Best Operating System

[dennis51]

It appears from reading many posts that people are using many different configurations to run IRacing. I am curious from the experienced racers what Operating System do you find works best. I have a PC with dual core processors and 4 gigs of ram so I can use XP, Vista or Win 7.

Having used all 3 operating systems in my work I still prefer XP.

But I am interested in your comments and suggestions.

 

[David24]

I never have played iRacing. But from everything else I would go with XP. Vista (and I assume Win7) is a memory hog.

 

[JMH714]

Go for Windows 7. I have heard lot of people - including my A+/Network+/Cisco instructor - that Windows 7 is far better than XP and Vista.

I'm happy with my Vista with just 4 gigabyte memory and it runs iRacing smoothly. I planned to look into upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 Professional.

 

[Michael James]

Windows 7 seems like the best.

 

[wslates]

I had the Windows 7 RC. Best operating system ever.

 

[Hendrick4life]

Windows 7 Ultimate is Awesome x64 At that makes it even better. I just miss my Docked Sidebar....

 

[HoosierDaddy]

If you use a PC. XP pro and some other versions of XP are the best. Use less memory and everything and run more efficient. On top of that, everything simply WORKS with xp. Plus there are SO many add-on's to xp that if you need a docked sidebar. There's an app for that. You want cool fade features like vista or whatever? There's an app for that. Seriously, do some digging on google and youtube and see what you can do with xp to make it even better and on top of that, the better you machine is, the better you can run other programs like iRacing because windows isn't hogging it.

 

[David Brown]

If I'm not mistaken, XP only comes in 32 bit while Vista and 7 have both a 32 bit and a 64 bit version. 32 bit OS's put a restraint on all memory including RAM, I believe it's at 4 GB (I wish I was paying better attention that computer class) while 64 can go way higher (I forget how high). Because the limit is at 4 GB for all memory, that means the RAM memory limit is less than 4 GB, probably around 2-3 GB. If you're thinking about upgrading, I would suggest a 64 bit version of Windows 7. I don't know if 7 takes more RAM than XP, but I do know it takes much less than Vista, and with the RAM limit removed from the computer, you might still end up with more free RAM than you currently have using XP.

 

[moppenheimer]

Win 7 hands down

 

[HoosierDaddy]

That was my idea.

 

[JMH714]

If I'm not mistaken, XP only comes in 32 bit while Vista and 7 have both a 32 bit and a 64 bit version. 32 bit OS's put a restraint on all memory including RAM, I believe it's at 4 GB (I wish I was paying better attention that computer class) while 64 can go way higher (I forget how high). Because the limit is at 4 GB for all memory, that means the RAM memory limit is less than 4 GB, probably around 2-3 GB. If you're thinking about upgrading, I would suggest a 64 bit version of Windows 7. I don't know if 7 takes more RAM than XP, but I do know it takes much less than Vista, and with the RAM limit removed from the computer, you might still end up with more free RAM than you currently have using XP.

Windows 7's requirment are almost similar with Vista, however, they said it's running bit faster than Vista. I once ran Vista on 2 gigabyte memory and it was pretty smoothly, but not recommended for system hogged games such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.