I've been messing around this newly found my computing entertainment: 64-bit OS (specifically Vista) Thanks to the SuperFetch, my desktop experience is experiencing a 180 degree turn. SuperFetch is by no means perfect, but definitely a step in the right direction. I used to try hard to keep my machine lean and clean but I think that's going to change big time.
Then even bigger surprise came: Some games run faster under Vista than under XP. The difference was quite tangible so that I could tell it without checking up the FPS counter. I first thought it was very strange because it's kinda against the common sense - Vista is a resource hog / Games were not coded for Vista / NV's Vista drivers are far from being mature.
The answer I found was the amount of system RAM. I was quick to find it out but the surprise that came from the answer was even bigger.
http://img525.imageshack.us/my.php?image=4gbqs4.png
I took out 2 sticks (out of 4) from my system and ran the game again. And this time, I experienced the same slight stuttering that I experienced in XP while playing this game. Putting back the 2GB instantly got rid of stuttering and the FPS looked to be, by the glance of FRAPS counter, 10~15 FPS higher.
Is this a good thing? I'd reserve my judgment for now. Certainly Company of Heroes is a very good looking game but there are, in my opinion, better looking games that are less heavy on the resources. But things aren't as clear-cut as I hope it to be. We don't know the true potential of Vista yet. New generation GPUs are here (or soon to be here). 64-bit computing seems to be finally being pushed foward. And together with SuperFetch, the OS now has no problem handling huge ammount of RAM. How about DX10? How soon will we see the fruits?
Only thing I'm relatively sure is that by the end of the year, most benchmarks will be carried on with 4GB of system RAM on Vista 64-bit.
Then even bigger surprise came: Some games run faster under Vista than under XP. The difference was quite tangible so that I could tell it without checking up the FPS counter. I first thought it was very strange because it's kinda against the common sense - Vista is a resource hog / Games were not coded for Vista / NV's Vista drivers are far from being mature.
The answer I found was the amount of system RAM. I was quick to find it out but the surprise that came from the answer was even bigger.
http://img525.imageshack.us/my.php?image=4gbqs4.png
I took out 2 sticks (out of 4) from my system and ran the game again. And this time, I experienced the same slight stuttering that I experienced in XP while playing this game. Putting back the 2GB instantly got rid of stuttering and the FPS looked to be, by the glance of FRAPS counter, 10~15 FPS higher.
Is this a good thing? I'd reserve my judgment for now. Certainly Company of Heroes is a very good looking game but there are, in my opinion, better looking games that are less heavy on the resources. But things aren't as clear-cut as I hope it to be. We don't know the true potential of Vista yet. New generation GPUs are here (or soon to be here). 64-bit computing seems to be finally being pushed foward. And together with SuperFetch, the OS now has no problem handling huge ammount of RAM. How about DX10? How soon will we see the fruits?
Only thing I'm relatively sure is that by the end of the year, most benchmarks will be carried on with 4GB of system RAM on Vista 64-bit.