Vista 32bit with 3gig of ram vs Vista 64 bit with 4gig of ram

Is there a NOTICEABLE increase in performance going from 3gig to 4gig of ram?

Trying to decide what version of Vista to go with and if it's worth buying a 2nd 2 gig memory chip....

Thanks,
Chris

 

I zapped all that bloatware using Stallen's clean install guide and reinstalled Vista Basic 64bit. I also have 4GB of ram. The performance difference is tremendous and stability is freaking awesome (no problems), startup and shutdown times are amazing (30sec for startup and about 10 sec shutdown). I would definately say go 64bit and if you are a speed freak like myself I would go with the basic version. The aero shell is just complete bloatware, something I'll never use. This leaves me to wonder why people equate the better vista version as being the one with more features. Streamlined = Faster no doubt about it.

 

I did almost the same except that i have application software such as SQL in the boot.I have 4 gigabytes and I see a performance different. Vist64 has been measured to be about 10 percent faster.

I use Aeroglass but not the side bar.

 

The ram doesnt create the difference, but rather the 64Bit OS. I noted months ago that I felt it to be 10-15% faster even with 32Bit apps and much more stable an environment.

 

I haven't tried 32-bit 3GB vs. 64-bit 4GB so I can't personally tell you the performance benefit.

It seems like the biggest argument for people to stick with 32-bit has been "lack of driver support." I think that argument is old and worn out. All I have to say is, the driver support for 64-bit has been there for me. Obviously there are a full set of 64-bit drivers for the laptop available from Lenovo. As far as hardware goes, I have a Canon printer, an ExpressCard eSATA adapter, two external eSATA optical drive enclosures, two SATA optical drives, an ExpressCard KPC680 EVDO BroadBand Wireless card, and an eSATA external hard drive enclosure. All have had 64-bit Vista driver support.

I have only encountered one hiccup. I used a program called SPSS for a statistics course. I had to download a patch for it to work with Vista, but that had nothing to do with 64-bit. That was a Vista compatibility issue. Anyway, the patch fixed the problem. Other than that, all of my 32-bit applications run great on 64-bit.

I have found that it has become the overall consensus (among those who have actually worked with Vista 64-bit) that Vista 64-bit is noticeably faster and more stable than Vista 32-bit.

Just do some homework. If you have some very old software from the Windows 95 days you will probably run into problems. Many of these programs still have 16-bit architecture. 64-bit Vista will not run 16-bit applications from what I understand. But, you shouldn't have problems with 32-bit applications. And, obviously, you must have Vista 64-bit to run any native 64-bit applications.

Also, before you go with 64-bit, go to the manufacturers website to check for drivers for all your old hardware. Chances are 64-bit drivers are available for any hardware released in the past couple years.

 

Hi Stallen,

"It seems like the biggest argument for people to stick with 32-bit has been "lack of driver support." I think that argument is old and worn out. All I have to say is, the driver support for 64-bit has been there for me. "

I do have 64 bit Vista and I may agree with you about driver support but if you are developer, it's not restricted to driver support.

I use Access databases a lot and there will be no 64 bit JET engine for access and as of yet there is not 64 bit SQL compact engine. There are lot's of differences. These things can be over come by building traditional 32 bit applications and running them in WOW mode on Vista 64. But it's true that it's not only drivers that used to be limited, it's things that are used to build applications today for 64 bit systems that are missing.

 

Thanks for the great feedback guys. I dunno what I'd do without you. I will go with Vista 64. I hope I follow directions correctly, I purchased Vista Home Premium with my computer. So I hope I can figure out how to Goto Vista 64 without aero.

Stallen, your thread on clean install is great.

 

Yeah, just follow the guide. Switching to 64-bit and getting it activated is not trouble if you follow the guide to the letter.

Also, I discovered a little free utility made by another member here on NBR called "WinBubble." There are many MANY "tweaks" that you can perform using the utility. One of them is adding the ability to turn off and turn on Aero just by right clicking the desktop and selecting "Turn off Aero" or Turn on Aero." No, you don't need a utility to turn on or off aero, but it sure makes it convenient.

Hey it's free and has a lot of cool features. I think everyone should at least take a look: http://unlockforus.blogspot.com/2007/12/unlocking-winbubble-part-1.html

Here is the thread that the author of Winbubble started here on NBR: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=176221

Note the author has several utilities: WinGuggle, WinFlog, WinBubbles. Each utility offers something different, but I think the Aero feature is overlapped in the WinBubble and WinFlog utilities. For the most part "WinBubble" has the most features and the one I recommend.

 

With the price of ram being so low. I would suggest you get 4 Gig. Also move over to 64 Bit Vista. It is not like it will cost you extra for 64 bit anyway. I am on it and am very happy. It has been solid so far. I like it more then 32 bit. Can't pin point the difference from 3 gig (32 Bit) vs 4 gig (64 bit) but I like it better and notice sometihng seem to be a little bit snappier..