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    Vista 32 vs 64 bit w/ Santa Rosa

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by dmlogs, May 23, 2007.

  1. dmlogs

    dmlogs Notebook Geek

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    I'm looking to purchase a laptop with Santa Rosa / DX10 NV8M and I was just wondering whether it would be better to run Vista 32 bit or Vista 64 bit. Also if running 64 bit will I still be able to use 32 bit applications?

    Thanks :)
     
    dmlogs, May 23, 2007
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  2. JM

    JM Mr. Misanthrope NBR Reviewer

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    It really doesn't make any difference. 64-bit OS' are still developing, and they still have their bugs. I suggest going with 32-bit for now.

    As for your second question, yes, 64-bit OS' can use 32-bit applications. They just run in 32-bit.
     
    JM, May 23, 2007
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  3. atyrrell

    atyrrell Notebook Consultant

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    so why owuldnt one get 64 bit i there is the ability for it to be developed in the future? is not note a noticable difference?
     
    atyrrell, May 23, 2007
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  4. PhoenixFx

    PhoenixFx Notebook Virtuoso

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    As Jon-Michael said, 64-bit Windows OSs are still not mature enough. Besides, 64 bit drivers are still lousy. Therefore you are better off with a 32-bit OS for the moment. But in the future 64-bit OSs will dominate the market, but that will take several years.

    As for running 32-bit apps on 64-bit OS, yes most of them will run; because 64-bit Vista (and 64-bit Windows XP) has a system called WOW64 (Windows on Windows 64) which is kind of a translation layer that takes care of executing 32-bit instructions on a 64-bit OS. WOW64 is much faster than the WOW16 virtual machine like translator Windows 2000/XP had for running 16-bit applications. Therefore performance will not be a big issue for 32-bit applications. But compatibility and driver issues would.
     
    PhoenixFx, May 24, 2007
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