Vista ready to play game?

To answer this question, we tried the weak strength when playing games on Vista and found a lot of surprises. The following answers will explain quite specifically and some suggestions for you to be able to play better games on Vista.

Three reasons Windows Vista does not support PC gaming effectively

1. Hardware incompatibility . This is not a big surprise, but anyone who upgrades to Windows Vista recognizes this, which is a common problem for a newly released operating system. Surprisingly, gamers can feel the hardware they are using - 3D graphics cards - to work with their existing game library in Windows Vista will give lower performance than with Windows XP. On the Internet there have been numerous reports of games like World of Warcraft and FEAR about slower processing speeds of 20% -40%.

Vista ready to play game? Picture 1 Not surprisingly, the main culprit is 3D graphics card drivers, typically DirectX 9 (DX9) and lower-size video cards. (DirectX is a Windows API designed by Microsoft to allow software developers to standardize access to low-end computer peripherals such as video graphics processors. Latest version now DirectX 10.)

Windows Vista has a new driver model that refers to the graphics processing unit (GPU) to perform memory mapping, which is useful for locating memory and other system resources. with each application open. The operating system also uses GPU to create and maintain complexity in 3-D graphics at both the interface and application level. For example, each window in Windows Vista - whether a folder or a game - it is considered as separate applications and graphics related to displaying this application controlled by the GPU.

With Windows XP, its operating system itself and not the GPU will perform this function. More specifically, drivers for XP are written and focused on kernel mode - the basic class of Windows. To allow the GPU to maintain 3-D graphics applications, Windows Vista performs at a more localized level of the operating system, known as user mode.

The advantage here is that this architecture change allows for increased stability in Windows Vista. Because the drivers are localized, a conflict caused by the effects of the graphics driver will not adversely affect other 3-D applications. The downside, however, is that the new operating system is taking a lot of time for developers to figure out the most effective way to write drivers for this new model. Today's performance lag requires software developers to rethink the most efficient coding process for graphics processors.

Unless you want your system to go back to Windows XP, the simplest answer here for this problem is to upgrade video drivers promptly - ATI graphics card manufacturers (now owned by Advanced Micro Devices Inc.) and nVidia Corporation are releasing updated drivers and new drivers. With the investment in research and release of drivers by companies gaming performance for DX9 cards in Windows Vista has improved.

2, Another incompatibility is the game's backwardness . This is also one of the biggest frustrations of gamers when an operating system is upgraded, since older games will not be able to run in new environments. For example, when upgrading from Windows 98 / ME to Windows XP in 2002. One of my favorite games is High Heat Baseball, a game that has hundreds of hours of playing, but doesn't work in the environment. new operating system.

The same frustration also appears in a large number of gamers who have installed Windows Vista. Chris Donahue, Microsoft's director of Windows graphics and game technology, told Computerworld that the software giant has tested about 1,000 of the most popular computer games in the last five years with many hardware configurations. Vista environment. It was a good start, with a large number of computer games worldwide, it was just a small spot.

With what is worth, Donahue also stressed that Windows Vista has gone far beyond what Windows XP has achieved for graphics performance and compatibility. However, this is just a small consolation for gamers, true gamers who don't get the game they like in a proper way.

One of the most complicated factors in adopting legacy XP games to work in a Windows Vista environment is the user account control (User Account Control, abbreviated to UAC) of the operating system. onions. This new security feature requires users to use restricted 'standard' accounts, which is in contrast to the default for all 'admin' accounts with full control. According to Donahue, the introduction of a new model for installed applications and files in the write-protected folder is one of the biggest influences on the incompatibility of games. The answer is to specify another directory - a 'standard' user account can be written instead of the Program Files folder while installing the game.

One of the other incompatible reasons that came up here was caused by the StarForce copy protection method that many game makers had to incorporate into their titles. Popular versions of previous anti-piracy software have caused a number of errors to prevent gamers from playing their favorite Windows XP games. What is the problem here? It is simply incompatibility - like many applications, older versions of StarForce do not work properly when running on the Vista environment. StarForce recently released a new version that is compatible with Windows Vista; however, the only way to get it is to download a patch for your specific game from the main page.

As a general rule (if you observe), you will need to download and install any of the available updates for the games before running them. Many software developers and manufacturers have released patches to increase compatibility with Windows Vista.

3, Missing DX10 games . Incompatibility is a bad thing, but perhaps the biggest weakness with Vista gaming is that no DX 10 game was released in March 2007. A bad truth for gamers at It takes at least 6 months for Windows game developers to finish the DX 10 standards. Crysis is one of the standards that most gamers enjoy the most but still has not been given a release schedule. until the end of 2007.

This means that during this half-year waiting period, there is no reason for gamers to switch to Windows Vista. Although users with DX 10 video cards like nVidia's GeForce 8800 GTX or GTS can feel satisfied with the old game on a new operating system. Microsoft and a number of vendors have indicated that DX 10 video cards will improve the performance of DX9 video games.

Six reasons you can be satisfied with what Windows Vista brings to PC games

1, DirectX 10 . Undoubtedly, Vista's support for DirectX 10 is the main reason for the question of why gaming in the Vista environment goes beyond gamers' wildest dreams and goes beyond virtual quality. of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. 'When DX 10 games are released, virtual honesty will increase significantly,' said Donahue.

This means a clear increase in the number of objects and features on the screen that create a moment as well as a clear influence on the levels of background detail - trees, water, stars - in the internal and external environment. It also means that the characters' clothes are also evident as if flying in the wind. Based on the image of the previous game released for DX10 games like Crysis, the impact of this new version of DirectX is quite obvious even just by glancing at it. (See the comparison of scenes in Age of Conan: The Hyborian Adventures below).

The increased graphics quality is the result of some improvements in code, operations and capabilities for DX10 results. As an example, the brand-new shadow model (version 4.0) in DX10 allows for more detailed nuances. DX10 is clearly a leap in the graphics technology that Microsoft has compared to previous versions like DX9. In fact, the Aero interface has been greatly praised by Vista for running on DX9.

To take advantage of this new functionality, gamers must purchase new DX10-compatible 3-D graphics cards, such as the nVidia GeForce 8800 series. nVidia will probably introduce and release lower-end versions of users for graphics processors in the next few months.

Vista ready to play game? Picture 2
A scene in Age of Conan: The Hyborian Adventures is observed in DX9

Vista ready to play game? Picture 3
Similar scenes when observed in DX10.

2, Crysis will make Windows Vista or higher effective for game players. Under the development of developer Crytek - Germany and produced in the United States by Electronic Arts, Crysis challenges gamers to push away the invasion of foreign troops to strive to conquer the earth.

Developing DX10 makes the game's graphics quality so realistic that it is practically so realistic that gamers around the world will have to crave.

3, Windows Game Advisor . One of the main difficulties with PC games is to determine whether the system's processor, memory and video card are capable of supporting the art in the game. Microsoft's Windows Game Advisor allows gamers to quickly identify how to measure their system with the push of a button. That is quite interesting.

4, Games for Windows Live . Scheduled for release on May 8, the new service will provide the ability to manipulate between Xbox 360 and Windows Vista platform. That means when Halo 2 was released in May in Windows Vista, PC gamers will be able to play Xbox 360. Other standards will support multiplayer games, Shadowrun and Uno, one of the most popular games. The most popular person on Xbox Live service.

Games for Windows Live (abbreviated GFW Live) is a subscription service that has the same functions as Xbox Live. Gamers can choose from two service classes - a free Silver account, allowing the minimum player function or an annual Gold account. Logging in to GFW Live, players will have many options, access to new downloadable games, . Gamers, who already have an Xbox Live account will be able to transmit their game cards (user names) and accounts to GFW Live.

One of the advantages of this Live service is that they can keep the achievements of both single and multi-player players all the time, allowing a player to develop a network of friends and reputation. with my friends. This is a jump to the incarnation of a multi-player game, which until now has existed in independent game-by-game cases regardless of usernames or tests. statistics.

In theory, GFW is very powerful, though we still have some key concerns surrounding Microsoft's ability to protect user security. Some recent controversies show that Xbox Live accounts can be hacked, Xbox Live support staff are helpless to identify and stop thieves, and there are a large number of others. Other complaints are also concerned about online security.

Creating network security and similarity between Xbox Live and GFW Live is an ideal solution for these new services. Until Microsoft proved that the company was interested in these security issues, then gamers could not massively register for the service. Fortunately, that can't happen because there aren't a large number of games available.

Vista ready to play game? Picture 4
A picture of Crysis

5, Parental Controls in Vista . Windows Vista goes one step further by allowing parents to adjust their kids to play games. This may seem harsh, but these controls demonstrate that Microsoft understands what parents need in the digital world today.

6, DirectX 11 . and beyond . One of the strengths of Windows-based games is the continuous development of hardware infrastructure. Microsoft quickly took advantage of hardware improvements with a series of continuous reviews and upgrades to DiectX.

With DX10, Windows Vista showed a new architecture platform for Microsoft DirectX API, clearly this is just the beginning of Microsoft. We will review DX 10, which is not a secret, Donahue said.

That means that in the next five or six years in the presence of Microsoft, gamers will play games on a truly evolving platform, maximizing performance using PC hardware. This is far superior to gaming consoles on the PS3 and Xbox 360. For many gamers, this is a great improvement - a massive game revolution is opened. .

Conclude

It is a long way that Windows Vista will come to truly maximize the game's performance. The arrival of DX10, when combined with DX10-compatible video cards, will give unprecedented results in the virtual quality of the game and allow Windows Vista systems to outperform the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

However, we still have to wait about 6 months to get the richness of DX10, which will perfect Windows Vista or rather give the game a better feel at this time. The chances of losing compatibility with your favorite games aren't really worth it. A landmark player is waiting in Vista for a short time: May, Halo 2 release date for Vista.

When autumn comes and DX10 games are released for sale, you won't be able to sit there and blame yourself, a game player without upgrading. Prepare some money in the budget to buy a new DX10 3-D graphics card.