Vista Home Premium 32 bit or Vista Ultimate 64 bit?

Which is better of the two OS? And why?
Vista Home Premium 32 bit or Vista Ultimate 64 bit?

A computer business friend of mine back East has offered to send me the Vista Ultimate 64 bit but I don't want to take it unless I can really use it. He is allotted 50 for his business and wants to give me one.

 

This whole 32-64 bit has been coming up A LOT recently;

The run down;

1) If you're a "normal" user and you don't need more than 3.17GB of RAM.... ALWAYS go for 32 bit.

2) If you need more than 3.17GB of RAM (and need it badly), and are aware of all the driver issues with 64 bit then go with that.

IMHO - I'd always recommend 32-bit its just simpler to work with and the better option for the vast amount of people.


72oo

 

Drivers can be hard to get working on 64bit.

If it aint broke don't fix it, right?

Ultimate offers a few more features, which you can read on Microsoft's website, but for most i would suggest sticking to the 32bit os.

 

dont know what your all on about, got mine working fine. 80% of the V32 drivers work fine and the other is just the video drivers that you get from laptopvideo2go and the fingerprint reader from another dell. they will eventually release drivers for them properly.

and as for your question, i chose v64 because i want to use the laptop to its full potential, the cpu was designed in that way they are working on games that use it; 4gb of ram is good for vista mine sits on 1.2gb on idle and runs smooth.

 

Won't the SP1 take care of the driver problems mentioned?

I'd like to hear more from users who "Actually" used 64 bit.

 

Note that commonly used tools like RMClock will give driver warnings every time since they don't have 64 bit signed drivers for those tools... I would wait another 6 months at least and see how much 64 bit catches on with drivers and utility software providers...

 

Vista 64 is a better OS for a number of reasons but mainly for memory and security. It also takes advantage of 64-bit processing if the software you are using is 64-bit.

I am sure they will still be compatibility issue's out there with drivers and applications but so far in my venture into Vista 64 I have had no major problems - all my devices have been sucessfully installed in my M1530.

If we all keep resigned to the fact 32-bit is an easier way to go we will stay that way forever.....Windows NT 3.1, which was released in 1993 was the first full 32bit OS and now look..... 15 years later we are still there even tho hardware has full 64-bit support. Why? Because software developers are too lazy to change and people are to scared about finding drivers.

I think you should try it.... if you run into problems or don't like it - put 32-bit back on.

I had 32 bit installed before 64 and with my 4GB of ram Vista detected 3.5GB of it.

 

vista 64bit is great!! I'm not sure what all these people who have never used it.. I just went from 32Bit to 64Bit Ultimate and I love it.

The majority of 32bit programs perform flawlessly on 64bit. but I said a few. Yes, a few drivers are hard to locate, but that shouldn't hold anyone back from using it.

 

we seam to be a minority out there, i run it on my desktop and my xps memory issues are enough to make me dicide

 

I plan on putting Vista Ultimate 64 on a 30 GB or so partition on my Vostro. I like XP Professional quite a bit right now but if in the future I decide I want to go to Vista, I'll have it ready.

 

i just can tell you that its great, i have no problem with it... even from installing everything was running as smooth as possible

check it out http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=158277&page=41

this link is how i migrate to vista 64X

edit- btw im using m1330 so i dont know if you will be lucky as i was with my m1330 but i think everything will be ok

Cheers Beto

 

actually i came from xp sp3 hehe everything was doing great there... but now with vista 64 i think its a good upgrade... i dont regreat at all
cheers

 

Mind if I ask which drivers those were?

 

Jlbrightbill

I've been running a dual boot on my desktop w/ vista 64bit and xp pro 64bit, for forever it seems. And recently sometimes I really can't remember why I even have XP anymore- it's a hassle booting in, booting out, synchronizing my files, etc. What we do still use XP for is gaming...... And we dual boot now on the XPS laptop and our alienware for just that reason....

But other than that, Vista 64B has arrived- it rocks!!!!!

 

Hey nobscot6... I noticed your maxed out with your XPS:
Dell XPS M1530/c 2 DuoT7700 2.4/4GB/Vista Ult 64B

Have you ran PCMark or 3DMark with that? I bet it rocks! How are your temps with it?

 

hey jack53
no, i haven't run any benchmarks yet. Between school, work and getting the samsung screen replaced on this laptop, I haven't had the time. Plus I threw in more memory and upgraded to dual boot w Vis Ult 64B & XP 64Bit.

it's a good gamer...... for sure......

 

Yeah I'd like XP Pro for gaming...

The only problem with making Vista Ultimate 64 my primary OS is that my copy of XP Professional is legitimate.

 

Vista 64Bit is by far superior to 32Bit. The only real downfall anymore is the skeletal remains of those who had tried it earlier on with little success. Compatability is great, there is a visual performance increase in many 32bit programs as well as 64Bit, it allows you to use the full 4Gb of ram you may have, you are now able to use your 64Bit processor at the level it was intended, stability is increased and drivers are easily found here, at Dell.com or most definitely at www.x-drivers.com .

Along with that, regular updates automatically install as Microsoft has elected to support the x64 community.

The bonus of all this is there is a GREAT x64 Team here that will jump in to help as soon as you have a problem.

This site has put a whole new face on x64 and, to my knowledge, anyone who has moved over hasn't gone back. I do now a number of reformed naysayers though the swear by 64bit.

Enough to convince ya yet?

 

Well Les, hearing from you was enough to convince me! Some of the others helped, but you put me over the top as I KNOW your good.
I'm telling my friend from DE who is into Data recovery and builds computers, to send me a copy! I gotta wait until April... but HEY! It free for me!

Jack
I just talked to Microsoft & they'll be sending me Vista 32 & 64 bit
ultimate with SP1 in April. So I'll get you a copy then. These are
usually good for 10-20 installs.
Alan

 

64 bit is not inherently better like a lot of you seem to think. Quite often it just runs along at the same speed or just a bit slower than Vista 32 bit. Stability is much more the result of how a someone uses the system than it is "64 bit is more stable".

Aside from supporting 4GB of RAM, there is not much actual difference between the two in normal use. Its better to use 64 bit as well to help everyone kill off 32 bit apps fasters.

 

Its not so much "as many of us seem to think" Ocelleris as it is what we all are experiencing.

The days of conjecture and speaking without knowing have passed here at NBR and it is a great experience. Not only are several happy with what they have accomplished through trust of others here, but also, I know several that were 'nay sayers' and now jump in whole heartedly to help others.

I can go back a few months when this was all new and there was a thread from a member (no names mentioned here) who was a very vocal voice against 64Bit because he had so many problems. I offered my assistance and he now, as I, swears by 64 Bit.

 

I don't think you REALLY know what your talking about. I KNOW Les (formerly Flamenko) does and take his word for it. Maybe you'd better go back and read his last two posts.

 

Misconceptions about Windows Vista x64 Edition

Operating systems such as Windows Vista x64 Edition are not automatically faster than their 32-bit counterparts. In some cases, they may even perform slower because of the larger pointers as well unrelated OS overhead. Overall, an application’s performance depends on what it is used for and how it is implemented. Emulated applications running within the Windows on Windows 64 layer (discussed in more detail later in this article) will not be able to address any more memory than they could on a 32-bit system

http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5709
Publish Date: Feb 18, 2008

Unless you are running a 64-bit application on a 64-bit capable platform you are not taking an advantage of the 64-bit computing.

 

I've read them, its all subjective information.

 

There is really no reason to be vocal against 64 bit computing, however being pro 64 bit can be bad too. A lot of people take their time, read up, and pay attention when they install a 64 bit OS, and as a result the experience is better. Or they wipe off a messy and slow 32 bit OEM Windows install, and go with a clean 64 bit install which ends up being better. After they go through this whole process, they end up with a nice running computer they are happy with, and they spread the word. I have seen this happen repeatedly on this forum and others. Switching to 64 bit did not make the difference however, its the time and effort the user put into the PC that made the difference.

 

Here is good reading
Vista 64-bit on XPS M1330

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=158277

 

i actually found that i dropped 20 3dmarks with V64 (like it makes much difference) but it still could be a driver issue