Get Vista with a new machine. If you're going to spend the money to get a DX10 capable system why waste your time on an OS that won't deliver it? I've been running Vista for a few months now and it is completely worth it. For the one who complained about Vista and Nero 6? Vista Home Premium comes with its own burning software inherent with WMP, and new DVD Burners come packaged with Nero 7. I've had no problems with it besides one older game that used to CTD every hour. Stability issues? None.

Its true that the majority of those who vote against Vista are those that have never used it. Granted the networking system is completely overhauled and a pain in the ass, but its just something new to learn. And with Vista you can throw away your installation CDs for any peripheral you plug in. Connected to the net? It'll go and grab it faster and better than XP ever did.

Never assume the install files listed in Add/Remove are accurate. In some cases it'll only list the size of the executable file when the actual game/application in its entirety is 100x larger. You are better served checking your Program Files directory and manually checking the size of each folder from the Right-click | Properties.

Play alot of games? Some games have very large save files to store all the data required, especially older games where they never really optimised them so that they became larger in size the further you had progressed in the game (resulting in 100mb being used up per savegame slot). Depending upon the game these will be stored in the games directory or your Documents under your username.

Do you (or another user) use a Torrent program? They will automatically reserve the required space for the downloading file before it even starts to ensure you have enough space during the entire download. This is an easy way to eat up all your HDD space before you realise.

Oh and I know this is a simple one but does anybody else have access to your computer? In todays scheme of things losing 5 odd gig of space in a short space of time isn't that much when you take into account the sheer size of some application and game installs. Ask your friends/family.

At the end of the day all pc games are still scalable. The reason why your computer isn't handling everything Crysis is throwing at it is because its a beta. Not all the coding has been optimised yet. Also you may simply be trying to bite off more than you can chew. Accept you don't have the latest and greatest, drop your rez to 1024x768 and have a long hard look at the anti-aliasing, trilinear filtering, advanced shading, etc, etc, etc.

By the time Crysis launches you will be able to play it on lower spec machines, but companies will ALWAYS push the envelope to the cutting edge as it is such a competitive market out there ESPECIALLY with next gen consoles. Its not a sales gimmick forcing you to buy the latest hardware... they want to get everything out of today's hardware and beyond to make it better than the game that came out last month, and still stand up to games coming out next month, or 6 months down the line... they won't make money otherwise (or as much as they'd like). Its all about profit.

And no I don't upgrade my PC for a specific game... I usually build one every 2 years so I'm at the top for awhile, before sliding into the abysmal hell of slideshow framerates. I however DID break this pattern when it came to DX10 however. Yes I'm using Vista, and its a small price to pay to take advantage of everything DX10 has to offer. And yes I did upgrade to DX10 for modern games that have arrived, and some that are yet to come.

i think the majority of people are hesitant to hook up thier computer to thier tv. I just dont want to read my email in 42" widescreen. dazi

lol fair point but you can always have a normal monitor hooked up to a switch for day to day use, then switch it over for some massive HDTV action from the couch.

I guess I should wade into this argument of PC vs Console simply because the original poster sucked at it.

Why are PCs better gaming machines than consoles? Well for starters there is the ever present upgradability argument. A PC can always be upgraded and stay up with the times. Sure this costs money but rather than having to wait every few years for a better console, PC-Users can purchase the latest and greatest (if need be) and keep up with the latest leaps and bounds in graphics. A console on release (like the Xbox 360 and PS3) may have advantages over PCs for the time being but give it another 6 months to a year while DX10 games become prolific. PC-Gamers will be enjoying faster access speeds and better graphics than that of any console owner, and a console owner will have to wait a couple of years or more to purchase an entirely new console.

Console owners being able to hire games? Meh I guess thats a relative bonus, but not in the world of the internet where gamers can illegally download any and all games that take their fancy, complete, grow bored of, and delete (or backup).

Online gaming. This line is finally being blurred with Xbox Live! increasing in its success rates but PCs have always led the pack in online gaming. Hey, PCs still have a ton of MMOs.

Control capability. Time to add to the KB/Mouse vs Controller debate. The answer is FPS's. I don't care how good a player is at FPS's on a console. Put him against a comparative skilled KB/Mouse player and he will be owned... simple as that. This has as much been admitted by a couple of cross-console releases coming out with auto-aim for the console gamers to counteract the sheer advantage KB/Mouse users have.

And last but not least, although this isn't strictly a reason why is a better gaming machine, is flexibility of the machine. On a console you can play games, and movies, period. A PC in comparison can handle any and all office level requirements (word processing etc), internet browsing, image manipulation programs, and the list goes on. The sheer amount of software in the end is what makes a PC a better gaming machine than a console because while my gaming machine does EVERYTHING I want it to do, a console owner *still* needs to own a PC.