Windows 7 and game compatibility

[TwwIX]

I have no issues with Vista. That's not my dilemma.

I Am building a new system and i am wondering whether i should stick with Vista Ultimate x64 or switch over to its 7 equivalent. I Am aware that it performs better than Vista but i hear that it still has plenty of compatibility issues with lots of games.

What's your experience with 7?

 

[arch5]

I run Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit with a theme to make it look like Win7, and I only get problems when I try to run older games, but there is usually some fix.

I would reccomend going with Win7 just because it handles resources better.

 

[Krynn72]

If you're playing games that are a decade old, then maybe there will be a bunch of compatibility issues, but otherwise, there really aren't that many. And if you get ultimate, it has a pretty good XP compatibility mode.

 

[kupocake]

I switched from Windows Vista Home 64-bit to Windows 7 Home 64-bit. It was only worth it at the £40-ish price point really. No differences in compatibility certainly.

 

[Acepilotf14]

7 runs quite a few of my games better than Vista did, and I've been on both 32bit and 64bit for both. I'd suggest going that route. All new games will run flawlessly, and game 6-7 years back will also run perfectly, especially through Steam or the like.

If you're going to be playing twelve year old games you should probably pick up an extra old computer or something with XP or 2000.

 

[CyberPitz]

I even have success playing StarCraft on Win7 x64. As has been said, unless you're playing really old games, you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[TwwIX]

No, i am not worried about ancient games. I Am talking about more recent titles.

 

[Acepilotf14]

Win7 will work fine then, I recommend it.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

If it runs on Vista, it's mostly safe to say it'll run on Windows 7.

 

[VirusType2]

Win7 has a huge advantage (11 FPS) when it comes to multi-GPU setups. Other than that, it's a wash from XP through 7, with XP generally gaining 1 FPS or so. (all OS updated with the latest patches)

As far as compatibility, there's a few of my games that won't work on 7 (that worked on XP), and a few that I had to do something special to get to work - nothing major, mind you.

If you're already using Vista, you shouldn't see any compatibility difference when going to 7. This contradicts what you said, so I could be wrong.

 

[Ennui]

I'm still afraid to upgrade from XP because I don't want all my beloved 90s games to stop working...

 

[VirusType2]

I would have suggested to dual boot (XP and 7), but he's using Vista.

 

[Cornerstone]

I've run into some problems with games that worked in Vista but have troubles or don't run in 7. As well I have some games that run in 7 that never worked in Vista.

Games I can't get to run on 7 that worked in Vista:

KOTOR 1 & 2
Sacred & Underworld
Medal of Honor: Airborne
The Bards Tale

Games with new issues with 7 but still work:

Bioshock (no sound, fixable)
Mass Effect (crash on configure, fixable with newest patch)
Sam & Max Season 1 (error on start up, fixable with XP compatibility)

 

[VirusType2]

Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.

no problems:
GTA: Vice City
Dirt
TES4: Oblivion + all expansions
Gears of War
Condemned
Visual Pinball

I think these worked, but I can't remember if I tried these on 7:
GTR 2
XR Rally


Here are the games I had problems with:

No sound in Bioshock (is fixable, but you must uninstall your 3D positional audio file - it's like .5 MB and can be reinstalled.)

save game directory in Resident Evil 4 requires elevated permissions with UAC enabled.

FarCry doesn't work for me. You need the 64 bit installer, which was not included on the 6CD version, only the DVD version.

Race Driver - COPY PROTECTION does not support Windows 7. (LOL FAIL) - It may be possible to willingly download the latest version of SecureRom, and then try installing it. But yeah, that's not something I was eager to try. I do need a couple games on XP in case I get bored while using it.