Some Vista Questions

[Galgum]

Ok, so I got my new rig, AMD Athlon 64 x2 5600 2.8ghz, 2 gigs of Corsair ram at 5-5-5-12, and a XFX Geforce 8500gt 512. Yes, I know the vid card is the lower end of the 8 series, but it was 67 dollars.

 

In any case, I got the Orange Box for the PC, Team Fortress 2's requirements are:

 

Team Fortress 2 Minimum System Requirements

CPU: 1.2 GHz Processor

RAM: 256 MB

Graphics Card: DirectX 7 capable graphics card

Windows 2000/XP/ME/98

Mouse

Keyboard

Internet Connection

CD or DVD rom drive

 

Team Fortress 2 Recommended System Requirements

CPU: 2.4 GHz Processor

RAM: 512 MB

Graphics Card: DirectX 9 capable graphics card 256 MB

Windows 2000/XP/ME/98

Mouse

Keyboard

Internet Connection

CD or DVD rom drive

 

Team Fortress 2 Ideal System Requirements

For running the game smooth in 1280x1024 with High Quality graphics.

 

CPU: 3.4 GHz Processor

RAM: 1024 MB

Graphics Card: Radeon X800 or Geforce 6800

Windows 2000/XP/ME/98

Mouse

Keyboard

Internet Connection

CD or DVD rom drive

 

Now I obviously go for the max settings because I meet all those requirements and then some. Some guy on another forum says he has a single-core P4 and a video card lesser than the 8500, and he can play at max settings. Me, however, with vsync on(to eliminate the frame tearing I was getting), I average around 30 frames. My operating system is a legit copy of Windows Vista Ultimate x64, because I want to fully utilize my 64-bit processor. So why at overclocked settings 680/800 to the stock of 500/667, would TF2 run so poorly at max settings?

 

I also have a few questions regarding my laptop. I took in my Gateway to the Geek Squad under warranty and they gave ma new one. I got the HP Pavilion dv9628nr. Now I know the Nvidia chipset isn't meant for hardcore gaming, but I was assured it would work with Counter-Strike Source, and it does, decently. I noticed that it came with Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit. I figured that a 32-bit OS was under-utilizing my system so I switched to Windows XP Professional x64 with no performance increase. I later read that only XP 32-bit shows a performance increase. I was wondering if a 32-bit OS could really hamper a 64-bit system? For example: would XP 32-bit run more poorly than XP 64-bit on my current laptop? Also, since my buddy is getting me a legit Windows Vista Ultimate key from his college for me, should I switch to Windows Vista Ultimate x64 and download Service Pack 1? I'm merely trying to get the best performance out of my computers, I don't expect too much, just want the best I can get out of them. So, assuming I just restore back to Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, would it be more worth it to go XP 32-bit, XP 64-bit, or Vista Ultimate 32 or 64-bit?

 

If anyone could answer these questions, I would be so appreciative. Thanks