32 vs 64 bit

What is the main difference between 32bit vista and 64bit vista?

Why should I upgrade?

How much more demanding of hardware is x64?

 

You shouldn't upgrade unless you need to use 4gbs of ram, or have specific 64bit software.

 

For most people, their is really no appreciable difference between 32bit and 64 bit whatsoever unless they plan on using 64bit intensive applications.

My advise to anyone planning on 'trying' it out would be to consider all the options carefully. Although there is an excellent guide by Trebuin on this website, everyone will find that there are growing pains in completing a perfect 64bit application. For instance, many dont realize that 'flash' is not compatible with 64Bit Internet Explorers such as IE or Foxfire which takes away video capabilities in the 64bit version. Thankfully though, you can revert to the 32Bit version which works fine.

The other benefit is that 64Bit will recognize your systems full capability with respect to RAM. In most cases this is 4Gb due to hardware limitations although in 64Bit, it is technically possible to exceed 180Gb of Ram. Can you imagine the price of that??? Most people will never use the full 4Gb of ram for their personal use which again brings in to question whether or not you really want 64Bit.

I personally find that my 64Bit setup runs about 10-15% quicker even with 32Bit applications and is much more stable. You can also add in to this by recognizing that viruses have agreat deal more difficulty penetrating 64Bit architecture. Im not even sure if they really can to be quite honest as i dont know of anyone who has had a 64Bit system that has gotten a virus.

So in the end, it really just comes down to how much you love that little lappy of yours. Do you have alot of geek friends that would be amazed at you running 64Bit seamlessly??? I get alot of comments regarding this and have heard a number of times the addage "Doesnt 64Bit crash all the time?" or "Its incompatible with all 32 bit applications" which it is not of course.

In the end, I loved putting this system together piece by piece until I got it where it is now, this coming from a guy who literally rips at the guts of most systems by tweaking and poking and prodding about.

Does that help at all???

 

Yep, as always flamenko, your a plethera of knowledge.

Is it any more demanding on hardware? Will it run as smoothly as 32 on the same hardware?

 

I would rep you Flamenko, but unfortunately, I already repped you yesterday for the vista tweaks. It's telling me I have to spread it around before I hit you again.

 

I cant answer for your Sony but it runs just fine on my
M1330. I don't think, for the most part, hardware will be any more prob than finding the right stuff (ie 64bit Vista Video at http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/drivers/vista64)

 

so when i buy ultimate (from bestbuy), does it come 32 and 64 bit and then i decide which to install?

 

Sorry...Cant answer that one...

 

Retail copies of Ultimate include both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions in the box. You choose which one to install. I'm not sure if this applies to the upgrade version, but it probably does. I'd think it would say on the box anyways.

For the other editions (not Ultimate), they only include the 32-bit version in the box. If you buy one of these, then you can get the 64-bit version by requesting it from Microsoft and sending about $10 or so for shipping.

 

Why does 64 bit require at least 4 GB ram?

 

It doesn't, but using at least 4 gb of RAM requires 64-bit.

 

Basically, with 64-bit, you lose some hardware compatibility (and a small amount of software compatibility with old programs). The main downside is you can no longer connect any old device to your computer and just assume you'll be able to find a driver that will let you use it.

But with 64-bit you gain a little performance improvement, better security and stability, and the ability to utilize 4 gb or more of RAM.

So personally, I'd go 64-bit if I knew it would work on my hardware and I didn't mind restricting myself to adding only devices and hardware with 64-bit support. If you're not sure about the compatibility and you don't like to tinker, then maybe 32-bit is best.

 

A 32-bit OS can't recognize more than 4GB of memory (and part of the memory space is reserved for other purposes, so the most you'll see practically speaking, is 3.5GB or so)

So if you want to play with more memory than that, you need a 64-bit OS. But a 64-bit OS still runs fine with less memory.

 

Oh I see. So running 64 bit on a system with 1 GB of ram will result no decipherable difference in performance?

 

Read for yourself

 

so i can get 64bit home premium?

 

It doesn't require 4GB RAM, rather users who have 4GB RAM on their systems and who wish to utilise the entire portion (instead of 3.2 or 3.5GB) must install 64-bit Vista. The technical explanation for this is how 2^32 equals just under 4GB.

Edit: Far too slow, and yes 64-bit home premium editions are available.

 

Sure.
If you buy Premium at retail, you can use this page (toward the bottom) to send away for the 64-bit DVD:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/64bit.mspx

 

At this time there are no advantages of 64 bit over 32 bit, only disadvantages in hardware and software compatibilty. Someday 64 bit will be better, when software is actually developed that will take advantage of 64 bit. After running the underachiever of the millenium, xp Professional x64, and being continuously disappointed with it's underperformance as well as it's lack of support, I went back to xp32 bit.

When I recently upgraded to Vista Ultimate, I first installed the 64 bit version. The inability to use unsigned drivers alone would have been enough to switch back to 32 bit. When software incompatibilities surfaced as well it was the deal-breaker, I went back to 32bit.

The 32 vs 64 debate has been tested on a few sites and 64 bit almost always underperforms.