64 vs 32

I am going to order a new Compal ifl90. I just want to know the difference between 64 and 32 bit OS and which one i should get.

 

Get 32bit. 64bit support and drivers are still lacking, and there is no real benefit whatsoever...at least there won't be for a year or two. Even then, the benefits won't be a big deal for probably 5 years.

 

Actually, it seems to be the OS support that's the problem, rather than drivers. There are drivers available for most hardware by now, but the OS (both XP and Vista) just don't seem to run as well as their 32-bit counterparts

 

I agree with Jalf on this one; 64-bit technology is one of the few technologies out there that came along too early.

Firstly, 64-bit operating systems can address more memory (4GB> i think), but few users have such hardware requirements.

Secondly, 64-bit supporters often tout the performance increase, but benchmarks show a minute increase for the higher prices.

Sixty-four bit technology just isn't ready to make a big difference in any consumer's buying decision. I would avoid running a 64-bit OS.

 

I woo Go For 32-Bit

 

Im running x64 Vista Ultimate with no issues at all.

Id not run vista as x32 since it has a great gain with 4gb of ram in gaming (desktop) and you need x64 to use it all. Its also overall a quicker OS and we should be moving twords x64. x86 is very old why take 64bit cpus and run them in a 32bit enviroment??

 

ViciousX, I've got an IFL90 on order, with 64-bit Vista Business. Can you give us some idea of what software you DO run w/out problems? I'm a software dev, with a gaming habit. So if MS-Studio2005, Oracle9 or 10, and doom3/quake4/half-life2 all run fine, I'll be a very happy boy.

 

I dont use much software, and if I do its usually not mainstream with the exception of photoshop.

I have doom3 i'll test it out (even tho im 99% sure it works) I lost my first disk to hl2 so i have the last 4 but not the first one so I cant install it :/, quake4 never played.

Im sure you will be fine, more than sure. But its still a good idea to do a dual-boot system incase you do run into issues.

 

I also run x64 Vista Ultimate on my desktop with no issues. The only application of consequence is ESIV: Oblivion. Otherwise I don't have much installed there. I can say that install and configuration of everything was fine. The x64 version has been cleaned up greatly since the Beta and RC releases (which I did have issues with).

 

I didn't say that.
It's about time we get 64-bit, it's just Microsoft that's dragging its feet.

And yes, the 4GB limit is a very real problem even now. True, most people don't have 4GB RAM, but keep in mind the 4GB limit is for RAM + pagefile.

Look at how big the average game is on the harddrive. Often bigger than 4GB. It would be far simpler for developers if they could just load everything into memory once, and let the pagefile store rarely used data. Instead, they have to constantly load data, delete it again to make room for new data, and so on.

Also keep in mind that Windows reserves the first 2GB for its own use, so there's only ever 2GB available for applications to use. And this is for all applications combined.

4GB isn't really a lot.

 

I have a question, sorry if its a little off topic,
So are 64bit processors...kind of a waste when used with 32bit operating systems and applications?

 

Not really. They're fully 32bit compatible, and run 32bit applications at full speed, and I believe they even will parallelize some 32bit floating point instructions if possible.

It's not really a waste because they can't just make the floating point unit half-width and really save anything, once they have the 64bit interfaces designed. Go ahead and run 32bit code on 64bit CPU's with abandon, and those of us who are nerds will keep working on the 64bit stuff, flushing out the bugs for the rest of you

 

Awesome. XD

 

Can anybody restate Pitabreads post in layman terms. way over my head here!!!

 

It's spelled "Pitabred", and the technical details don't matter The important part is that you won't lose any performance by using a 64bit processor instead of a 32bit one, and you will have more capabilities going forward should you choose to take advantage of them. The ONLY reason to get a 32bit processor in a personal laptop any more is if you're trying to save every little bit of money you can.