Windows 7 gaming: will it hit the spot?

Geoff Spick29 July 2009, 9:41 PM

Gamers fled Windows Vista in droves thanks to at-launch performance and driver issues. Has Windows 7 fixed the problem?


At the end of its shelf life, Windows Vista is okay for gaming thanks to endless patches and driver improvements. However, in its early days, there was much gnashing of teeth as gamers suffered performance issues, glitches, incompatibility. Windows 7, while charming most users during its test phase, will have a tough job convincing gamers who are after every last frame-per-second and rock-solid compatibility.



Above: a screenshot from Assassin's Creed 2, a game coming out around the same time as Windows 7.

There is a well-thought out Q&A on this subject on BitMob that provides a little history and plenty of detail on what gamers of all types can expect from Windows 7. Of particular interest are Windows 7's abilities to cope with older games (will that 3.5" collection of floppies in your attic with Eye of the Beholder still work) and will 64-bit make a big difference?

We think the most interesting question is will Microsoft try the hard nudge away from Windows XP that it tried (and failed) with Vista? Will there be Windows 7 only games? Perhaps a PC-version of the Xbox Live system (beyond the Windows for Games LIVE effort) with avatars, trophies and so on. How about a decent games store to rival Steam?

We'll see in a couple of months as this is all stuff that can be developed outside of the RTM version of Windows 7 and added at any point, allowing for a lot of leeway. Or, as highlighted by the slashing of several Microsoft gaming studios, is the company about to give up on PC gaming in any meaningful capacity?

Post your comment



Comments

RSS feed Email alert

Tin (Regular user):

Vista only games were actually DirectX 10 only games. Said games are now Vista+7 games, and it's likely that any games choosing to exclude XP users would also be due to DirectX 10.

As for Steam like systems... Can't see Microsoft doing it in a way people like. And pulling the old "exclusive" thing to attract customers just pissed people off (ala GTA4 on PC)

29 July 2009, 10:46 PM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

K (Cornerstone member):

Most of the people I know who want the latest & greatest games have already given up on PC hardware and gone for an xbox360 or PS3.

30 July 2009, 7:50 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Me In Oz (Cornerstone member):

Quoting K:
gone for an xbox360 or PS3.

That's all well and good for arcade style games and FPS but I bet 'most of the people' you know haven't successfully played an RTS on a console.

I'm not having a go at consoles, just that the 'huge' online gaming community and the RTS and RPG crowds would hardly support the console as a 'serious' gaming device.

But I don't want to start a console vs pc gamer foodfight here ;)




30 July 2009, 9:01 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Your Average Joe (Cornerstone member):

Quoting Me In Oz:
But I don't want to start a console vs pc gamer foodfight here ;)

One bad word about the Wii and it'll be on for young and old ......... I'm warning you! ... ;)




30 July 2009, 9:07 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Me In Oz (Cornerstone member):

Quoting Your Average Joe:
One bad word about the Wii and it'll be on for young and old ......... I'm warning you! ...

I agree! The Wii is a great console ......................... My 4 year old loves it ;)




30 July 2009, 9:38 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

K (Cornerstone member):

Quoting Me In Oz:
I'm not having a go at consoles, just that the 'huge' online gaming community and the RTS and RPG crowds would hardly support the console as a 'serious' gaming device.

Yes that's true, especially for MMORPGs and RTS games, but console multiplayer shoot-em-ups appear to have strong support. The "most of the people" I was referring to are older guys who got sick of the constant expensive hardware upgrades, and are now more casual players - why do it when you can buy an entire console for less than a PC video card upgrade?



30 July 2009, 10:40 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Abaddon (Regular user):

Quoting K:
why do it when you can buy an entire console for less than a PC video card upgrade?

Because old people get RSI too quickly on stupid console controllers. You only play half the game (because the controls are so clunkly that the console has to guess where you're aiming). Because you want real HD graphics.
Because mouse and keyboard is the only way to play.

And a smiley face because this is a nice post :D




31 July 2009, 5:47 PM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

CBR1100XX (Cornerstone member):

PCPowerplay did a test run on Win 7 and Vista and found very marginal improvements in gaming. Lets hope by the time RTM is unleashed the OEM drivers and the OS code is way better.
Although, lets face it, Win 7 is just Vista Code v2.0

30 July 2009, 8:44 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Me In Oz (Cornerstone member):

Quoting CBR1100XX:
PCPowerplay did a test run on Win 7 and Vista .....


Yeah! We did some DX10 Game benchmarks and found Win 7 only slightly better than Vista. About 3% to 5% on Crysis, Call of Juarez and Biochock. Hopefully 6 months after release we'll see more improvement and developers improve their coding for DX10 and DX11 (coming soon) games.


30 July 2009, 8:55 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Your Average Joe (Cornerstone member):

Quoting Me In Oz:
slightly better than Vista

Found the same sort of stats down here.
Although we also found that the drivers for Vista work perfectly for Win7 RC too. So I would suggest the code is not that different at the moment, but have found Win 7 to be slicker (whatever that means) and boot times are at least 50% better than Vista.




30 July 2009, 9:12 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Nato (User):

A console system is incomplete, it has to do just one thing, play a game well, thats it. One driver serve's all, so in a way its just simple cheating when it can do bugger all else. Why do people not get that. Then then theres the games that can be finished in under a week, somtimes a day that cost $100, they are a joke. And as for the wii, got sick of looking at the terrible graphics after 20min and shelved the thing.

30 July 2009, 5:11 PM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

DJ Morpheus (New user):

I have been a hardcore gamer for many years now. I have seen consoles come and go, yet the both communities still seem to be at war with each other. I admit, the console is definitely a plug-in-turn-on-and-game machine, which is good for impromptu game sessions, yet it is found wanting in many, many areas such as support for mods and better graphics. I have owned a PS2, XBox 360 and a PS3. they, i saw as just a novelty. played them for a maximum of 6 months and now are gathering dust not used.
The PC however in my eyes is the ultimate gaming platform.
Sure the upgrades of a pc surpass the price of a new ps3 or xbox360, but the rewards are more than astronomical and the graphics and frame rate are second to none.
I design my own mods for various current games- Left4Dead, STALKER, Crysis and FEAR2. There is a massive modding and support community for pc users and gamers. What i would like to see is that our mods which we make, be able to be installed to a console so that their users can make better use of games and a more rewarding experience.
In regards to Windows 7, this is the pony to bet on.
It is fast, more responsive and in whole, a better OS to game on.
there is only one hiccup that i have run into, and that is running the Left4Dead Authoring tools application.
it refuses to run!
All my other games run flawlessly and i see a smoother framerate.
the machine i do all my gaming on is a dusty dinosaur-
2.2Ghz AMD Athlon X2(overclocked to 3.2Ghz with LCS), Gigabyte GAK8N Pro sli Mainboard and two 8800gts 640mb video cards.
XP was a great OS in its day, and still is. I use it sometimes as it is a dual boot system. Vista however, with my experience, as i have it on 2 of the laptops and both running the 64bit Ultimate variants, has been very woeful. Now 1 of the laptops is dual booting with vista and win7 64bit. my preference is windows 7. period.
I am days away from a major pc update( Core i7 975 based), and yes i will be installing windows7(rc1) and it will be the mainstay gaming rig. It's total costing is enough to buy 6 ps3 consoles, but in the long run, the pc will still take preference and outperform any console for many years to come. If only consoles would let me use my G9 and G19... i might consider digging the ol' consoles out from the closet!

04 August 2009, 12:29 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

DJ Morpheus (New user):

I have been a hardcore gamer for many years now. I have seen consoles come and go, yet the both communities still seem to be at war with each other. I admit, the console is definitely a plug-in-turn-on-and-game machine, which is good for impromptu game sessions, yet it is found wanting in many, many areas such as support for mods and better graphics. I have owned a PS2, XBox 360 and a PS3. they, i saw as just a novelty. played them for a maximum of 6 months and now are gathering dust not used.
The PC however in my eyes is the ultimate gaming platform.
Sure the upgrades of a pc surpass the price of a new ps3 or xbox360, but the rewards are more than astronomical and the graphics and frame rate are second to none.
I design my own mods for various current games- Left4Dead, STALKER, Crysis and FEAR2. There is a massive modding and support community for pc users and gamers. What i would like to see is that our mods which we make, be able to be installed to a console so that their users can make better use of games and a more rewarding experience.
In regards to Windows 7, this is the pony to bet on.
It is fast, more responsive and in whole, a better OS to game on.
there is only one hiccup that i have run into, and that is running the Left4Dead Authoring tools application.
it refuses to run!
All my other games run flawlessly and i see a smoother framerate.
the machine i do all my gaming on is a dusty dinosaur-
2.2Ghz AMD Athlon X2(overclocked to 3.2Ghz with LCS), Gigabyte GAK8N Pro sli Mainboard and two 8800gts 640mb video cards.
XP was a great OS in its day, and still is. I use it sometimes as it is a dual boot system. Vista however, with my experience, as i have it on 2 of the laptops and both running the 64bit Ultimate variants, has been very woeful. Now 1 of the laptops is dual booting with vista and win7 64bit. my preference is windows 7. period.
I am days away from a major pc update( Core i7 975 based), and yes i will be installing windows7(rc1) and it will be the mainstay gaming rig. It's total costing is enough to buy 6 ps3 consoles, but in the long run, the pc will still take preference and outperform any console for many years to come. If only consoles would let me use my G9 and G19... i might consider digging the ol' consoles out from the closet!

04 August 2009, 12:34 AM (7 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

DJ Morpheus (New user):

update:::
i have just done a full upgrade from the old dinosaur. it has mutated.
and yes Windows 7 runs even more silky smooth and faster and games run perfectly with higher than expected framerates at 1920X1200 resolutions on maximum detail. i have yet to find a game which will bring the OS and rig to it's knees!
my new system consists of:

Intel Core i7 920 C0 cpu ( overclocked from 2.67ghz to 3.91ghz )
Asus PT6 Deluxe V2 X58 Mainboard
GSkill Trident 6GB DDR3 2000 1.64V ram
Gigabyte GTX 295 video cards (X2 in SLi config)
Coolermaster UCP 80+ 1100W psu
GSkill Falcon 256GB Solid State Discs (X2)
Western Digital 750GB Green Hard disc drives (X2)
Pioneer BluRay Burner
LG DVD burner
Windows 7 64Bit OS
and all installed into a Thermaltake Armor+ tower case.

hardware aside, with the Windows 7 Operating System, this is the best ever Microsoft product ever produced.
I seriously suggest fellow gamers on pc to go for the upgrade to windows 7. it is the most slick and fastest operating system ever.
I recommend windows 7 for everyone.

09 September 2009, 9:34 PM (6 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

anonymous user Anonymous user


Tags