Vista 32 or Vista 64?

Looking to buy a Dell XPS Studio 16 laptop for the wife who is a photographer and does a lot of processing (ie Photoshop CS4, Lightroom, etc..).

We are currently Vista 32 users and quite happy with it. I notice the Dell deals online for this laptop come with Vista 64. Two questions:

- for the purposes she needs, will 64 bit Vista make a significant improvement in performance?
- is CS4, Lightroom and other such software even available/compatible with 64-bit Vista?

Thanks.

 

Vista 54!!

 

base on my experience.. there are softwares are not compatible to the 64.. but common software where using are compatible like office 2007 and that one cs4. bout the light room i nevr try..

 

unless you need more than 3gb of memory buy vista32 , as vista64 has more compatibility problems.

 

That's not true Mr.

 

CS4 has both 32 and 64 bit version and it will install both if you have Vista 64. System Mechanics stinks for Vista... it's hard to delete the program and have to follow their instructions to completely delete it. It works well on XP but otherwise I don't recommend it for Vista.

 

If your wife is technically adept with maintaining her PC then I'd strongly suggest x64 as CS4 iirc is 64bit enhanced.

I use a Dell Vostro 1700 and all my hardware runs dandy on 64-bit. The only thing I dual boot XP for is console emulation. 32bit games and apps run fantastic and overall Vista x64 with 4GB ram feels much snappier than 32bit XP with the same amount.

 

I use x64 and I haven't come across any programs that don't work.

It will be worth checking the software manufacturer before ordering the laptop to see if it's compatible with x64. If it is, then go for x64. Then you are sort of future proofed in a sense.

 

I'll say this much, I am running 64 and loved it since day one. Switched over when I got my current rig in March. As for compatibility issues, I've had none with any major programs. 2 or 3 free apps that wouldn't run, but no problems with compatibility. I believe 64 comes with the ability to, how shall I say, revert or dumb itself down to 32 if needed. When you look at a Vista 64 machine in the C:\ drives you will see 2 Program Files folders. One for 64 and one for x86-32. So I'd go with 64 no doubt.......

 

yep, software is most of the time no problem. having to find 64bit drivers for special hw can be a problem. my soundcards have them since january. some usb2midi adapters i have will never get them.

 

Vista 64 is mainly just another iteration of vista to enable you to utilise ram higher than 4gb. I have heard that there are some program/hardware compatibility issues with the version but I have a Vista 64 desktop and have never had any problems with it. In theory 64 bit systems have the potential to run faster than their 32 bit counterparts, and in many cases they do, but because of the slow uptake it hasn't been fully realised yet. Some programs have utilised the performance benefits though, such as CS4. As performance of components goes up and price comes down 64bit platforms are gaining in popularity and will become the norm.
I'm actually very happy with my 64bit machine, it runs a treat
Basically Vista 32 is generally the same operating system with a different architecture so will have a few performance differences but you can only really use a max of 4gb of ram on it (even though it wont actually use the full 4gb). So if you need more ram, you need Vista 64.
Personally i'd recommend to go with Vista 64, especially for what your wife needs the machine for.
There are lots of sites/posts about this. Just google "vista 32 vs 64"
Hope this helps.

 

Any adobe product can run on a x64 system. However, Photoshop has a special addition the makes it for the x64 system. You will get a significant increase in performance for photoshop when you go to x64.

You really won't get many compatability problems, except for drivers. I'd worry about Dell though. They have a horrible history with drivers. They are almost never updated.

 

Thanks all. So if we go with 64 vista, does that also come with a 32 install if you want to "downgrade" or is it just a matter of backward/downward compatability?

As for needing more than 4gb, I would not have thought something like CS4 for diting RAW/TIF/JPGs images would need that unless she has numerous large image files open at the same time (which I gather is not common as she works on one photo at a time).

Do the Dell Studio XPS have only the 2 RAM slots - so that if you buy a laptop with 4gb, you basically need to get one or two new 4gb RAM sticks and replace the 2x2gb ones that come with the machine? Or can you add into unused RAM slots?

 

Once you have a 64bit version, the only way to go to a 32 bit version is a clean install. However, 32 bit programs can work on a 64 bit operating system.

If the laptop already has 2x2gb sticks in there it has 4gb total. I dont think the dell can have 2x4gb of RAM. I have only heard of 1 laptop that can take 8gb of RAM.