput" <input.output@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1182371370.724593.246290@u2g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I have a rather simple question. In the near future I am planning on
> creating a new gaming machine, that will feature amd64 processors. I
> was wondering how is Vista's current support for 64-bit and is it a
> better idea to stick with windows xp 64-bit edition.
>
> Another question is the current support of nVidia cards.

Right we have seen a lot of games that simply will not play/install under
Vista 64 bit, however these games will play using Vista 32 bit, the
developers of the games aren't bothering with
compatibility at the mo too much which is a shame. I personally would build
the gaming machine and install Vista 32 bit and then upgrade to Vista 64 bit
when it is fully compatible.
--
VRG Scotty©

www.vistareadygames.com

"VRG Scotty©" <scotty@scottyk1.com> wrote in message
news:uqH$u93sHHA.2444@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>
> "inputOutput" <input.output@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1182371370.724593.246290@u2g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I have a rather simple question. In the near future I am planning on
>> creating a new gaming machine, that will feature amd64 processors. I
>> was wondering how is Vista's current support for 64-bit and is it a
>> better idea to stick with windows xp 64-bit edition.
>>
>> Another question is the current support of nVidia cards.
>
> Right we have seen a lot of games that simply will not play/install under
> Vista 64 bit, however these games will play using Vista 32 bit, the
> developers of the games aren't bothering with
> compatibility at the mo too much which is a shame. I personally would
> build the gaming machine and install Vista 32 bit and then upgrade to
> Vista 64 bit when it is fully compatible.
> --
> VRG Scotty©
>
> www.vistareadygames.com

Just an Echo,

I agree with Scotty, skip 64-bit and run the 32-bit version of either XP or
Vista, your choice. XP has fewer issues with games, but won't play DirectX
10 games like... well Halo 2 and Shadowrun. (whup). Vista obivously has
issues given the activity in this forum that XP does not.

AMDs run fine in 32-bit mode, if you really want to give 64-bit a try, go
for it, or do the dual boot thing, one 64-bit install and one 32-bit
install.

Good luck.
-A

"Andy" <android8675@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:u99hhs4sHHA.4916@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl:

> XP has fewer issues with games, but won't
> play DirectX 10 games like... well Halo 2 and Shadowrun.

Neither of those games use DirectX 10. The only reason they don't run on
XP is because MS doesn't want them to.

Thought there was one that did...

Well there's FSX, at least I think the patch adds DirectX 10 support, well
at any rate I was going to pick up one for the blu-ray playback assuming I
can pick up a drive for cheap.

"Nonymous" <nospam@bucket.of.bits.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9955BE5695743nonymous666@216.196.97.131...
> "Andy" <android8675@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:u99hhs4sHHA.4916@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl:
>
>> XP has fewer issues with games, but won't
>> play DirectX 10 games like... well Halo 2 and Shadowrun.
>
> Neither of those games use DirectX 10. The only reason they don't run on
> XP is because MS doesn't want them to.

FSX doesn't have the DX10 patch yet. There are a few games: Company of
Heroes, Call of Juarez.... A limited amount right now.

If you want Vista, go with 32 Bit for right now. You're not going to see
much performance benefit right now with 64 Bit. I'm running it with no
issues, but I haven't really installed a lot of games.

As for Vista vs XP. Vista 64 bit is more supported that XP 64 bit. XP
supports more games at the moment, and is a little faster. DX10 gaming is
only reserved for Vista. If you plan on truely unleashing a new NVIDIA or
ATI card, your option is Vista.


--
Dustin Harper
dharper@vistarip.com
http://www.vistarip.com

--
"Andy" <android8675@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:88146CE2-B25D-4AA2-831C-224F8D9CEF49@microsoft.com...
> Thought there was one that did...
>
> Well there's FSX, at least I think the patch adds DirectX 10 support, well
> at any rate I was going to pick up one for the blu-ray playback assuming I
> can pick up a drive for cheap.
>
> "Nonymous" <nospam@bucket.of.bits.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns9955BE5695743nonymous666@216.196.97.131...
>> "Andy" <android8675@hotmail.com> wrote in
>> news:u99hhs4sHHA.4916@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl:
>>
>>> XP has fewer issues with games, but won't
>>> play DirectX 10 games like... well Halo 2 and Shadowrun.
>>
>> Neither of those games use DirectX 10. The only reason they don't run on
>> XP is because MS doesn't want them to.
>

I personally would say stick with XP32 for another year or so. So far all
the DX10 talk seems to be more on the hype side than on the reality side.
Not that DX10 won't be the next great thing, but it seems it will be a
little longer than what some expected to be the next best thing. Plus with
all this DX 10.1 talk, I'm a little nervous about making the plunge on a
DX10 card. Maybe Chuck will give us a hint as to when we might see DX10.1 on
the street.

Here's an interesting article about DX10 games at the moment
http://www.twitchguru.com/2007/06/20/dissecting_dx10/

In regards to your question directly, nVdia support is alot better than 5
months ago, but it sounds like it might still be another month or two away
from being near XP's level. Since they are release 64bit drivers along side
the 32bit, I'd say the support is close to even.

So far, ever game I've tried to install under Vista64 as worked, to include
older ones like Quake2 and Warcraft 3. I have some other games like Blood,
Shadow Warrior and the likes, that I keep meaning to try.

Just a side thoughts, I have a AMD64 cpu as well, but if you're building a
new mid to high end system, I think you should be giving the Intel Core 2
Duo an eye, On July 22nd, they are cutting the price of their quad Core by
50%, which would have it priced around $230-250. All the Core 2 Duo Cpus are
64bit enabled as well. That or at least wait for the new AMD phenoms to come
out.

But if you're going make the 64bit plunge, I'd would go Vista64 or Xp64.


"inputOutput" <input.output@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1182371370.724593.246290@u2g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I have a rather simple question. In the near future I am planning on
> creating a new gaming machine, that will feature amd64 processors. I
> was wondering how is Vista's current support for 64-bit and is it a
> better idea to stick with windows xp 64-bit edition.
>
> Another question is the current support of nVidia cards.
>

Thanks for all your help guys. It made me understand the support for
things a lot better.

I'm going to wait a couple months now for these new processors and for
intel to lower their prices. I'm also going to consider the dual-
booting thing, since it wouldn't hurt to try.

32-bit applications should work under 64-bit. Your main issue is going to be
whether or not drivers are available for your hardware. Also, support for
64-bit gaming appear quickly as 32-bit is maxed at 4GB and we tech heads are
already there. The laptop I'm writing this on is running Vista Ultimate with
2GB of memory. In fact if you install 4GB in a machine with 32-bit Vista, it
will only recognize 3GB or less.