Best operating system for a gaming PC?

[ratkowski7]

Hi

7 PRO

All the best Brett

Brett,

My son wants to build his own gaming computer he is 14. Should I worry how hard is this (doesn't look bad from youtube)?
Thanks

 

[prizedcoffeecup]

I would say win 7, but just curious, why pro?

IT'S PRO DARNIT! Lawl jk
Seriously tho, Windows 7 Pro is the next best thing to Windows 7 Ultimate, from my experience.

 

[jaguarskx]

Hi

7 PRO

All the best Brett

Brett,

My son wants to build his own gaming computer he is 14. Should I worry how hard is this (doesn't look bad from youtube)?
Thanks

Brett has been banned from this forum. You will not receive a reply from him.

Windows 7 Home Premium is fine, there is no need to get Win 7 Pro which is more for an office environment.

Building a PC is fairly easy as long as you do proper research on the parts to make sure they are compatible with each other. This mainly applies to the CPU and the motherboard; both must be of the same socket type. Other than proper instructions on how to install every component, you will need patience and you need to take it slow.

Probably the most frustration will come from inserting the various types of connection from the PC case to the motherboard. If you don't insert the connection for the power button to the motherboard, for example, then the PC will not turn on. Each connection type is labeled, and the motherboard's manual should also label the various pins as well.

 

[guest345]

Hi

7 PRO

All the best Brett

by 7 pro ,
do you mean professional?

 

[ratkowski7]

jaguarskx,

Thanks for the help found someone who will help us put it together who has done it before which makes me feel better!

I also found a site that makes suggestions of what "talks" to each other do you have another suggestion where I can find what pieces work together.

Reading this forum and watching the videos has increased my confidence.

Ratkowski7

 

[jaguarskx]

Good to know that you found someone to help you put it together.

The 1st time I put my own PC together was before Youtube ever existed so I simply read through instructions.

 

[Minecraft59]

7 because 8 eats the cpu and the ram

 

[Oxedom]

Windows 7 ultimate but if you play BF4 and a bit newer games, It's more optimized for Windows 8, Also AMD is more optimized for Windows 8.

 

[Eddie Colter]

7-64, no need for pro.

The 4Gb Ram cap on all 32-bit systems is the reason to get the 64-bit version. in old DDR and DDR2 computers, 4GB may be on the high side, but I almost bought some sticks the other day, they were 16GBs each.


this is for people like me who find this post in modern day. aside from the 4GB 32-bit limit, Win 7 pro has a ram cap of 16GB (yes, the 64-bit version). just something to keep in mind. 32-bit XP would have a cap of 3.25GBs ram and I believe 8 solved the problem, with any 64-bit version allowing 128GBs of ram. 7 Ultimate solves this problem.

***If you believe anything you hear on the internet, without question, you're an idiot****

 

[HEXiT]

nope, its windows 7 premium that has the 16 gig cap pro has a 192gig cap.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778(v=vs.85).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_7

 

[steve32]

just go with windows 7 64 bit, you can aways upgrade when windows 8/8.1 is fully stable and optimised

 

[C3r3alKill3r]

HI BRETT
I AM COMPUTERFURY
A TECH FORUMS EMPLOYEE

I WOULD SUGGEST YOU TO GO FOR WIN 8 IF YOU ARE WILLING
TO PLAY NEW MODERN GAMES.

BUT IF YOU WANT TO PLAY OLD CLASSICS YOU MUST CHOOSE WIN7

ALSO IF YOU CHOOSE WIN7 YOU MUST CHOOSE LOWER ONE LIKE HOME
BASIC TO MAKE SURE YOUR LAPTOP WORKS AT GOOD PACE.

IF YOU CHOOSE WIN8 IMUST WARN YOU, NOT ALL NEW AND OLD GAMES WORK

THANK YOU

By Computer fury.

you sir are in the wrong job as you obviously know very little about what o.s is what. while in theory you are correct in your assumption that new games should work best on a new o.s you couldn't be further off the mark in reality.
as for your assertion that to play classics you need windows 7, thats just laughable. games aren't considered classic until they reach a certain maturity, windows 7 hasnt reached that maturity yet so how can the games that were designed to run on it be classics.
if you had of said xp 32bit then maybe yes. but windows 7?

i think you have been drinking the microsoft cool aid...

oh and spouting about being a tech forum employee means nothing to us. there are 15 year olds that know more than most of the adults that inhabit this site. i have 32 years of gaming under my belt but it doesnt mean i cant learn something form the kids every now and again. but you saying "im a tech forum employee" makes me think your a wanna be, who thinks he already knows it all. when in fact the proof, shows the opposite... so show some humility and STOP SHOUTING!...

Lol, perfectly-stated. Great job!

 

[slimething]

I have BF4 on 4 different systems. In my experience Windows 8.1 runs better than 7, and Vista isn't even in the same ballpark.

For those wanting to find out, download Windows 8.1 Enterprise, dual boot and try it for 3 months (and rearm it twice if desired). At the time of testing, Hardocp compared a 290x and GTX 780 in Win 7/8, and found the 780 actually showed better improvement going to 8 than the 290x. That test is over 2 months old, so may be obsolete now.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/24/battlefield_4_windows_7_vs_81_performance_review/5

Same arguments, different OS.

 

[Anti-Problems]

Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, Is just sick there is no better windows than this one. You need 64-bit, because it's pretty fast, and can use more ram than 32-bit. 32-bit computers use only 3.45 out the whole installed Ram. My next choice is Windows Xp. It is and has been the best operating system, although it has reached it end stages, But it will stay as the best operating system, Some games may not run on xp, as they need dx 11 while xp supports previous version. If you are not getting Windows 7 64-bit. You are making a huge mistake. I love Windows 7 so much.

 

[C3r3alKill3r]

I have BF4 on 4 different systems. In my experience Windows 8.1 runs better than 7, and Vista isn't even in the same ballpark.

For those wanting to find out, download Windows 8.1 Enterprise, dual boot and try it for 3 months (and rearm it twice if desired). At the time of testing, Hardocp compared a 290x and GTX 780 in Win 7/8, and found the 780 actually showed better improvement going to 8 than the 290x. That test is over 2 months old, so may be obsolete now.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/24/battlefield_4_windows_7_vs_81_performance_review/5

Same arguments, different OS.

My only experience with running Battlefield 4 has been on Windows 8, and then on the upgraded to 8.1. The only gripe I have against Windows 8-line is the implementation of their Windows Store. This might be great functionality for the everyday user, but it really felt like bloatware, until I removed access.
That stated, I will comment that Battlefield 4 runs much better now than before - whether that is due to the corrections/fixes in the game, or the updated 8.1 OS, I do not know. I had a heck of a time configuring the best possible experience, however, and tried about every recommendation I found online (hindsight 20/20, I will be much more careful in the future). These included BIOS disabling of hyper-threading and Intel Turbo Boost (variety of tests back-forth), tweaking/reverting NVIDIA Control Panel settings, trusting in the GeForce Experience app (I run an EVGA 760 GTX), and trying my hand at the EVGA's Precision X tool. Finally, I considered the core parking adjustments, such as the one mentioned in this thread: http://oscarmike.com/index.php?threads/disable-core-parking-in-windows-7-8.381/.
In the end, I uninstalled/reinstalled Battlefield 4 (two days ago), and jumped in this evening once the installation and all the updates completed downloading. As I mentioned, everything runs very well on default now. One last point, regarding V-Sync: I read this was bad to have on in an FPS (Battlefield 4 is the first FPS I have played), but it has been the best improvement for me in the game since running it this evening, with 0 issues related to delay in reaction time in matches.

 

[C3r3alKill3r]

Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, Is just sick there is no better windows than this one. You need 64-bit, because it's pretty fast, and can use more ram than 32-bit. 32-bit computers use only 3.45 out the whole installed Ram. My next choice is Windows Xp. It is and has been the best operating system, although it has reached it end stages, But it will stay as the best operating system, Some games may not run on xp, as they need dx 11 while xp supports previous version. If you are not getting Windows 7 64-bit. You are making a huge mistake. I love Windows 7 so much.

LOL, another great post, thanks.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

Getting back to the OP's question...

Between the three operating systems you've mentioned, I'd recommend Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, but that's more out of personal preference. The UI in Windows 8 really doesn't work for me. If that's not an issue for you, then you may as well go for Windows 8 now, as it'll have greater longevity. There's absolutely no need to go for the Professional or Ultimate editions of Windows 7, unless you want file encryption or to join a domain.

Windows XP is a great OS as it's lightweight on modern hardware, but as this version is 32-bit and can only utilise 4GB RAM, it's not suitable for gaming. Once Microsoft withdraw support, you won't receive any patches either. Windows XP is great, but I won't recommend it.

To put the cat amongst the pigeons, have you considered a Linux distro, such as Ubuntu? If you're using Steam as a gaming platform, Valve are making serious strides towards Linux with their Steam Machines. Granted, not every Steam game is, or will be, compatible due to third-party DRM, but this may change in the coming months and years.

Anyway, if your budget allows an OS, go for Windows 8 if you can live with the UI.

 

[xFallingRainex]

Win 7 Home Premium 64 Bit FTW! Its cheaper and all o its bugs have already been worked out. No need for pro if you're just gaming. Really no difference, just price and a few add-ons.

 

[Nomind505]

Windows 7 64 bit, any version. Unless you need compatibility features, in that case you require Windows pro or above.

 

[jaunpierre]

pro or ultimate ?

 

[I3lood Eagle]

I like 8 and I love 7, in that note I've used both 7 more than 8 obviously. For gaming I personally did see boosts in performance in 8 over 7... ie; Chivalry ran 5-10 fps higher than on 7 which was nice. Here's where it goes downhill... I had issues with some older games on 8 ie; Titan quest, age of empires/mythology, older more badass games etc... I switched back to 7 and had different issues with different game like screen tearing on Wolfenstein, and Might and Magic genre games...

So really it feels like luck of the draw, note there were fixes for these issues on both sides of the fence and windows 8 can be customized with a nice new skin that is HEAVILY reminiscent of windows 7. How's that old saying go? Don't knock it til you've tried it.

 

[charlieklla]

Windows 8 is currently the fastest gaming OS on the market, but i like the look of 7 more and it's cheaper now that Windows 8 is out. Windows 8 isn't THAT much faster, but it makes a small difference.

 

[I3lood Eagle]

"joking of course" STEAM OS!!!

 

[shadowtech64]

Windows 8 is currently the fastest gaming OS on the market, but i like the look of 7 more and it's cheaper now that Windows 8 is out. Windows 8 isn't THAT much faster, but it makes a small difference.

windows 7 is the only option for gaming and windows 7 is not built with gaming in mind it was designed for tablets

 

[USAFRet]

WIn 7 Ultimate the best for game .. all latest game played + you only need a mid end GPU card and 3+ ghz processor dual or up

win 8 and 8.1 suck confusing start button @_@

Please don't revive old dead threads.