New Graphics Card

[x5ga]

I also realize that running any Dx 11 capable Gfx cards on Vista SP1 limits the card to run only on Dx 10 and below, i've been using SP1 ever since cause i dont really like what SP2 offers and there have been issues after i upgraded to it the very first time. So its kinda a dilemna for me now to either put up with the issues and get Vista SP2 or just keep with it and not use Dx 11 which pretty much defeats the purpose of getting the new card in the first place...

On Vista SP1 you have only DirectX 10.1 support, though not all features are present. I can't find a reason not to upgrade to SP2 if you're using Vista. The benefits include Bluetooth 2.1 support, better WiFi support, improved HD video playback, better power management, integrated support for BluRay recording, and a few others.

DirectX11 is not present in SP2, you'll need the Platform Update for that, which includes a few updates regarding XPS support and the Windows Imaging Component, support for MTP over Bluetooth, and, of course, an updated graphics runtime consisting of: Direct3D 11, Direct2D, DirectWrite, DXGI 1.1, and WARP.
Unfortunately, the Desktop Windows Manager still uses only DirectX10 features and GDI/GDI+ will still use software rendering.

[TifaLockhart]

DirectX11 is not present in SP2,

Did you mean SP1 here?

Actually, when i first upgraded from XP to Vista, there was this issue that most of my files after being rearranged(not by name or date, i moved them myself since i have alot of archived stuff and the default modes of rearranging the files and folders which was available did not meet my needs) would automatically be rearranged systematically everytime i do a restart or power down. Since i have around 6 HDD's with folders and files from thousands to hundreds of thousand and rearranging them was a heck of an issue, i kinda mess around with the Vista by disabling some processes to disable this function which was not an issue in XP. This is only among one of those default options in XP OS which wasnt an issue but was dabbled with by microsoft and tweark and marked as "improvements" to Vista as compared to XP which i find more of an issue rather than an enhancement. Other than that, there was also the annoying UAC and other minor OS "enhancements" on the Vista which i did not like and had to turn them off in a unconventional way. Since then, i basically customized SP1 for my own preferrence and have been avoiding any major OS overhauls. I'm worried that updating to SP2 will cause all my settings to be wiped and the OS would revert to its problematic form causing all my files to be rearranged in a non productive manner, that in which would cause alot of problems and headaches putting everything back to its original working order provided i can actually get it back to working order in the first place.

[x5ga]

DirectX11 is not present in SP2,

Did you mean SP1 here?

Ehh, I did mean SP2... but I wanted it to sound something like: "It's not available if you install only SP2, you need an additional download besides the actual SP2 for DirectX11 to be available".

I'm worried that updating to SP2 will cause all my settings to be wiped and the OS would revert to its problematic form causing all my files to be rearranged in a non productive manner, that in which would cause alot of problems and headaches putting everything back to its original working order provided i can actually get it back to working order in the first place.

I can't say for sure that all the settings and customizations will be left untouched... Though if you ask somebody at Microsoft, he/she will probably tell you that it's safe to upgrade.

[tomoya-kun]

Wow, that water is damn sexy.  When a lot of games start using it, I might have to upgrade.  Bleh,

[vuzedome]

Its not just the water, the entire terrain looks a hell lot better.

[rostheferret]

Wow, that water is damn sexy.  When a lot of games start using it, I might have to upgrade.  Bleh,

It's also depth of field, for example the blazing sunlight making the distance hazy, and like vuze said the physical terrain too. Basically instead the rather obvious contours it allows for far finer details in everything from rocks to plants. Nobody really knows how the current cards will fare because there's little in the way of tessellation-intensive games to test, except that the 5xxx range was designed with them in mind whereas the 4xxx series wasn't. Even though the two ranges seem to be on par when testing DX10, I reckon the newer ones will fare better in the future, though admittedly it is a bit of a gamble.