64bit vista vs 32 bit

I bet this is asked many times but if I were to get a new computer, will it make sense to get the 64 bit over 32 bit?

I am already using 32 bit vista no problems what so ever.

I am wondering if it is better for perfromance? I have to use it for simulation software and games. please advise.

Also can a computer run both 32 and 64 bit windows. If that is the case I might install both

 

32 bit operating systems cannot use more than 3Gb of RAM even if your computer has more. Thus, if you have 4Gb of RAM or more on your new computer, you must get a 64 bit OS in order to fully utilize its potential.

As for performance, the increased RAM that can be used, I suppose, would allow for greater performance.

 

Well, at least you've won your bet. There's even a whole thread dedicated to Choosing 32Bit vs 64Bit – Please Read before asking - it would probably profit you most to read through that thread first (DetlevCM put a lot of hard work into it), and then come back here with more specific, pointed questions that weren't addressed in that thread.

 

Well... whatever it comes with is fine in most cases, but...

You never want to have to worry about compatibility ==> 32-bit

You have limited system resources ==> 32-bit (uses less disk space and a little less RAM)

You're an enthusiast and you want slightly better performance and possibly 4gb+ RAM, and if an occasional program or device doesn't work then you'll happily find an alternative instead ==> 64-bit

 

hmm ok. i need to run CAD programs and all but i was sticking to my 32 bit cause of possible compatibility issues.

conflicting issue is more ram prob makes it run faster, yet 64 bit might have compatibility issues. double edged sword

 

Well, you can check your existing programs to see if they're compatible with 64-bit Vista.

 

What CAD programs are you going to use?

 

autocad solidedge

also need to run matlab

 

Can you sticky any one of the 100,000 34vs62bit threads? There were two of the same threads just this morning!

 

No merge them into one thread of 5 million pages then sticky it

Watch the server break again lol.

 

I've been using 64bit OSs since 2007 with my Linux and my Windows. And they all work fine. And it can read the 4th Gb of my RAM

 

All three of those programs have 64-bit versions.
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3

I doubt a dedicated sticky will happen, but I can add the 32-bit vs. 64-bit Guide to the main Windows sticky.

 

I've suggested before that a 64bit sticky be made with answers to all questions regarding 32 vs 64 bit, because I asked a handful of questions. I haven't seen one anywhere yet though.

 

It's maybe because there is no good thread with the info which'd help. Maybe we can copy-paste from somewhere else, there're 100s of them elsewhere, with permission of course, citing the source and giving the credit to where ever we get it from? Unless it's not allowed.

 

Here is the one I was thinking of: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=357233

 

Not for the lack of trying, but it is full of stuff like that, which is neither here, nor there. If you were absolutely ignorant to the difference between the two, I doubt that link'd help. Still, it's the best dedicated link available in-house, and if made sticky, should take care of the next threads on this topic.

 

i'd stick with 32bit unless you have too much ram

i'm using 64bit but there are some programs that don't really like it

 

oh. I think i saw somewhere saying that 64 bit somehow keeys 32 bit files on a separate identifier meaning 64 bit is just as compatible and more than 32 bit?

but thanks for the info but unfortunately I think the versions that I do have are all 32 bit. So how does that play out for using those on a 64 system

 

MOST (90%+) of 32-bit programs work fine on 64-bit Windows, but a few don't -- all you can really do is search the internet to see if they're compatible, or ask people if the specific program works for them on 64-bit. There's no general answer that will be right for every program.

Also, if you have peripherals such as printer, etc. that require drivers, search the internet to check if there are 64-bit drivers available.

 

Does that issue get resolved fully with the move to virtualized legacy support in Win7?

 

Well, I suppose if you have Win 7 RC or Professional or Ultimate, and you download the VM for running XP, and you set up XP using that, then you can probably run the legacy programs in that, yeah.

But keep in mind that it's an extra OS to maintain, sorta, and that home editions of 7 won't support the virtualized XP thing.

 

Fair enough; however, I would suspect that most home users won't need the sort of legacy support a VM would provide, and those that do will manage to justify the additional expense (or additional time spent avoiding that additional expense ) of stepping up to the enterprise flavor of Win7, just as some home users could justify stepping up to XP Pro, or to _Vista Business.

 

Yea, it's not perfect, but it's a pretty good guide that has a lot of information. I'll see what I can do about making it a sticky, or at least more prominent in the Windows sticky.

 

I'm happily using Vista 64bit for a couple weeks now. I've also used Vista 32bit for a while as well. I don't think it's necessary to have both (it is possible) unless you have really old hardware peripherals that lack driver update support as they might not have compatible drivers. But the majority of recent stuff is 64bit good to go. The more RAM, the better.

 

"Neither here nor there" - I think you just described about 99.99% of the posts on NBR!

 

Using Vista Ultimate 64 Bit here and I've never felt my lappy better, very fast, since I am fully utilizing my 4 GB RAM now, and luckily enough, my laptop's drivers are all available from HP for teh 64 bit flavour

 

What happened to "XP FTW"?

 

He's saving it for his next thread

 

He got tired of it spell-checking his constant use of "teh"

 

Aaah - "I see" said the blind man!

 

You sure have contributed a lot! -

 

Feeling a little peckish this morning, are we?