If i was to use a windows one what one would you pick and why?
I'm afraid the days of discussing "packet crafting tools" in public on a UK-hosted site are
long gone (for me anyway).
The UK govt considers nmap a "hacking tool" and one thing this govt is good at is passing stupid unworkable laws so as sure as night follows day someone is going to be a "test case" and it isn't going to be me
To be fair they're not the only ones - nmap is illegal to possess in Germany for example.
I think you should go read the Linux section. Use a LiveCD to install - PCLinuxOS is very easy to install. Alternatively find a LiveCD which contains the tools you require and just boot that - no need to install Linux on the machine.