Legit Reviews

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:34 am**

All of the buzz this month has been about Microsoft Windows Vista RC1 so Legit Reviews got back to our roots and did a weekend of gaming on this new operating system. Using ATI and NVIDIA graphics cards we were able to compare 32-bit gaming performance on XP Pro and Vista RC1 using the latest and greatest drivers from both ATI and NVIDIA.

While the idea of comparing performance levels between the two operating systems sounded great on paper it wasn't too easy to complete in person. After taking a pair of identical Western Digital 250GB hard drives we put fresh installations of both operating systems on the respective drives and started benchmarking. We quickly found that DOOM 3, Quake 4 and PREY all do not run correctly on Vista making them useless for benchmarking purposes. Other games like X3: Reunion use StarForce software, which is blocked by Microsoft and rightly so. World of Warcraft works, but we did notice some tears in the screen and stutters that kept us from using it as a benchmark. We ended up using Call of Duty 2, DOOM 3, Far Cry, Serious Sam 2 and F.E.A.R. for our testing, but there was also a catch. Call of Duty 2 refused to run correctly on NVIDIA graphics cards, while it ran fine with ATI graphics cards. The same was also true for Far Cry which ran like a champ on NVIDIA cards, but wouldn't launch with ATI cards. So far I wouldn't call using Vista RC1 a "breakthrough experience" by any means, but I guess that's why they call it a release candidate.

Article Title: Gaming on Windows Vista - ATI versus NVIDIA
Article URL: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/385/1/

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:09 pm**

Too bad that Vista takes such a hit. Hopefully MS will do something to fix gaming on this OS, otherwise it just gives people another reason to stick with XP.

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:31 pm**

Not ready for primetime yet it looks. Good article for the bleeding edge gamer (killer test rig)

. So I am to assume that the vast majority of gamers with good performing-level rigs are doomed for a long while.

And it is the "Ultra" version up-grade (big $$$$) which is marketed at gamers?

So if I play BF2 or BF2.5 (2142) both RAM pigs (sounds like a Doom beast

) and get Vista the minimum memory load to keep from getting pwn'ed is ~3 to 4Gb?

I think XP will be around until early 2008 for gamers. Question : Can I pre-boycott Vista now or do have to wait for release?

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:35 pm**

Baddad53 wrote:Question : Can I pre-boycott Vista now or do have to wait for release?

I'm right with you... With games that don't love memory using 1000MB foot prints it's going to be a nightmare for many. While a 20-30% drop in performance didn't hurt our "killer" test rig it will destroy rigs running cards like the ATI X300 and GeForce 6200TC. While they could run games on XP Pro they will have a tough time loading games on Vista...LOL

I'll be honest after using Vista RC1 for a whole weekend trying games out I'm at my limits with it. It's not ready for my use, so I wont try it out again till RC2.

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:25 pm**

Ouch... I was planning on sticking with my WinXP OS for another year at least anyway...

Posted: **Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:16 pm**

i am just going to stick with xp till they work all the bugs out! I remember i stuck with 2000 for 2 years after xp release, plain out didnt trust it.

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:37 am**

Hi , I read your article i just wanted to give you my compatibility list

I first had my Windows Vista running on Lan Gaming Machine which has :

7800GT , 1GB DDR OCZ 3200 , Western Digital 250GB HDD x 2 , Asus A8V Mobo , AMD 64 3200 @ 2.6Ghz , 17" Benq LCD
I had many crashes

... it was Nvidia drivers that were causing the crashes , i replaced the graphic card that was on main workstation/gaming machine X1900XTX and i had real no issues with ATI drivers themself.

Age of Mythology
FEAR
Deus Ex
Counter Strike Source
Guild Wars
Half-life 2 episode 1
Homeworld
Oblivion
World of Warcraft
Warcraft 3

I had issue with Battlefield 2 and Neverwinter Night

Battlefiled 2 = punkbuster issues ;(

I haven't installed Vista RC1 but why is that something to do with ATI new driver or RCI build went terribly wrong

ALso have you tested nvidia driver with that build

My buddy had huge problem with Vista running some games on his machine , he has AMD 3500 64bit , 2GB DDR , Nvidia 7600GT

I will run Doom 3 , Quake 4 , Prey , Riddick Escape from butcher bay and Call of Duty 2 to see if it has any problem on the older build i am using.

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:46 pm**

Hi all, I'm new around here.

I have two almost identical systems. They aren't really top shelf, but they're ok. Since I do allot of tech work, in addition to other stuff including school, I'd like to load Vista on at least one system and use it for a while. Just to get used to how to shut off all the annoying garbage I'm certain MS is trying to foist on us.

The problem is that every time I try to load up ATI's drivers it does just what Nathan describes - screen goes blank and a message appears saying "Out of Range". What really irks me is that none of the "review sites" even mention such an issue. If you listen to them you'd think Vista was perfect!! All I can say is: I"m glad I use Norton Ghost (Even though Vista insists that I uninstall it before upgrading...). Idiots, I never do the "upgrade" thing, I allways prefer to load from scratch, but I allways keep a ghost image.

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:59 pm**

Cannyone,

Welcome to the forums... I'm not sure if you're one of the many that have e-mailed me with your comments, but please post your monitor brand, model, resolution settings and what specific graphics card you have. ATI is working with Legit Reviews on this issue and is trying to re-produce it in their test labs.

Posted: **Wed Sep 13, 2006 9:53 pm**

Ok I have 2 Sapphire X1800XTs - and one machine has a Viewsonic VX2025w 20.1" Widescreen LCD and the other has an NEC 20WMGX² 20.1" widescreen LCD. Both LCDs run at the same rez of 1680x1050, and can supposedly handle up to 75Hz though I run them at 60Hz.

Posted: **Thu Sep 14, 2006 11:17 am**

Panzer_V wrote: I had issue with Battlefield 2....

Yes but who hasn't with or without Vista

JK

Posted: **Wed Sep 20, 2006 11:43 pm**

So any word from ATI on this...?

I can be patient. After all by Friday evening I should have my new video cards. No point in me doin much before Saturday. (Watch me - on Friday night I'll be up late installing... aftermarket coolers on cards then cards in systems - I'm just like that!)

Well, well! I post this then go to bed and wake up to this story, over at VR-Zone, which says ATI drivers are "the MOST stable Vista drivers".

Yeah Right!

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Gaming on Windows Vista - ATI versus NVIDIA

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