Downgrading Vista to XP

[MalDON]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

since there are a few references to RAM here, id like to throw our a question. my macbook has 1GB of ram. the only games i play are ffr and sm so would it be beneficial to buy another GB or two of RAM or just stick with the 1GB that came with the laptop?

Yes, but don't but apple ram. Why? Apple ram is the same kind normal laptops have, only they charge you a ton.

A gig of ram on Mac is like using vista on a gig of ram. OSx uses a lot more ram than most people think. In fact, it's pretty heavy on the ram. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you stayed with a gig.

[OrganisM]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

2. Overclocking: Don't do it. It's not worth the increase of a few hundred MHz.

I beg to differ. The entire Core 2 line is highly overclockable, and it's very easy to achieve a stable overclock. Tom's Hardware was able to overclock a $120 dual core running stable at 4GHz. Heat management is relatively simple and can be taken care of with a good HSF which can also be very cheap nowadays. Overclocking should not be synonymous with damage and instability. It's just running a part at a higher frequency than the manufacturer decided to rate it for, not beyond its capabilities. Aside from that, if you're worried about the life expectancy of your part, to give you a good idea, the average life expectancy of a part is supposed to be about a decade. Overclocking it might bring it down a year or two. But most of your overclocking will be done with relatively mainstream parts. Tell me, what do you use your 1998 computer for nowadays? You might have replaced it in 2002. And didn't get that free performance boost.

Now, in terms of FFR. Flash has hardware support now which means you want to invest in a nice video card. Nothing fancy, just something better than the build on video. You can pick up a nice card for under 100 bucks from various online retailers.

Unless FFR was recoded with GPU acceleration in mind, there will be no effect. Aside from that, any DX9 card will work, so chances are anybody who plays games here already has what they need. As for vs. ingegrated, manufacturers love to save up money with built-in chipsets, and my god is it a crime. A discreet video card is now practically essential for any computer over $300. However, there are cheaper solutions. For something like this GPU acceleration, this card would even work. For $20 more, you'd have GDDR3 memory, which runs faster, and surprisingly be able to play quite a few games with it.

But make sure you do your homework, some online stores like to sell the lower end version of the card as if it was the higher end one. For example, you can get an 8800GTS for 89 bucks, BUT it only has 320 megs of ram. That kinda ruins the point of an 8800.

Actually, that's not a dupe. The 8800GTS you're thinking of is based on the G80 stepping, which Nvidia modified to make the G92 stepping, the technology on which the entire 8000-series you know is based on. The first 8800GTS came out in 640mb and 320mb, but isn't nearly as powerful as the 8800GT or the new version of the 8800GTS that came out after the 8800GTX was pretty much done for.

So, the version of the 8800GTS you'd be looking for is the 512mb version which is the G92 stepping, as opposed to the G80 stepping 320mb or 640mb version. But I wouldn't call that false advertising. They're clearing out stock and it's up to those who purchase to know about the varying architecture, since such information is freely available on hardware websites.

Check this out. I hate to keep referring back to TH, because it's really not the only hardware site out there, but it's a good one. That gives you, month by month, on average, the best gaming video cards you can get for the money. At the end, there's even a hierarchy chart showing you how powerful one model is against another. Notice the qualifier though: GAMING cards. Unless you're going to be doing 3D gaming and a lot of it, don't bother. You do not need an 8800GT or even a 9600GSO if you're playing FFR, browsing the internet, and once in a while playing DOOM 2.

since there are a few references to RAM here, id like to throw our a question. my macbook has 1GB of ram. the only games i play are ffr and sm so would it be beneficial to buy another GB or two of RAM or just stick with the 1GB that came with the laptop?

Make sure you check your system specs and know what you have, because not all laptop memory is the same (number of pins, operating frequency). However, it doesn't matter what brand you buy (not really). Apple just buys up third party RAM and rebrands it as their own and sells it to you for ubercash (owait, just like other companies do). Cut out the middle man.

[dood gone krazee]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

Alright, so I want at least another 1Gb of RAM, I need a new router (I figured that out, my router is a dinosaur and not Vista compatible) and I shouldn't bother with a new video card because I won't be gaming like THAT on a laptop. I also shouldn't overclock. One last thing. Would I need a new video card for Stepmania or O2Jam?

[OrganisM]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

Alright, so I want at least another 1Gb of RAM, I need a new router (I figured that out, my router is a dinosaur and not Vista compatible) and I shouldn't bother with a new video card because I won't be gaming like THAT on a laptop. I also shouldn't overclock. One last thing. Would I need a new video card for Stepmania or O2Jam?

Ah, sorry, this was all hypothetical response based on MalDON's post, which seemed to be mostly about desktop hardware.

You for all intents and purposes couldn't really overclock your laptop. There are limited software overclocks that are possible, but your BIOS would be the best bet, and for obvious reasons the BIOS of your standard laptop would not include such options. The only laptops that would allow that kind of thing are the ones with desktop parts in them, the huge ones from custom builders with those Clevo cases. Those cases at least kind of have the room for circulation.

You'd have a tough time replacing whatever video card you might have in your laptop. It's rare for anything but a high end computer to have a swappable card. Most have built-in cards. Yo'ure set there. And no, Stepmania and whatever else do not qualify as heavy 3D usage. You do not need a new video card for that. You probably couldn't put one in this laptop if you wanted to.

Download CPU-Z and PM screenshots to me, or post text of what the RAM section says (number of slots used, type of module) and I can tell you what's going on. If you have 2x512mb sticks in there with 2 DIMM slots, that means you'd have to remove one of your sticks to put a 1gb stick in, or whatever.

[lumphoboextreme]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

wait a second... i thought vista was causing all of my problems with FFR... i mean i can play a song right now and get 100 goods and go to my friends, play the same song on xp and get under 5 without any problem. i just can't find the problem i guess.

[OrganisM]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

Like I've said in the other thread, there are many variables from one computer to another, so blaming Vista is not the way to go.

[lumphoboextreme]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

will it eventually fix itself to where i can play again or will i have to find the problem?

[Squeek]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

As mentioned previously, the biggest culprit is probably Flash.

As someone who codes in Flash frequently, I'll be the first to say that it is among the most horrible coding environments ever. Right above Assembly language.

NOTHING works like it's supposed to in Flash.

That said, you could try downgrading Flash or (obviously) playing in low quality.

[lumphoboextreme]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

i play in low quality to begin with and i have no idea how to downgrade my flash player, i don't even know which one i have.

[OrganisM]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

Well, that's a little different. Assembly was never supposed to really be user-friendly. No reason to use code that low-level. C and its derivatives are plenty low-level enough to accomplish pretty much anything you want.

[MalDON]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

Well, that's a little different. Assembly was never supposed to really be user-friendly. No reason to use code that low-level. C and its derivatives are plenty low-level enough to accomplish pretty much anything you want.

Excuse me? Assembly is plenty user friendly! You just have to know what you're doing. That's like saying the command line is not user friendly. It's more user friendly than almost all apps out there.

[OrganisM]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

I do know what I'm doing, and it's for a reason. I'm plenty familiar with programming and I don't have a phobia of command lines as I've been around since the dawn of the modern GUI era, but thank you. I just happen to like the conveniences something like C++ provides. What reason have you to be coding in assembly?

[Izzy]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

Like I've said in the other thread, there are many variables from one computer to another, so blaming Vista is not the way to go.

There is clearly an issue with vista or its drivers when using flash or ffr. Not a hardware issue.

As for putting xp on your laptop, It is really just personal preference. I'd suggest it if you are really planning on playing tons of ffr. Make sure you have drivers for it. You will need wireless internet drivers and what not.

[Kagome]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

I've played on a laptop with vista and had no lag or any issue at all. If anything it ran better.

[Izzy]

Re: Downgrading Vista to XP

I've played on a laptop with vista and had no lag or any issue at all. If anything it ran better.

My vista computer doesn't "lag" either. But it randomly gets offbeat by 2-3 frames. I would still call it lag. Seeing that you don't seem to have the greatest accuracy I don't really believe you would be able to see it or not.