I've been on Newegg and Mwave, looking at the different Vista packages, and the more i look, the more i am confused on which to get.

This will be for my son's new machine, which will have:

Q6600
Abit IP35 Pro
4 gigs of ram
a couple of 400 gig SATA drives
8800GTX video card

So as you can see, the system should be plenty robust enough for Vista.

He will be using this mainly for serious gaming. I wanted him to stick with Windows XP Home, but he is thinking about the future, and he is probably right.

Anyways.... I see 32 bit and 64 bit versions, and OEM and Retail versions? What is the pro's and con's on each of these?

Don't get Vista now, because there are bunch of bugs with that operating system. It's too early for it right now. You should stick with Windows XP. Don't get Windows XP Home Edition, get the OEM copy of Windows XP Professional since its a lot better.

64 Bit, I would say get Windows XP Professional x64 bit, because you will have the flexibility of enjoying a 64 Bit operating system, PLUS your computer would be faster than if you get Windows Vista.

If your son wants to play Halo 2 or other games which require Windows Vista, then I suggest you get the Windows Vista Ulitmate 64 Bit operating system or maybe even Home Premium or Business, but like I said, Windows Vista has bugs which leads to incompatibility, so I would stick with Windows XP.

I think John you should tell your son to test out Windows Vista and try it out to see how it works before you buy the operating system, because Vista allows you to try the copy for 14 days free, even the most expensive edition, but again, I can't gurrantee any compatibility issues and XP has been out there a lot longer, so I suggest with your memory and stuff to get Windows XP Professional x64 Bit Edition. For even better compatibility, getting the 32 bit instead of Windows XP Professional would be better and that is the one I have right now on my advanced gaming computer.

OEM and Retail: OEM ships with just the operating system CD and the licence. Retail ships with the CD, the licence and the books and stuff you would expect from a software box, however, Retails are like double the price of the OEM and that is why it would be better to get the OEM. Oh, another thing I need to stress here, OEM doesn't have support for the operating system like the Retail does and if you need support for the operating system, you are going to need to get the retail.

The pros of 32 and 64 bit again is compatibility issues, despite on your hardware, you might find a certain device on your computer not compatible with a 64 bit operating system, but since your computer is brand new, I really don't think you would have any problem with compatibility. 64 Bit technology is more advanced than the 32 bit and newer processors come with it.

I would say Dual-Boot (if u have enough money to afford both):

1. Windows XP Professional 32 bit.
2. Windows Vista Ultimate or Home Premium 64 Bit.

Or test one of them including Windows XP Professional x64 bit edition to see what you like the best and use just one of them.

Kute Punk Kay Pee Kay Tee Pren Tiss Kute Punk Kay Pee Kay Tee Pren Tiss

...looking at the different Vista packages, and the more i look, the more i am confused on which to get.

Look HERE to distinguish the difference between the five flavors of Windows Vista.

So as you can see, the system should be plenty robust enough for Vista

Yes it's robust enough except for the 4GB RAM. Vista 32 bits will only recognize the first 3GB and use the remaining 1GB for something else. For more info, read the following article

Dude, Where's My 4GB of RAM?

He will be using this mainly for serious gaming. I wanted him to stick with Windows XP Home, but he is thinking about the future, and he is probably right.

Heed Kay Tee Pren Tiss comment in Post 1 above.

Anyways.... I see 32 bit and 64 bit versions, and OEM and Retail versions? What is the pro's and con's on each of these?

Kay Tee Pren Tiss already covered it in Post 1 above.

i_Xp/VistaUser

If he is a hardcore gamer, I would probably suggest sticking with XP, at least for now. And I support the dual boot or VPC option as well.

well, good old XP won't do him much good with a 8800GTX card.

this card makes only sense with vista, otherwise it's just a waste of money. there are lots of dx9 cards performing just as well for half the money.

My wife says Vista is pretty.

OEM is for your situation maybe. You would assume the risks involved if you read each eula. Both versions kind of stink now anyway. Get the cheaper OEM and support it yourself. Otherwise get the retail and let MS provide tech support.

I'd get the 64 bit if ALL of my planned applications FULLY support 64 bit AND my drivers all all HCL. Otherwise you have little use for the extra bits now.

I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you low-branching widely cultivated annual herb Arachis hypogaea of the legume family with showy yellow flowers.

Hey I didn't know Vista 32 Bit eats up 1 GB on a 4 GB System! Pretty interesting fact that I've learned on here that I have to be aware of.

Kute Punk Kay Pee Kay Tee Pren Tiss Kute Punk Kay Pee Kay Tee Pren Tiss

Hi
I have windows vista 64 bit premium installed on one computer and windows vista 32 bit premium version installed on an other computer, both computers are working fine no problems and no bugs. I am very happy with windows vista