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Macbook Pro: Windows 7 vs. XP for gaming

H

heatfanaman

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 7, 2011
42
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Hi, which operating system should I pick for playing games. A friend told me that XP is better on older games, 7 is better for newer games. Is this true?

Also, will either slowdown my performance on my Mac side?
 
For the most part, that's true. I'd just go with windows 7, however, as it's the newest OS, and is actually still being supported, and I imagine fairly soon MS is going to drop support for XP altogether. I've played several older games on mine in windows 7, and the only problem I have come across is that some of them don't like 64-bit. If you're using it strictly to play games, I'd use 32-bit w7. It won't slow down the Mac portion of your system at all, provided that you use Boot Camp, rather than virtualization software. You should use Boot Camp for gaming anyhow, as games don't run well in a virtual machine.
 
Windows 7 over XP. I don't if it can still be purchased but I've been happy with Vista on my MBP. The performance difference between it and 7 was not enough to justify an upgrade (for me).
 
Can you upgrade from XP? I got XP today but may be able to get W7 a little later.
 
heatfanaman said:
Can you upgrade from XP? I got XP today but may be able to get W7 a little later.
Click to expand...

I don't think you can upgrade to Win7 from WinXP (with "Upgrade" media) - I believe you'll have to buy the "full" "retail" version of Win7 (whichever version you go with). Go to Microsoft's Win7 site and check, before you take my word for it.
 
alust2013 said:
Not directly, I believe you have to back up your stuff, wipe the partition, install 7, then put your stuff back. If you already have XP, I'm not sure I would bother though.
Click to expand...

How much of difference does Win7 make? Will I be able to play every new game, or does XP not work with some new games. \
 
JustCreepin' said:
I don't think you can upgrade to Win7 from WinXP (with "Upgrade" media) - I believe you'll have to buy the "full" "retail" version of Win7 (whichever version you go with). Go to Microsoft's Win7 site and check, before you take my word for it.
Click to expand...
You can. I upgraded one of my machines that way.

Microsoft told me it was an upgrade copy at least. :D

heatfanaman: some games require Windows Vista or 7, especially ones which use DX10. There aren't a huge number of those, but they're out there and the number will only get larger.
 
So it is possible? I don't want to install XP then find I can get Win7 next week and have to format my Mac :( .
 
Wasn't really sure which section to post it in, so I posted it in a few different ones. Kind of new to the forums, sorry if I broke any rules.
 
Last edited:
Windows 7 most definitely is the best for gaming. One thing to consider with XP is that it only allows for a maximum of 2 GB of ram. You're going to want all the ram you can get when it comes to gaming and since the new Macs mostly come with 4 GB, might as well pick up Windows 7 so you can utilize all your ram on the Windows side.
 
Can anyone else confirm the option to upgrade? I was playing starcraft 2 on Mac side and it was absolutely terrible. I might be able to get Win7 in a week, but have XP now.
 
There is no upgrade for Windows XP to Windows 7. You'll have to purchase the full installation of Windows 7 and use Windows Easy Transfer with an external drive, or some other method, to transfer your stuff after doing a clean install.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7

Based on my own experiences, you should collect all of your documents and saved game files on the external drive and plan on reinstalling your games and other software. I doubt any file copy method, such as Windows Easy Transfer, will prevent having to reinstall programs, due to the dependency on the registry.
 
To my understanding 64 bit editions of Windows ditch the legacy 16 bit software support but has legacy support for 32 bit software. The reason I phrase it like that is because XP, Vista and 7 all have 32 and 64 bit versions, so its unavoidable to look at things like that.

Also you can buy an upgrade license from Windows XP to Windows 7. However when you insert the disc, what'll happen is it'll check to see if you have a copy of Windows XP installed and if so, it'll erase the partition to start a clean install of Windows 7. Make sure you have backups of anything you want to keep.
 
So if I upgrade I only have to format my windows side, and can keep on my memory on the mac side? Does anyone know how vista plays games? I might be able to get that too. And If I do go with Win7, which version?
 
You don't want to go with Vista. Win7 is far better. If you're a student, you can Windows 7 Professional (the upgrade) for $64.95 by looking here.

And yes, if you upgrade you won't touch your Mac partition.
 
Someone told me something about this thing called "removeWAT", has anyone done this before?
 
heatfanaman said:
Hi, which operating system should I pick for playing games. A friend told me that XP is better on older games, 7 is better for newer games. Is this true?

Also, will either slowdown my performance on my Mac side?
Click to expand...

Do Windows 7 as you get hardware DirectX 10 support and software DirectX 11 support, meaning you can run more games and have Windows better leverage your MacBook Pro's GPU. 7 will be slower than XP as 7 is newer and that's just the way it goes. Also, there are far more security exploits out for XP than there are for 7. All around I'd say 7 is the better idea. Were you using a Mac introduced in 2006, I'd say that there's no reason to go to 7 (in fact, you can't on most of them).
 
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