Vista or XP for my rig

[Duragon910]

Hello, I know this has been asked many times, but I'd like to get a personal opinion for my particular case

I just purchased the following laptop:
Newegg.com - ASUS N80 Series N80VN-GP011C NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo P8600(2.40GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA 4GB Memory DDR2 800 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GT - Laptops / Notebooks

And I plan on gaming fairly new games such as Warhammer Online
I was wondering weather or not to switch back to Windows xp for performance issues however.
I'm not too sure how Vista works or computers for that madder, however I understand vista uses more RAM than xp. If I were to downgrade, would I even be makign use of the 4Gig DDR2 RAM that the PC has? I also don't want to have to worry about compatability issues with older games such as Warcraft III etc.

I'd certainly like to use Vista, regardless of what I have heard about it. Since I'll also be using the laptop for school reasons, I feel it will suit me better in that aspect. However, i'd like to optimize it for gaming as well, no one likes a laggy gameplay.

What would you reccomend as far as switching?
Also if vista is best, would a 64 bit version be best for gaming over the 32?

Once again sorry for posting the same question over again, i'd like to get a personal opinion though. Thank you

 

[Dzomlija]

Hello, I know this has been asked many times, but I'd like to get a personal opinion for my particular case

I just purchased the following laptop:
Newegg.com - ASUS N80 Series N80VN-GP011C NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo P8600(2.40GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA 4GB Memory DDR2 800 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GT - Laptops / Notebooks

And I plan on gaming fairly new games such as Warhammer Online
I was wondering weather or not to switch back to Windows xp for performance issues however.
I'm not too sure how Vista works or computers for that madder, however I understand vista uses more RAM than xp. If I were to downgrade, would I even be makign use of the 4Gig DDR2 RAM that the PC has? I also don't want to have to worry about compatability issues with older games such as Warcraft III etc.

I'd certainly like to use Vista, regardless of what I have heard about it. Since I'll also be using the laptop for school reasons, I feel it will suit me better in that aspect. However, i'd like to optimize it for gaming as well, no one likes a laggy gameplay.

What would you reccomend as far as switching?
Also if vista is best, would a 64 bit version be best for gaming over the 32?

Once again sorry for posting the same question over again, i'd like to get a personal opinion though. Thank you

Given that the computer you want to purchase has 4GB ram, you'd best stick to Vista. I'd go with Vista x64, escpecially if you plan on increasing the amount of ram to grater than 4GB later on - Windows XP and Vista 32-Bit can by their very 32-bit nature not address more than 4GB ram.

If you still decide to go with XP, then before you do so, make sure that you can get ALL the drivers for ALL the hardware features of the laptop. And bear in mind that the machine was likely designed and built in the Vista era, so chances are performance with Vista will be far better than it would be with XP.

Vista has been out for nearly 2 years now. Goinf with XP now is just insane!

 

[Duragon910]

Thank you for the quick reply. How would I go about getting a 64-bit version then if it comes with the 32?
Unfortunatly 4gigs is the max upgradable ram for this particular PC, would it be possible to upgrade to DDR3 one day in the future or would that have compatablility issues?
If not, with the 4-gigs of RAM whould my best option for optimal gaming then be 32 or 64?

 

[Dzomlija]

Thank you for the quick reply. How would I go about getting a 64-bit version then if it comes with the 32?
Unfortunatly 4gigs is the max upgradable ram for this particular PC, would it be possible to upgrade to DDR3 one day in the future or would that have compatablility issues?
If not, with the 4-gigs of RAM whould my best option for optimal gaming then be 32 or 64?

You are purchasing the laptop on NewEgg. See if they have an option to provide it with Vista x64 instead of Vista x86. If they do not provide such an option, then you'll have to purchase Vista x64 seperately. To save you money in the long run, don't go with anything less than Vista x64 Ultimate Edition. Although if the computer cannot physically have more than 4GB ram installed, or you don't wantthe extra expense of x64, you might want to stick to 32-bit.

Vista x64 is better though for games (better memory management and such...)

ASUS made the laptop, so I'd suggest going to their website and checking up on the real specs directly from the source. Most online retailers are notorious for understaing the specs of the hardware they sell.

This way you'll be able to determine the maximum amount of RAM that can be installed, and whether or not it will support DDR3 (which is unlikely, btw)