Win XP x86 or Win 7 x64

[wilhelm1983]

Win XP x86 or Win 7 x64

Hi folks, I have a dual boot system with these 2 OS's + 4GB memory (3.5GB in XP). Now I know XP usually runs DX9 games faster than Windows 7, but 7 has access to more memory and applications can use more of what's available.I'm curious on opinions on which OS to run The Witcher 2 from bearing in mind that it is DX9 only....Thanks!

 

[daofannotda2]

512 mb difference no big deal..

 

[Dubya75]

Well since it's been confirmed that TW2 will in fact have DX11 elements (confirmed) I would recommend going with windows 7. I have not found XP to run games better than Win7...in fact Win7 is more stable.

 

[freakie1one]

Well since it's been confirmed that TW2 will in fact have DX11 elements (confirmed) I would recommend going with windows 7. I have not found XP to run games better than Win7...in fact Win7 is more stable.

Where did you see DX11 being confirmed? The entire game is designed with DX9, not 11.

 

[GuyNwah]

Hi folks, I have a dual boot system with these 2 OS's + 4GB memory (3.5GB in XP). Now I know XP usually runs DX9 games faster than Windows 7, but 7 has access to more memory and applications can use more of what's available.I'm curious on opinions on which OS to run The Witcher 2 from bearing in mind that it is DX9 only....Thanks!

Both are just fine. Unless I'm very much mistaken, the game is 32-bit, which means it still runs in 2GB user space; it doesn't get more memory by being run under a 64-bit OS. The remaining 1.25GB or so is enough to keep Windows from stealing pages while the game runs.Users whose rigs have features that were deprecated in DX10, particularly hardware accelerated sound, may get an advantage by sticking with XP.

 

[username_2093396]

The minimum required graphics card (GeForce 8800) is a DirectX 10 card so I don't think the game uses DirectX 9. It's probably supported only so the game can run on XP but I'm sure they designed the game to take advantage of DirectX 10 and possibly DirectX 11. I think you'll be missing out if you limit yourself only to the DirectX 9 features.4 GB should be enough RAM for Windows 7 so you should probably play it on Windows 7 first and only think about XP if you are having problems.

 

[Corylea.723]

I'm sure they designed the game to take advantage of DirectX 10 and possibly DirectX 11.

There was a question in the "Ask the Dev Team" thread about DirectX, and they said that the game was NOT using DirectX11.

 

[unsynaps]

XP running things faster than 7 just has to do with how old your computer is.My new rig runs XP and 7 at the same speed... granted its a dual Intel Xeon X5680.

 

[username_2093396]

I'm sure they designed the game to take advantage of DirectX 10 and possibly DirectX 11.

There was a question in the "Ask the Dev Team" thread about DirectX, and they said that the game was NOT using DirectX11.

Thank you I didn't realize they had already answered that question.

 

[Username.]

Win7 x64 man.

 

[ScepticMatt]

Windows 7 is a MUCH better OS ihmo. I haven't noticed a speed difference with DX9 games. Also DX11 is a nice grafics+speed bonus for the few games that support it at the moment.

 

[hamlindo]

Both are just fine. Unless I'm very much mistaken, the game is 32-bit, which means it still runs in 2GB user space; it doesn't get more memory by being run under a 64-bit OS.

32bit programs under windows x64 get a 4GB address space when a flag in the executable header marks them as wanting it.

 

[GuyNwah]

Both are just fine. Unless I'm very much mistaken, the game is 32-bit, which means it still runs in 2GB user space; it doesn't get more memory by being run under a 64-bit OS.

32bit programs under windows x64 get a 4GB address space when a flag in the executable header marks them as wanting it.

You must program the executable and all the userland DLLs it calls into 32-bit clean, otherwise it will crash and burn if you try that.I'm sure some will try setting the IMAGE_FILE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE flag on the executable. We'll find out whether this works when the game becomes playable on the 17th.

 

[hamlindo]

You must program the executable and all the userland DLLs it calls into 32-bit clean

More a question of not having any bugs which are masked by a 2GB address space limitation.If Projekt Red saw any value in a greater than 2GB address space I would hope they made and tested the game as 'large address aware'. Anyhow, the point is there is a possibility of better performance under x64 than x86 because of the larger address space.

 

[SystemShock7]

On a side note, I always chuckle when I see the "x86 or x64" ...

 

[GuyNwah]

You must program the executable and all the userland DLLs it calls into 32-bit clean

More a question of not having any bugs which are masked by a 2GB address space limitation.If Projekt Red saw any value in a greater than 2GB address space I would hope they made and tested the game as 'large address aware'. Anyhow, the point is there is a possibility of better performance under x64 than x86 because of the larger address space.

It's the DLLs it calls into that are more of a concern. Those aren't their own work; they're Microsoft's and RADTools's and other third parties' work.If you want to make a 32-bit-clean application, you not only have to follow MS's rules (which are not limited to using the MSB of pointers properly), but you have to ensure that everything you call does too.We won't know until we get our hands on the executable. I remain skeptical, though I wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised.

 

[heerox328]

The minimum required graphics card (GeForce 8800) is a DirectX 10 card so I don't think the game uses DirectX 9. It's probably supported only so the game can run on XP but I'm sure they designed the game to take advantage of DirectX 10 and possibly DirectX 11. I think you'll be missing out if you limit yourself only to the DirectX 9 features.4 GB should be enough RAM for Windows 7 so you should probably play it on Windows 7 first and only think about XP if you are having problems.

There is no such thing as a DX10 or DX11 game. Current generation is DX9 only (as a majority of PC gamers and console gamers are DX9 only) and the only game that will be somewhat of a DX11 game will be Battlefield 3 this year. Some games come with DX11 features. But they don't really change the game in any large regard, as we won't see a true DX11 title for probably a couple more years. Also Windows XP can not run DX11 games, which many PC owners still seem to run that 10 year old outdated OS.CD Projekt Red is pretty much pushing DX9 to the fullest extent of their creativity, which has turned out really well for The Witcher 2. Ultimately it's up to the game developer to make the game look beautiful. The tech only makes the process easier, and provides some extra benefits.In regards to which OS is better, I would recommend using Windows 7 as current games are meant for that OS. XP will be completely obsolete in a couple of years once DX9 is a thing of the past.

 

[freakie1one]

The minimum required graphics card (GeForce 8800) is a DirectX 10 card so I don't think the game uses DirectX 9. It's probably supported only so the game can run on XP but I'm sure they designed the game to take advantage of DirectX 10 and possibly DirectX 11. I think you'll be missing out if you limit yourself only to the DirectX 9 features.4 GB should be enough RAM for Windows 7 so you should probably play it on Windows 7 first and only think about XP if you are having problems.

Well, the devs have stated numerous times that they use DX9 and not DX10 or 11. It has been asked about 20 times in interviews and on the forums. Also, they didn't choose the minimum required card because of what version of DirectX it supports, but because of how powerful the card is. There are very weak cards that support DX10 and 11 that wouldn't be powerful enough to run TW2.