PC Gaming will reclaim the throne during the last half of this Console Gen.

[greenmedic88]

If you can't run Vista without turning off functions, you're obviously running dated/low power hardware.

But gamers typically upgrade hardware before regular PC users.

I think that was probably Vista's biggest shortcoming back when it debuted. A lot of PC users thought they'd be able to get a "new" computer by upgrading operating systems, when the truth was most were better off actually buying a new computer with Vista installed. They were hoodwinked hence the backlash. Failed initial driver support, performance issues, etc. didn't exactly help either.

As far as PC gamers go, DX 10 was supposed to be the carrot to get gamers to upgrade to Vista, but given the number who still to this day insist XP is a better gaming OS, even those with custom gaming rigs with extreme hardware builds, it implies that most gamers, even the enthusiasts who upgrade just to play the next hardware crushing game, didn't see the merit of DX 10. They just upgraded video cards to run what what already out a bit faster and smoother.

Unless DX 11 shows a compelling difference, it doesn't seem likely gamers will all adopt Windows 7 en masse. Who knows? Maybe it will and maybe gamers will all jump on board, upgrading to DX 11 VGA cards at the same time.

But for that to happen, we definitely need to see a killer game that showcases the advantages of DX 11. Otherwise, it will simply be more of an issue of people upgrading to Windows 7 on the merits of the OS, rather than its benefit to gaming.