optimizing vista for gaming

i amd just wondering if there is any default vista settings i can change to improve gaming

 

Not really. Just make sure whatever battery monitoring program you use is set to a highe performance, like in power4gear, or equivalent setting.

 

You can try this tweaking guide but I still think you'll still lose 10-20% fps in games.

 

Well, I am just changing my laptop for the one in my sig, but I've been doing a lot of testing between Vista and XP, for the time being I'm sticking with XP as Vista makes my games run slow!! But if your insisting....you could turn the Aero interface off, save about 500-600M of mem, plus turn off any services that are not being used, but most importantly stuff as much ram as you can in your system, vist loves ram.

 

1. Keep your laptop plugged in while gaming.
2. Use the latest video card drivers for your video card in Vista.
3. Kill unnecessary startup items.
4. Get at least 2gigs of RAM and if your computer supports it get 3gigs of RAM.

 

step 1: insert xp installation cd...

 

Nice system I'm actually eying up the same model, just wondering how much it costs and which res your screen is (looking on site but baffed)?

 

For some actual answers now...

Yes there are a few things.

under the shortcut that starts your game right clock and look at the compatability tab, click the one that disables aero and also the one that disables desktop composition.

With these 2 things off I get about 3fps more, also close any of the vista things like sidebar and if your running an active background (dreamscape) I have singlecore cpu so this may help me more than others but its a start.

 

So games can run with Aero? But I didn't think they'd need it anyway ...

 

3 words that should never be used in the same sentence...

- Optimizing
- Vista
- Gaming

=)

 

I remember reading someplace that Aero turns off whenever you're in a game.

 

In that case no point doing that then >.<.

 

Yes running Aero while gaming has little or no effect on the system.

 

I ran a few test and my fps went up by about 2 with it off, it does make a difference in my case.

 

Continuing Master Chef's suggestion, what you're gonna want to do is back up all your data first - because optimizing can be tricky - and then boot the computer with a Windows XP CD.

Tell XP you want to install to the drive Vista is on. It'll tell you there's already a Windows installation on that drive - don't believe it. Go ahead and choose that drive.

Now, and this step is the most important, you're gonna wanna FORMAT TO NTFS. I can't stress this enough. After that, follow the directions until you get to the desktop.

When you're at the desktop, just install the most recent drivers for your hardware and you should be set!

Enjoy!

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

 

my C: is already NTFS

so if I put XP CD, Can I install it on D: leaving Vista on C: ?

or can I have an external hard disk with XP and boot from it?

 

yeah, just follow pulp's advice to perfectly optimize windows vista.

 

Some games are running faster on Vista than XP FYI.

Stalker is known to run ALOT better on vista, FEAR is another game many have higher fps on in vista than XP.

BF2142 has several users reporting higher fps aswell.

Its all good to joke about vista, but when sombody honestly asked for how to optimise his system, why cant you give him a good answer and if you dont have one, dont just spam.

Because now unless this guy is being sarcastic it looks like you have already confused sombody:

As for

No not on its own, thats exactly what happens if you click on the compatability tab like the directions I gave, you can force it to turn off when you go into a game.

Its not a big deal, like I said only 2fps on my old system, so maybe not even noticable on a high end system but its still freeing up some of the reguardless and thus its still an optimization.

 

yes, you can install xp to an external hard drive and enjoy the performance benefits it has over vista, without destroying your current vista installation.

 

Thanks a ton. that will solve most of the problems. I can use XP for my applications and at the same time get used to Vista as its going to be the future.

 

i have a dual boot on the same drive, you just need to have a "virtual drive" or a partition. This is the best option if you dont have more than one drive or cant afford one.

 

XP and Vista in same drive?

The thing is my Asus came with Vista installed and a recovery CD. I got the XP CD with me.. Can I sort of 'not believe' when XP spots vista and install it on D: ?

 

Yes, XP and Vista on same drive / Different partitions. I remember that when using a recovery disk, it will prompt to recover to single partitions, two partitions and so on. It's been a long time i did a recovery.

If you are concerned solely about performance of games, stick with XP for now.

 

What really sucks is I bought XP awhile back - but I bought the upgrade one since I already had 2000... and I can't use it since my laptop came with Vista on it already

I mean cmon, that 'upgrade' CD cost like $150

 

simple ... remove vista

 

remove the vista OS that u paid for? no way!

 

I think you're wrong about BF2142, HardOCP
has both video cards getting lower fps under vista, not a lot but still it's lower.

Maybe in 3-6 months they'll catch up on video drivers for Vista. The X1950XTX (I'm using a X1900XTX in my desktop) seems like it takes less of a hit in games then the 8800, except for Oblivion.

What I think is stupid is that Nvidia's 8800 is still taking the biggest hit in performance under Vista, yet Nvidia has made and marketed it for Vista. And judging by the performance graphs ATI has more mature drivers.

 

Im not wrong each user has differrent results with vista, it depends on there hardware and also what drivers they use.


Im going from what other experienced computer users have reported to me, I am a wiki admin at widescreengamingforum.com and have had a discussion with a few of the other insider members and the results were a mixed bag, some of us (including myself) get lower fps in vista. However others had higher.

My desktop that I did the test on has older hardware tho, so im re-doing the test with my notebook next week to see if I get the same results.

You can alternativly go to totalbf2142.com the best BF forums I know of and search for the xp vs vista threads and find quite a few people have reported better fps and gameplay on Vista.