xp or vista for bootcamp gaming??

[vinyls]

does direct x 10 really make such a jump?

i just want to decide whether its worth going to vista or xp for gaming..

ill be playing games like Diablo 2 and bioshock right now - maybe things like cod 4/fallout?? - and later release i want to play are diablo 3 and guild wars 2.. would my mac run them fullstop? i hear it has the potential to..

i just need an opinion from.. someone who actually knows

thanks!

 

[0098386]

I've tried Vista on both my iMac and Macbook, but I get the best performance under XP (for more than just gaming) so I'm sticking with that. XP only a minor performance increase (on my systems) but Vista doesn't do anything I want over XP and locks you into Fat32.

Btw I'm not dead set against Vista. Once I get a high end PC I'll use Vista. But I paid £900 for my MacBook and I want every bit of performance I can get from it!

 

[aznguyen316]

for your system stick with XP even w/ the 4gb ram. I too have 4gb ram but with our Video card, no use trying to get a whole lot out of it esp DX10 which isn't necessary. I've tried Vista64 slimmed down and TinyXP and even w/ the 64bit using 4gb memory the XP still performed better b/c I'm not maxing out settings anyway. I mean, we're still on laptops here, w/ integrated memory. Now if we could run at higher settings w/ dedicated video memory, then I would use Vista64. A new MacBook Pro could prob use the Vista64 better than a aluminum MB though.

I've used both extensively and TinyXP is the way to go from my experience. I use FRAPS for all the games I've tested on each OS.

 

[Stridder44]

Vista64. Hands down.

Although now Im running Windows7 64 and it's just as awesome. Why would anyone think about buying XP now? There is no FPS difference in games between XP & Vista (give or take 1-2 FPS).

 

[aznguyen316]

Vista64. Hands down.

Although now Im running Windows7 64 and it's just as awesome. Why would anyone think about buying XP now? There is no FPS difference in games between XP & Vista (give or take 1-2 FPS).

I disagree. I've used both in bootcamp purely for gaming, on some games there isn't much of a difference, but I found playing Left 4 Dead I could run at higher settings and still maintain better FPS. Why bother w/ Vista64 when we can't run most games on high in the first place? On your MBP it may be different and I would certainly say Vista64 if these were actual gaming rigs, but these are not. These are MacBooks w/ a 256 MB integrated video card. XP hands down for me works better. And his Macbook is closer to mine than your pro. He's asking for his situation and I don't feel Vista64 works for him. Plus don't think he mentioned buying XP.

 

[Dmac77]

I would suggest Vista now. Although I still hate Vista with a vengeance, it does have support for DirectX 10, which is a large improvement to DirectX 9.0C.

Don

 

[0098386]

^
Large improvement? Really? I was under the impression Microsoft rushed it, it lacked the leap that previous DX generation leaps had and was simply used as a marketing gimmick to get people switching to Vista.

Although now Im running Windows7 64 and it's just as awesome. Why would anyone think about buying XP now? There is no FPS difference in games between XP & Vista (give or take 1-2 FPS).

I disagree too. It's a larger gap than that. On both my iMac and Macbook I have to turn off HDR to get the same FPS in games like HL2 Episode 1 or 2, or TF2. Or turn off AA or knock any memory related settings down a bit (in L4D this was textures for me).
As I said before if I spent £900 on something that isn't a gaming machine then I'm going to try and get the best bang for buck on it.

Vista is great and offers the same performance as XP on much higher end systems than any of Apples consumer lines can produce.

 

[aznguyen316]

Vista is great and offers the same performance as XP on much higher end systems than any of Apples consumer lines can produce.

Exactly this. If you have a powerful rig, then Vista64 difference would show, but since we're talking about the MB here, then XP will suit it better for gaming.

 

[Consultant]

Most games work better in xp for most hardware, some games (such as Crysis) works better in Vista if you have enough ram and the right GPU.

Not sure about Bioshock... Either should work for that.

Also, diablo 2 will work fine under OSX. No need for bootcamp.

 

[Supaklaw]

With the exception of Halo 2 (which needs Vista to log into XBL), no games I play need Vista and I have yet to see a massive difference in graphics between DX10 and DX 9. Games that I've tested on both, with performance and visual differences:

game/XP/Vista/graphic comparison (2008 Mac Pro, 4 Gb RAM,nVidia GT8800, Raptor drive)

Halo CE/fast/glitchy/no difference
Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl/fast/errors/no diff
Stalker Clear Sky/fast/fast/Vista more detail but not huge
Lost Planet/sluggish/fast/Vista definitely more detail
LOTR Witch King/fast/errors/none
Fallout3/fast/fast/none
Left4Dead/fast/untested/---
Diablo2 LOD/fast/fast/none
Unreal Touney3/fast/fast/none
Oblivion/fast/glitchy/none
Crysis/medium/medium/Vista more detail but slowed down

Granted I don't play a lot of the newer shooters with fancier graphics, so my taste isn't as demanding. Generally I had more issues getting games to install on first go with Vista, rarely saw huge bump in graphics, and sluggishness of system took away any advantages I saw to using it. A dedicated PC might get better results than running in Bootcamp but in my empirical evidence XP is smoother, less headaches, and DX9 does the job for me.

 

[waiwai]

I find that XP has less issues when playing games.

I run my steam games (TF2, L4D) on there and they run without any crashes or anything. My brother however running under a Vista 64 Setup constantly experiences crashes when entering new servers and such... There's still a lot of kinks in Vista... If you want hassle free gaming... stick with XP...

 

[Stridder44]

Exactly this. If you have a powerful rig, then Vista64 difference would show, but since we're talking about the MB here, then XP will suit it better for gaming.

Ah, I missed that first part (about his comp being a MacBook). Yeah, then I agree with the others. XP is a good choice for you.

 

[Aegelward]

At this late stage, you can give vista a miss entirely, windows 7 blows it away, and it will be available in the next few months, hopefully.

If you have XP currently just stick with that until 7 arrives

 

[js81]

I've used all three on my white Macbook, but it has the GMA X3100, so its no comparison - I can't run anything, anyway. As for the responsiveness of WINDOWS itself, XP is fastest, 7 is VERY CLOSE, and Vista drags its rear. However, if you are looking to be legal, here's a deal to consider:

http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx

Now, we all SHOULD be legal now shouldn't we? If you're a college student, or have access to one, you can get Vista Ultimate for $64.95. But then again, 7 beta is, uh, free... My only problem with 7 is that the one game I like to play (Age of Empires III) has issues in it (sound). Oh well...

Other than that, 7 Beta runs absolutely fabulously on my Macbook and my old Mini. It looks like 7 will be what Vista should have been - but still no comparison to OS X.

 

[Supaklaw]

Agreed, Windows 7 beta is pretty snappy, as long as there isn't wacky DRM stuff going on I think it'll be the best solution for macbooks for gaming once it releases.