Should i downgrade to XP 32 from Vista 64?

[nathan2009]

I wasn't sure which thread to put this in so i hope i picked the right one.

I'm considering downgrading from Vista 64Bit to XP 32bit or just Vista 32bit

these are my specs:
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+ (2.2GHz)
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT (512MB, DX10)
Operating System: Windows Vista 64 Ultimate Service Pack 1

My hardware isn't that great and my performance in games is worse than it should be.

I installed Vista 64 for direct x 10 and because i have a 64bit cpu but i don't know if it it matters what os im using with it.

I don't have the amount of ram that puts 64bit at an advantage over 32bit.

Nor do i play many games that take advantage of dx10, if any. Does it change the display quality of the games i play by having it? i'm assuming not since i play Mass Effect, Sims 3, Age of Empires 3, Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Call of Duty 5. I don't think those games support DX10. So i'm probably sacrificing performance by having Vista 64 without the hardware that takes advantage of it or the games that support it.

 

[wathman]

If you have a copy of 32-bit xp already, you could do it if you really want to. It is taking a step backwards though since XP is not going to be supported forever. If you have to buy a new copy of XP 32-bit, you are much better off getting an upgrade to windows 7.

 

[nathan2009]

If you have a copy of 32-bit xp already, you could do it if you really want to. It is taking a step backwards though since XP is not going to be supported forever. If you have to buy a new copy of XP 32-bit, you are much better off getting an upgrade to windows 7.

I do have a pre bought copy of XP but i'm not sure if it'll be worth the trouble of backing up my game saves and bookmarks then installing the os to see if i'll get a performance boost in the games i play and don't think i should have trouble with. I don't know how accurate "canyourunit" is but i went past recommended for mass effect yet have choppy gameplay on min to max settings.

Windows 7 brings up a question ive been wondering about. Does it perform any better than Vista or require better hardware? I haven't installed any of the beta versions yet.

 

[wathman]

windows 7 runs well on intel atom based netbooks, so it's clearly a much lighter OS than Vista is. Unless there are very specific (custom) XP programs you need to run, you should be installing win 7.

 

[nathan2009]

windows 7 runs well on intel atom based netbooks, so it's clearly a much lighter OS than Vista is. Unless there are very specific (custom) XP programs you need to run, you should be installing win 7.

Should i keep vista 64 till 7 comes out and install either 32bit or 64 of that or install one of the beta that are currently available and use that till october 22nd then get a retail version of it?

Since its lighter, maybe i'll get a performance increase in my games but if i install it i'm not ganna be sure what version to use. 32 or 64. I won't be getting more ram anytime soon.

 

[blackhawk1928]

I would downgrade to xp 32 because 2GB of ram is definatly not enough for windows vista let alone 7 if you plan to do any kind of gaming or applications and

 

[wathman]

since you have a 64 bit version of Vista already, you could just upgrade directly to 64 bit win 7. I'd recommend against the windows 7 release candidate since you would most likely have to reinstall your OS when the final available. It's true you only have 2 GB of RAM right now, but the world is (slowly) moving to 64-bit computing. All programs that are 32-bit should be backwards compatible on 64-bit OSes, and the only issue that has kept widespread adoption of 64-bit OSes so far has been terrible hardware driver support. Windows 7 changes this, and there is really little reason for a 32-bit windows 7 version to exist.

 

[wathman]

If you still question how well windows 7 runs on lower power systems:

http://jkontherun.com/2009/09/24/mobile-tech-minutes-windows-7-performance-on-a-netbook/

 

[nathan2009]

I would downgrade to xp 32 because 2GB of ram is definatly not enough for windows vista let alone 7 if you plan to do any kind of gaming or applications and

Would mass effect run better in XP 32 than Vista 64?

 

[wathman]

between those 2, I think XP would just by a little bit. For Windows 7 performance, I haven't seen any recent gaming performance benchmarks.

 

[blackhawk1928]

nathan, for your case, I think most likley XP 32, i am not sure how much ram mass effect needs or if you have the nessesary hardware for it. But xp takes up less ram then windows 7 and requires less power so I think you would be better off with that. Also wether an OS is 32bit or 64bit, it won't effect gaming performance and fps.

 

[nathan2009]

I greatly appreciate the advice guys! They were very informative. I think i'm ganna install XP then when i'm able to upgrade my parts, 7 will be out and i'll start using it.

 

[wathman]

finally dug up some benchmarks for actual game fps on systems where the only thing different is the OS. Blackhawk is correct in regards to your system, with a single GPU, and 2GB of RAM installed. XP should still give the best performance in this case. If you were to upgrade to 4GB of RAM, or put a second GPU in your system, 64-bit win 7 is the better choice.

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

 

[blackhawk1928]

^Speaking of upgrading ram, it isn't super expensive right now and if you find information on your motherboard model, you can find out how much ram it supports. It might support 4GB, in that case you can upgrade if you want to and it might give you some benefits in xp, but I still recommend sticking with XP either way For windows 7, i would wait until you get something more powerful, because the new operating systems (vista and 7) will have no mercy for your resources, they will eat them up

Good Luck ! Glad we helped.