Tech help with Operating System

W

Waynos

Member
Hi everyone,
i am running Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit it is a memory hog and limits recognizable RAM
from what i am told...i am able to run GW2 on low settings without any hiccups.

Here is what i'm wondering;
Is There any free 64-bit Operating Systems i can install via my CD/DVD-RW drive that can handle GW2?
if so can you please include links for me?

If i keep Vista Home Basic will it deny the extra 4GB RAM i plan on adding?

Here are my Specs for now;
AM3 socket motherboard supports 64-bit
Athlon II x3 450 3.2GHz triple core processor
4GB RAM DDR3 1333MHz 240-pin (upgrading to 8GB when i can)
running onboard graphics for now on low settings
When my DVI-I Male to VGA Female adapter comes in
i'll be running a XFX GeForce 8800 GT via my PCI-E 2.0 (x16)
HDD is a Seagate 7200RPM 160GB HD
i also have a Buffalo 500GB external HD for added space

all opinions are welcome and appreciated,
GOD Bless,
Waynos
 
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Any 32bit is limited to just over 3gb.

Personally I think your money is better spent on a cheap Win or 8 upgrade. Vista is not worth he hassle.
 
What Ryan said. Also, there are no free OSes that will run GW2. You'll have to pay for either an upgrade or a full version.
 
RyanB said:
Any 32bit is limited to just over 3gb.

Personally I think your money is better spent on a cheap Win or 8 upgrade. Vista is not worth he hassle.
Click to expand...

is it possible to do Windows 8 preview OS for now?
if so any idea how to make the ISO a bootable disk?
 
blsimpson said:
Yes, you can use Win8 Preview for now. The nice thing is Windows 8 will only have a $40 upgrade cost, compared to previous versions. The downside is it doesnt fall within a very good release..
(Win98 - Good. WinME - Bad, WinXP - Good, WinVista - Bad, Win7 - Good, Win8 - ?)
Click to expand...
You omitted windows 2000.
 
blsimpson said:
Yes, you can use Win8 Preview for now. The nice thing is Windows 8 will only have a $40 upgrade cost, compared to previous versions. The downside is it doesnt fall within a very good release..
(Win98 - Good. WinME - Bad, WinXP - Good, WinVista - Bad, Win7 - Good, Win8 - ?)

Here is a tutorial on how to install it from a USB key: http://hexus.net/tech/tech-explained/software/31765-how-install-windows-8-usb-drive/
Click to expand...

Thanks!!! I had to install Windows 8 via my DVD drive..for some reason the USB wouldn't show up in the Boot order selection
 
I've tried Windows ME and Windows 2000 and they both stink horribly. XP was pretty good I wouldn't have gone with Vista at the time, but they had already dropped support for XP. A dirty trick that was.
 
ursen said:
I've tried Windows ME and Windows 2000 and they both stink horribly. XP was pretty good I wouldn't have gone with Vista at the time, but they had already dropped support for XP. A dirty trick that was.
Click to expand...

I did like XP alot better than vista but like you said no support cancells that out

eventhough maybe not it's best feature;
i gotta say i love how Windows 8 connects to the internet before it loads the desktop.
and a future $40 upgrade outweighs the $99 to buy Windows 7 64-bit via web

only things i have left to to buy for my build are;
a DVI-I Male to VGA Female adapter for monitor to Vid Card connection ($5 @ newegg.com)
1 stick of 4GB RAM (DDR3 1333MHz 240-pin) $21 same brand as my other (tigerdirect.com)
 
How is Windows 8 support for Guild Wars 2? I remember using Windows 7 RTM about 2 months prior to launch, and the video card drivers were spotty at best.
 
I have installed GW2 on Win8 and it runs just fine. Win8 seems to have decent support for drivers as well so I dont beleive you will have much of a problem.
 
stardust said:
How is Windows 8 support for Guild Wars 2? I remember using Windows 7 RTM about 2 months prior to launch, and the video card drivers were spotty at best.
Click to expand...

I havent used my video card yet..
i am ordering 4 more GB of RAM and a DVI to VGA adapter sometime soon.
but i may run into driver issues unless NVidia has released the windows 8 compatible drivers
by the time my adapter and RAM comes in the mail lol.

i don't have the extra $100 for Win 7 64-bit right now
so i'd have to suffer with Vista Home Basic 32-bit until i saved up

right now i'm running low settings smoothly with onboard ATI Radeon HD 3000
but my system (using Win 8 Preview 64Bit) is only recognizing 3. something of my 4gb of RAM.
 
Waynos said:
i don't have the extra $100 for Win 7 64-bit right now
so i'd have to suffer with Vista Home Basic 32-bit until i saved up

right now i'm running low settings smoothly with onboard ATI Radeon HD 3000
but my system (using Win 8 Preview 64Bit) is only recognizing 3. something of my 4gb of RAM.
Click to expand...

...but you can't use that extra 4GB of RAM without a 64-bit OS. :) IIRC, Win8 upgrade is $40.

Question on the 3.something: is it ~3.8-3.9? or ~3.2-3.3. The former is just fine; it would have to do with the conversion of bytes to gigabytes.
 
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RyanB said:
...but you can't use that extra 4GB of RAM without a 64-bit OS. :) IIRC, Win8 upgrade is $40.

Question on the 3.something: is it ~3.8-3.9? or ~3.2-3.3. The former is just fine; it would have to do with the conversion of bytes to gigabytes.
Click to expand...

it shows 4.0GB (3.75 usable) and i'm running the 64-bit Windows 8 Preview..not sure why it wont allow all 4GB.
as bad as Vista Home basic 32bit is, it allows all 4GB to be usable
 
It probably saves some of the memory for some type of kernel-level OS caching. In any case, if you can see 3.7, you can see 7.7 or 63.7. Looks like you're good to go on Win8.

I'd also like to hear how that does, and if you have any issues. Thinking of upgrading as well.
 
RyanB said:
It probably saves some of the memory for some type of kernel-level OS caching. In any case, if you can see 3.7, you can see 7.7 or 63.7. Looks like you're good to go on Win8.

I'd also like to hear how that does, and if you have any issues. Thinking of upgrading as well.
Click to expand...

I can run GW2 on low using onboard ATI Radeon HD 3000 all day long and no issues via windows 8.
i did have to adjust the screen resolution down a bit and that resolved the small occasional lag i was getting.
but that is most likely because i haven't got my adapter to run my GeForce 8800 GT which will run on med-high no problems.

so if you are using a real video card and not onboard graphics then you should have no issues at all.

i must say once i figured out the way Windows 8 Preview works i was rather impressed.
i can load an internet browser in almost record time compared to Vista Home Basic.
speed wise there is no comparison in my opinion
 
Thanks for the update! Very sad my 8800 GT died...was such a good little card!
 
Ok i figured out why i can only use 3.75GB of my 4GB RAM on Windows 8 Preview 64-bit,
until my adapter comes in for my connection to older style monitor i am using onboard/built in graphics.

specs: ATI Radeon HD 3000 and it is using the 0.25GB as video memory.
from what i was told when i am able to use my video card it will not take from my system's RAM
because it has it's own built-in video memory.

if that is correct then i have about $32.28 left to to be running at a full 8GB of RAM
without my onboard stealing system RAM.

explanation of $32.28
RAM - 1 4GB stick of Crucial Ballistix DDR3 240-pin 1333MHz $22.28 (#C19-8805 @ www.tigerdirect.com includes shipping)
(this RAM will match the one i have installed)

Adapter for Video Card to Monitor - DVI-I Male to VGA Female $5.00 (#N82E1681219041 @ www.newegg.com includes shipping)

Total - $27.28
Fee to add cash to PayPal $5 (actually $4.65 or something so i rounded up lol)

GRAND TOTAL - $32.28


Any thoughts on what i was told about the RAM issue?
I only ask because i value your opinions as honest CHRISTians.
 
Just be careful mixing and matching memory modules. Some will not play nice with others, and you can get some really strange crashes and nonfunctional issues mixing different types of memory modules. I have had some weird issues even when matching type down to matching latency, just because they were different manufacturers.
 
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