What OS to get?

[nuithoth]

So I've finally built a computer that I'm going to "attempt" to play Crysis on at decent fps. I'm hoping to use a mixture of high and very high settings, my biggest desire to see the water effect goodies of very high. I'm not sure though if the "forced" very high water effects look as good on xp as they do on dx 10 on vista or windows 7 though. Anyways, I'm a bit confused as to what would be the best OS for good fps for Crysis. I'm looking at XP 32, XP 64, Vista (64 as well), and Windows 7 beta. I'm sure it'll help to know my specs in order to determine what will work best for me. I plan on OC'ing the CPU to 3.5 and the GPU (not sure how high beyond stock yet), and I'll be using a combo of "Natural Mod" and "Cuban Ultima Doom Sword's" config files as well. Below are my specs (I'm aware I'll probably be bottlenecking myself with the CPU but I'm hoping OC'ing will make it better).

Wolfdale dual core 2.8 Ghz
Sapphire Vapor-X 4890
4 GB DDR2 PC2 6400
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

I'm sure it looks like I don't know what I'm doing or I'm expecting too much with this setup (Later on I'll upgrade CPU or mobo as needed).

Any suggestions on which OS to use greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

You don't seem to sure. however, you can go here and get a free OS.
I would e-mail them and ask them before install.

you don't need to worry about putting antivirus or spyware remover on your PC because Linux isn't the target. no more defrag, and no more BS. well, you'll always have a little on any os you use.

This OS has a nice interface and it's very easy to use, even for newbies.

I would just try it out... you have nothing to lose if it works but like I said, e-mail and ask your question to make sure.

There real fast at getting back to you.

http://linuxmint.com/

Mighty Mouse

 

[Zoron]

With 4GB of RAM, you'll want x64, which automatically eliminates Windows XP. The 64-bit version didn't enjoy a lot of support and compared to Vista and even Windows 7, it's support will still be dismal at best. If you need something right now, I'd suggest buying Vista and upgrading to Win 7 once it's released. I know people keep suggesting to install the RC for Win 7, but if you have something that won't work with Win 7 right now, then you're kind of stuck buying something else anyway.

If you're going to try Linux, I suggest Ubuntu... it's the easiest of the distros to get up and running... and there is a large support forum behind it. Just be aware that many of your favorite games may not have native Linux support, which means you'll have to use an emulator such as Wine or Cedega. Even with those, there is no guarantee that all Windows software will run.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Just be aware that many of your favorite games may not have native Linux support

This is why I suggest Linux Mint. Much better for games and yes ,you can also use wine.
The reason I suggest Linux Mint is because I had it. I don't anymore because my old MOBO went but was very happy with it.

I would also join wines website. I just forget the link right now. you can also write to wine wants you join them if a game app doesn't seem to work that wine might not be using at the time, just not sure how long that would take you.

Just try it out , it's FREE and if you don't like it, then get Vista. no big deal.

Mighty Mouse

 

[aford10]

XP 32 bit can use 3.25GB of your RAM. If you're alright with that, it's a good OS. At this point, I'm not sure I'd pay for a copy.

Vista 64 is a similar situation to windows 7. It's an OS on the way out. There will still be support for vista apps on windows 7 (W7 is just a polished vista), but it's still a dated OS.

If I were you, I would go with whatever is free until windows 7 is released in late October. Linux isn't a bad option. If you've never used it, it could be a fun learning experience.