Conclusion
Should you change your operating system just to get a few more frames out of your hardware? That really depends on what you use your machine for. If, for instance, you overclock your rig and are out to get the fastest frame rates around, then sticking with Vista when you could be getting more frames out of XP seems churlish.
We're not talking double figure differences here, but then again, your overclocking generally only amounts to a few extra frames as well. If, however, you want to run DX10 games, then Vista is in surprisingly good shape – it's by far the fastest way to enjoy the likes of Far Cry 2 and there's no question that your games will run.
Ideally you'll have 4GB of RAM or more and be able to run Vista 64 too. And what of Windows 7? It's fast, particularly for number crunching, and can perform well with the latest games, but if you're looking for speed alone it doesn't quite beat Vista yet.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First published in PC Format Issue 227
Liked this? Then check out The future of graphics cards revealed
Sign up for TechRadar's free Weird Week in Tech newsletter
Get the oddest tech stories of the week, plus the most popular news and reviews delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up at http://www.techradar.com/register
