New Build: Which OS (most stable)

S

StarsFan4Life

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
472
The new build:

* Cooler Master Elite 330
* Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G motherboard
* AMD Phenom II Quad 940 Black Editon - Stock cooling
* 8GB G-Skill PC2-6400
* XFX Radeon 4870 1GB
* Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA II
* Onboard LAN/HD Audio
* 2X Dell E207WFP 20" WS LCD (soon to be replaced with Dell 23" HD screens)
* Antec Earthwatts 650wt psu
* Logitech DiNovo Keyboard
* Logitech MX Revolution Mouse
* 2 X Yate Loon 120mm silent case fans

I am used to using 32bit OS's, but with 8GB ram now, I need a 64bit OS to take advantage of all the ram. I will be using the computer for the following:

* Sony Vegas Pro 9.0 - HD Video Editing
* TF2
* DOD: Source
* Arma 2 (given I can get the damn thing to work properly)

I don't know much about 64bit OS's but am willing to give it a shot. Over this weekend I tried installing Win7 64bit and the stuff I list above was very buggy. ARMA 2 seems to not like both Vista 64bit and Win7 64bit. I think it is safe to say that Win7 RC1 64bit is out of the question for me.....still too much to worry about in stability. Windows Vista 64bit seems to be "ok", but again, ARMA 2 does not like the OS.

I have the following OS's available to use:

Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit
Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit
Windows XP Professional 64bit
Windows XP Professional 32bit

It is my understanding that XP does NOT support DirectX 10, correct? With new games coming out soon, I believe DirectX 10 will be essential....but I am assuming.

Basically, do I really need to go 64bit or would I be safe with 32bit and only using 4gb ram? Which OS altogether should I use?
 
You'll really be using less than 3GB of RAM, cause the Radeon 4870 1GB will use 1 and the motherboard will use another ~250MB. That 4GB is addressable space, not usable RAM, under a 32bit OS.

ARMA 2 is a buggy POS, not much to be done about that. Hopefully with the recent US release they'll get some patches out to sort it. In the mean time try right-clicking the main EXE and choosing "Run as Administrator". That may help. Don't give up on Windows 7, that'd be my personal take. Failing that, Vista Ultimate 64bit.

You are correct -- XP doesn't support DX 10, nor will it ever. You have to have Vista or Windows 7 for DX 10 support. Also yes, newer games are making DX 10 something of a requirement -- at very least they are if you're wanting all the eye candy.
 
silent-circuit said:
You'll really be using less than 3GB of RAM, cause the Radeon 4870 1GB will use 1 and the motherboard will use another ~250MB. That 4GB is addressable space, not usable RAM, under a 32bit OS.

ARMA 2 is a buggy POS, not much to be done about that. Hopefully with the recent US release they'll get some patches out to sort it. In the mean time try right-clicking the main EXE and choosing "Run as Administrator". That may help. Don't give up on Windows 7, that'd be my personal take. Failing that, Vista Ultimate 64bit.

You are correct -- XP doesn't support DX 10, nor will it ever. You have to have Vista or Windows 7 for DX 10 support. Also yes, newer games are making DX 10 something of a requirement -- at very least they are if you're wanting all the eye candy.
Click to expand...

Dude.....thanks for the quick and informative response. One question - I bough ARMA 2 through Steam and run it through there. Can I do this "run as administrator" outside of Steam? Someone also suggested adding -winxp in the shortcut of the game too. Can I do this?
 
StarsFan4Life said:
Dude.....thanks for the quick and informative response. One question - I bough ARMA 2 through Steam and run it through there. Can I do this "run as administrator" outside of Steam? Someone also suggested adding -winxp in the shortcut of the game too. Can I do this?
Click to expand...

I believe you can run Steam itself as Administrator and that might help. As for passing ARMA 2 the -winxp argument, yes, right click on it in the "My Games" list, properties, launch options and type "-winxp" no quotes in there. That will force the game in to DX 9 mode though, more than likely.
 
In your situation, I see absolutely no reason not to use Windows Vista 64-bit. It's the only logical way to go.
 
I would say, take advantage of the deal Newegg has right now where you buy Vista and get a free voucher for Windows 7.
 
bigdogchris said:
I would say, take advantage of the deal Newegg has right now where you buy Vista and get a free voucher for Windows 7.
Click to expand...

From the sounds of it, he already has Windows Vista, in which case there'd be no reason to do that.

However, if I'm mistaken, this would be the way to go.
 
I do, but I am using my friends copy. It wouldn't hurt to go this route. I have about $130 worth of credit with Newegg right now.....so yeah!

So, how does this work. Do they ship me Vista now and then Windows 7 later or do I have to send in the coupon to Microsoft?
 
Fairly sure they ship you Vista now (along with a link or something to the RC of Windows 7, which you already have, so ignoring that...) and you send the coupon to Microsoft, who ships you Windows 7 upon release.
 
StarsFan4Life said:
I do, but I am using my friends copy. It wouldn't hurt to go this route. I have about $130 worth of credit with Newegg right now.....so yeah!

So, how does this work. Do they ship me Vista now and then Windows 7 later or do I have to send in the coupon to Microsoft?
Click to expand...
I bought XP with a cheap upgrade to Vista from Newegg. They sent me a code along with XP and a website handled by some 3rd party. When Vista launched, I could go to that site and order what version I wanted and had to pay a small charge for the Vista version I wanted. Obviously this deal is free though so it's even better. You will likely have to pay shipping though to get the 7 disc.


http://promotions.newegg.com/Micros...egg.com/Microsoft/Windows7/TG_OEM/118x118.gif

Another thing you could do is install the 7 RC right now thjat will last you till March 10, and just pre-order 7 from Microsoft for $50. Once that ships just reinstall 7 with the disc you get. You'll save about $60 that way.
 
Windows 7 RC is available now and completely stable... why is there even any discussion?

Download it!
 
criccio said:
Windows 7 RC is available now and completely stable... why is there even any discussion?

Download it!
Click to expand...

I did...had it installed but had two major issues:

1. Mouse would freeze up if "anything" was loading.
2. Network connection (LAN - WIRED) would just drop for no apparent reason

If you can help me address these two issues, I will gladly put it back on!
 
Re-install it. I and many, many others don't have any off those issues. Nor the issues you listed in your OP such as the ArmA II problems. ArmA II runs great here (7 x64). FWIW, ArmA II is known to have issues/poor performance with Vista though.
 
criccio said:
Re-install it. I and many, many others don't have any off those issues. Nor the issues you listed in your OP such as the ArmA II problems. ArmA II runs great here (7 x64). FWIW, ArmA II is known to have issues/poor performance with Vista though.
Click to expand...

Installing as we speak....

With drivers being an issue too.....could you guys help me make sure I get the correct drivers for the following:



* Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G rev 1.0 motherboard
* AMD Phenom II Quad 940 Black Editon - Stock cooling
* 8GB G-Skill PC2-6400
* XFX Radeon 4870 1GB
* Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA II
* Onboard LAN/HD Audio
* Logitech DiNovo Keyboard
* Logitech MX Revolution Mouse

I am having trouble finding some of them. Do I download the motherboard drivers from Gigabyte or from ATI directly (due to the chipset) or do I get them from both sites?
 
The only driver you will have to manually download is the Catalyst driver and possibly the Mobo chipset driver. Windows update takes care of the rest.
 
After you install the OS, check device manager. If something doesn't have a driver it will be marked. Otherwise, don't install any other drivers. Like Vista, the drivers 7 provides are very good. Hell, I would even recommend staying away from the Windows Update drivers. If you're not correcting an issue, there's no reason to upgrade drivers.
 
Ok. So with this said I am going to be purchasing the Win7 "upgrade" to either Home Premium or Professional. Which one do you guys suggest I use at home? Mind you, I do have a WHS here too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top