"Windows Vista does indeed look like the ultimate Windows version for gamers." - Paul Thurrott
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_games.asp

sounds exciting...

This is a marketing gimmick made by Microsoft in which they label the Ultimate Edition of Windows Vista as the Gamer version in order to attract more enthusiasts and gamers alike.

I disagree on this one.

DX10 alone will make Vista worth the buy for gamers.

You have to ask yourself though don't you. I mean, my XP hasn't crashed in ages. Microsoft executives must be sitting thinking up new ideas on how to sell us the same thing over and over again. Really clever when you think about it!!!

You should go read up a bit....Vista is not the same thing.....

Why are you using WinXP then? Windows 95 is extreamly stable! Or do u like USB 2.0 support, easy network, among millions of other things that were added with WinXP? My point is Vista will have much more functionality its just the next step. No ones making you buy it, infact I have a feeling the vast majority of Vista sales will be on new systems only.

Oh gee, really? I guess that’s why all the other people were buying Intel when I was going 64bit AMD!!!

I am well aware of Vistas capabilities, thank you. Tapping into the GPU is nothing new, DX10 and 64 bit blah, blah, blah. Actually the 64 bit stuff isn’t new, as Microsoft already market a 64 bit operating system. As for tapping into the GPU, well, there are loads of screen savers that have been doing this for years without a problem.

What is actually going on here is Microsoft telling you that if you want to play the latest games you will have to buy Vista. Don’t have a lot of choice do you?

Many people have already stated on this site that they have no intention of buying Vista, they will pick up a pre-installed copy with a new laptop and a better graphics card. Sounds about right to me!

Actually they will push the 32 bit version since the 64 version still has problems with some software and hardware. 64 bit version will still be the "oh, we have it" OS. All systems will ship with the 32 bit version unless the customer requests 64 or installs it themselves.

I installed 64 bit and it does have issues with some software, while the 32 bit version operated everything I installed.

That's generally the sensible way to get a new operating system, particularly with the pricing Microsoft has implemented for Vista. Unless I find a compelling reason to do so, I won't be buying Vista until I get my next new computer, which will probably be this time next year.

My issue with Vista is all the smoke Microsoft is blowing up peoples rears about DX10. They are basically forcing you to upgarde to Vista to use DX10 features, because "XP doesn't support the correct driver architecture"...translation: We want to force you to buy our latest security hole of an operating system that is exactly the same as the last one, except the pretty flashy AeroGlass compositor on top.


The fact that they are not backporting DX10 to XP is what makes me want to tell Microsoft to go blow themselves. I have ZERO NEED to upgrade to Vista, XP runs perfectly well for me. Guess what? Microsoft will invent a need. If I want to play any game that releases after around September of '07, I will need Vista because they will all be DirectX 10. I haven't seen Microsoft try so hard to kill off one of their old OS's since the Windows 3.1/95 change-over.

Woops, double post.

The reason DX10 is not compatible with win XP and doesnt support older versions of DX is because, by doing this, there is less overhead generated by the program running DX and therefore capable of running many times faster (as advertised by Microsoft). If you google DX10 theres more in depth information, Im not condoning their decisions but I belive that it will be a significant improvment over 9.0c

I write software for a living, it's BS. It's marketing speak and it's them trying to force you over to Vista. All they would have to do is allow DX9 and 10 to install side by side. When a DX10 program wants to run, it loads DX10, none of the DX9 (and thus 8, 7, 6, and 5) interfaces are loaded. When a DX9 program wants to run, the simple DX9 loadup is done.

They could do it if they wanted to. Instead they are going to force you on to Vista if you want to continue to game on Windows.

Couldn't agree with you more.

Before I became a trainer I was also in software development. Still am to a certain degree. But what gets me the most is the fact that Microsoft line up 'Halo 2' as a Vista exclusive so kids can run up to their parents and beg them to buy it! So the parent runs out and buys Vista only to discover that it doesn't work because the graphics card on thier machine is years out of date. So now the poor parents face an PC upgrade running into several hundred pounds. I mean 'Halo 2' runs on a 750Mhz clunker doesn't it?

Oh yes, Microsoft know how to make money alright!