Have Windows XP - should I upgrade?

[imported_trajan]

I have a self built Conroe based rig that I use primarily for gaming. It's aged quite a bit and while it still plays games fine (just got a GTX 280), I'm starting to plan out an overhaul. At some point soon I'll move to an i7 system. I'm trying to figure out if there's any benefit to upgrading my operating system, either before or after the move to i7. I'd really be grateful for advice or even just a link to a good guide -- I couldn't find one!

I'm using XP (32 bit) and am very pleased with it. My reasons for considering Vista or Windows 7 are (1) I would like DirectX 10/11, (2) I keep hearing about 64 bit.

So the 32 bit vs. 64 bit question is a big one I can't find a good source of information on. Would I notice significant improvements moving from 32bit to 64 bit on an old Conroe with 2gb RAM? What about on an i7 based system with 6gb ram?

As for DirectX, I'm pretty sure there's no way to get 10 or 11 (when it comes out) for XP. I have Vista on my laptop and (perhaps because I'm not a particularly advanced user) I don't actually have any gripes with it, although I prefer the familiarity of XP. If I were to upgrade, should I got to Vista, or skip and go to Windows 7? I know Windows 7 is only in beta but this is still a fairly speculative move.

Thanks in advance for your generosity if you have advice. I don't having any expertise to contribute myself so I often feel like I'm a leech on the forums, and I'm grateful for

 

[pctwo]

with 6g, you'll need 64 bit otherwise you're wasting your memory.

in either case, I'd advise against Vista. you may as well get the free beta win7 and play with it, esp. on the new system. I've been playing with 7 and it is what Vista should've been (Vista beta ran like a dog on my system, which was new then). win7 should run very well on your i7 with 6g. On the old machine, I'd leave well enough alone. I don't think dx10 is enough reason to upgrade.

 

[SickBeast]

I'm a Windows 7 beta tester and IMO you should get it. Why not try it for free first?

The thing is, you can only hang on with Windows XP for so long. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to get DX11 on 7, and really that is the way forward in terms of gaming, like it or not. DX9 will probably be the standard for maybe 2-3 more years, but they will move on eventually, and with XP you will be stuck. MS doesn't really drop the prices of their OS by much, so I don't see much harm in early-adopting aside from the bugs (but from what I can tell, 7 will be solid upon release; the bugs aren't show-stoppers like the Vista ones were).

I don't even know what's coming after 7, so I can't say if there is something better worth waiting for.

If you want, you can probably wait it out for another year or two.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

If you want 4 GB of ram or more you definitely need 64bit OS and you will see benefits. I am going to upgrade to windows 7 when i get a new machine and i'll have 4 GB or more. i've been testing it and I love it so far!

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: trajan
I have a self built Conroe based rig that I use primarily for gaming. It's aged quite a bit and while it still plays games fine (just got a GTX 280), I'm starting to plan out an overhaul. At some point soon I'll move to an i7 system. I'm trying to figure out if there's any benefit to upgrading my operating system, either before or after the move to i7. I'd really be grateful for advice or even just a link to a good guide -- I couldn't find one!

I'm using XP (32 bit) and am very pleased with it. My reasons for considering Vista or Windows 7 are (1) I would like DirectX 10/11, (2) I keep hearing about 64 bit.

So the 32 bit vs. 64 bit question is a big one I can't find a good source of information on. Would I notice significant improvements moving from 32bit to 64 bit on an old Conroe with 2gb RAM? What about on an i7 based system with 6gb ram?

As for DirectX, I'm pretty sure there's no way to get 10 or 11 (when it comes out) for XP. I have Vista on my laptop and (perhaps because I'm not a particularly advanced user) I don't actually have any gripes with it, although I prefer the familiarity of XP. If I were to upgrade, should I got to Vista, or skip and go to Windows 7? I know Windows 7 is only in beta but this is still a fairly speculative move.

Thanks in advance for your generosity if you have advice. I don't having any expertise to contribute myself so I often feel like I'm a leech on the forums, and I'm grateful for

I'll try to give an unbiased opinion on both Vista and Win7 beta,personally don't bother with Win7 beta until its retail(for a dedicated system),I would say this for any OS that's beta.
Vista right now with SP1 is fine,SP2 is not far off either for Vista,your Conroe system will handle Vista or Win7 (retail when its released) just fine,I'm using a very old 3800+ X2 AMD CPU on Vista x64 and its nippy,I also do a lot of beta games testing for different companies and so far its not let me down apart from obvious game bugs in beta games.

2GB is the minimum I would personally use on any OS for gaming , 4GB and beyond will help for gaming with any OS,I noticed it from 2GB to for 4GB when I upgraded my old XP OS(ram wise) so more ram is always good for gaming regardless of OS in question.

Bottomline Vista SP1 right now is fine for gaming and available,its not the same OS like it was in beta,(a lot better)Win7 beta I have had a few issues with software/drivers etc(to be expected with any beta OS so don't let any users kid you beta is fine).... and personally will say if you want Win7 then by all means try the beta verson but wait for the final retail version for a dedicated system,end of the day you can't go wrong with either Vista SP2 or Win7 retail(when they are both released),64 bit is the future and drivers have not been an issue for me on Vista x64.

Right back to my beta games testing 😉.

 

[Bateluer]

I'd offer my two cents as well. I've been pretty satisfied with Vista 64 on my machine. However, Windows 7 is getting closer to release, sometime in late 2009, early 2010 if there's delays. Depending on when you do your overhaul, it may be better just to wait until Win7 is released at retail. Now, I make a point never to buy a Microsoft OS at release, so I'd still be hesitant to buy Windows 7 on release day over the 'tried and true' Vista64. I'd also be hesitant to buy Vista 64 and then buy 7 a year later.

You could stick with XP for a little while, so long as you don't buy mind gimped for several months, until 7 has been on the market long enough to be refined. Or you could buy Vista 64 and hold off on Windows 7 until its first service pack.

 

[imported_trajan]

Thanks everyone for your input!! It sounds like the best thing for me is to stick with XP up until when I overhaul the system.. After that, switch to Vista 64 bit (SP2) or try out the Windows 7 beta if I'm up for a little experimentation.

I'm not sure when I'm going to do the overhaul, I've done most of the planning but I'm still psyching myself up to pull the trigger and it could take a couple months 😉 When I do upgrade though, if I went with Vista, are there meaningful differences between Vista Home, Business, Ultimate? I tried sorting this out via wikipedia but it was pretty hard to find a good comparison.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: trajan
Thanks everyone for your input!! It sounds like the best thing for me is to stick with XP up until when I overhaul the system.. After that, switch to Vista 64 bit (SP2) or try out the Windows 7 beta if I'm up for a little experimentation.

I'm not sure when I'm going to do the overhaul, I've done most of the planning but I'm still psyching myself up to pull the trigger and it could take a couple months 😉 When I do upgrade though, if I went with Vista, are there meaningful differences between Vista Home, Business, Ultimate? I tried sorting this out via wikipedia but it was pretty hard to find a good comparison.

Home Premium and Ultimate are quite similar. They both have full Aero effects, they both have Media Center and there is no discernible difference, gaming wise betwixt the two.

Ultimate does have BitLocker encryption, not sure how much you care about that.

Business.... meh, get Home Premium