Vista Ultimate 32 vs 64 bit

hi,
i am in the midst of purchasing a new laptop, and am really stuck between 32 or 64 bit ultimate. the laptop has directx10, 4gb ram, t7700 just for your knowledge, and i primarily use office, mozilla, some photoshop and a few other mainstream programs...what do you recommend doing.
the guy who i was ordering the computer from said dont go 64 bit, too many bugs, compaititiblity issues and all that...is this right, or should i go with it, what are the benefints and disadvantages, what would you do in my case...
thansk a lot

 

Future proofing (not by much) would be 64 bit though I've yet to see any hard realizations from the technology. 32 bit is what I ran and of course didn't have compatibility problems other then minor programs but I went back to XP so I guess you know my version of things... =)

 

Well, don't know a lot and pretty much the same questions as you, but I do know that 32-bit can't use more than a little over 3 GB of RAM. So that 4 GB wont do much good on 32-bit.

 

3.5 to be exact.

 

thanks guys...yeah, i know i cant use the full 4 gigs...but should i go 32 r 64...im so confused.
are there any benefits or disadvantages, what kind of programs cant i run...or will some be slower ?
so confused.
please help
could i do a dual boot or 32 and 64?
thanks

 

Really? I thought I read it was 3.26.

 

thats what i thought before, but most techies have been telling me 3.5gb./..
thanks

 

If you have to ask what you should go, you should go for 32bit.

If you have an ambitious side that likes to fiddle and play until things are just right, go with 64bit.

If you have a short temper, go with 32 bit.

If you laugh at trivial problems by nature...go 64.

Many seem to come here with the same question. You will get great advice here, great how-to's and alot of people who will jump in to assist immediately but...64bit takes time to, not only find the drivers, but also to individualize it for your system.

 

but is all the extra time and tweaking worth it...are their perofrmnce or any benefits?
thanks
does it have 64bit explorer, is it any different?
thanks

 

Yes and no.. It has 64bit Explorer as well as 32 bit but its touchy getting your video just write in 64bit as Adobe Flash is 32bit.

Is it all worth it? I loved doing it. Its an unfair question to me. If you havent got the knowledge or at least patience to learn, dont bother.

If your looking for some immense difference, you wont see it.

 

ok thanks flamenko, i dont really have the time right now to play with it.
so iu think 32 is the way to go for me.
i would only do it for performanc eor any such noticeable gains.
thanks

 

Nope, there's no exact number.
It depends on the hardware configuration and other things.
Somewhere between 3.2 and 3.7, I'd guesstimate. It depends on how large an address range Windows has to set aside for accessing certain bits of hardware. And that varies depending on hardware and drivers.

Well, first, you could browse the 50 or so other threads here on the same subject to find out a bit more about the difference.
Second, when you buy Vista, your license is good for *both* 32 and 64bit versions, so you don't really have to choose (other than that if you get the 32-bit version, say, you'll have to download/order the 64-bit image to switch. But you won't have to pay for a new copy of Vista.

But about the differences?
Nothing big.
The specific differences are:
All drivers, firewalls and antivirus (and other system-level software) have to be made specifically for 32- or 64-bit. So there are *some* limitations there. Not all drivers are available in 64-bit versions, and not all firewalls work on 64-bit, for example.

But generally, you're unlikely to run into any problems. (And if you can buy the laptop with 64-bit Vista on it, that means the manufacturer supports it, so you can be sure there are the drivers you need)

On the other hand, a 64-bit system might perform slightly better (among other things it can use the full 4GB RAM), and in the case of some games, you might avoid the occasional crash because it runs out of memory (each application is limited to 2GB of memory on a 32-bit system, and many games are starting to hit against that limit)

Basically, I'd prefer 64-bit if I were you. (Especially if you can buy the laptop with 64-bit Vista, it's a sign it's fully supported by the manufacturer.)
And if any problems show up, you can always fall back to 32-bit.

But there's no big problem in going with 32-bit either. Both should work just fine.

And yes, you can dualboot between them.

 

With respect to the dualboot there is really no need I dont think... 64bit works with all 32bit program by making a separate programs directory dedicated to 32 bit. I havent had any compatability problems, with 32 bit, whatsoever because of this.

 

Agreed, but he asked if he *could* dualboot.
It's possible, but there's not much point, as you said.

 

great thanks a lot, my only issue is i dont know if my amnufacturer supports 64 bit;;;its an asus w2 and the guys a tportableone were ognna put it in for me, but they strongly dont recommend it, for compatibility issues , he said...
in this case what do i do.
in 32 bit all my apps can only uise upto 2gb of ram..not 3.2 or somehting?
if i dont game, does that make any difference in your recommendation, and do you think dual booting between the two is stupid?t
hanks

 

ok well discard the dualboot part then please, thanks...
no compatibility issues flamenko...did this take alot of tweaking and stuff..
thansk

 

I enjoyed it and yes, some drivers were a bit difficult. For example, I have a Lenovo fingerprint software program (Tx Treb) because Dell doesnt have one.

As for ram, you also have to ask yourself if you will ever use as much as you have. I rarely do and im using tons of different programs...so...if your just looking for that reason, ensure you know what programs it will benefit.

In any case, we are here to help if you need it.

 

thanks guys i really appreciate it...
basic programs such as office 07 and cs3 wont benfit from 64 bit right...maybe cs3 but mozilla and office wont at all right?
thanks
bootup time wont vary between 64 and 32 right?
thansk

 

No, but it's better to get x64.

 

thats exactly what i dont understand, why is it better to get x64?
future proof...thats it, or is there more to it for the programs that i use, or general systme performance>?
thanks

 

64-bit Windows is better from a security perspective. Less malware is 64-bit compatible, and the 64-bit version of the OS also has kernel patch protection (making it much more difficult for malware to get into the OS kernel).

64-bit also offers a performance improvement when the software you're running is optimized for 64-bit. Of course, 64-bit also allows you to address a full 4 gb of RAM if you have it, instead of limiting you to about 3.2 or 3.4 gb or so as is the case with 32-bit Windows.

 

flip a coin.

 

Even 32 bit applications run a bit faster on x64.

 

ok thanks.
just out of curiosity what "normal" programs are 64 bit optimized?
and what possible problems could i have.
is it really that stupid to do a dula boot between the two, just in cans ei have toruble with one...
thanks

 

hi sorry one more question if you could please clarify
i understand that vista 32bit recognizes just over 3 gigs of ram, but it doesnt allow apps to use more than 2gigs of ram right?
so then what is the point of having 4gigs of ram in 32 bit, wont the system only ustilize 2gbs? and what everyday or mainstream programs can use upto 4 gigs, is office 2007 64 bit?
do you always have to search fro drivers when installinbg wiht 64bit or is theis a rare occasion?
thanks

 

The 2 gb figure is per app. You sometimes have more than one app open at a time, right?

Anyway, I don't know what software is available in a 64-bit version... not too much yet, I think.

 

oh ok, i understand now thanks for the clarification.
thanks
do you know if the os only registes 3.2 or so gigs, that it only uses 3.2 o so gigs. can it use more than it registers? and if im already and my max quota of ram, readyboost is useless, right?

 

It's 3.2 gb or so that's usable.

And readyboost is separate from ram. The OS can use ReadyBoost when the RAM is maxed out. However, readyboost is mainly helpful for machines with low ram, and 3 gb is a lot of ram. So due to the law of diminishing returns, using readyboost with 3+ gb may not make much difference.

 

If you read the various manufacturers forums here such as Dell, Clevo, HP, and so on down the entire list you will see many threads about people having hardware driver issues with the 32 bit. The reason is that the 64 bit drivers were created for and work better with the 64 bit hardware than what the 32 bit drivers do. Drivers are usually available for your laptop's hardware, but they are usually harder to find on the 32 bit.

If you browse these forums and also the Windows OS and Software forums you will see many threads about people using 64 bit that are having trouble getting their unsupported software to work. The example mentioned earlier in this thread of Adobe Flash Player with the 64 bit version of IE.

As others have indicated the choice is really up to you, and you can expect some minor (minor as in able to be solved under either choice) issues with both options. The software issue can be largely solved through using the x86 installation folder and/or using compatability modes if your software is unsupported. Playing with the options or checking for patches to the software will be a large part of it. On the other side, if you go the 32 bit route you will likely have to do some hunting for your proper hardware drivers for the 64 bit hardware that comes with a newly purchased laptop.

Personally, I would suggest trying to 64 bit first and see how well your software is supported for the tasks you are going to be performing. This way if all goes well you will have the better performance. If you have too many problems you aren't willing to deal with you could always try reverting to the 32 bit for a while..

I have been using 64 bit Vista and will never go back to 32 bit on Windows.

 

Do what I do..get 2 hard drives (ok actually, I have 3 hard drives and 4 SSDs (chuckle).

Back up your original or create what you want in 32bit on one hard drive and then experiment on another. The law states only as long as Vista is on one computer (not disk). You can change disks as much as you want. You just have to call to revalidate and explain what you did.

 

"The example mentioned earlier in this thread of Adobe Flash Player with the 64 bit version of IE." -> that's Adobe's fault. They don't want to make an x64 version of their Flash Player.

 

i may try it, thanks,
what kinda gains did you experience with 64 bit in your experience?
thanks

 

Well, I don't have any game that will not run, so this is the positive aspect. However, there are not many games (only a few) that are x64 optimized, since it would mean that developers are to provide with 2 installs (something like Crysis now).

 

k thanks
so its really a gaming bonus as of right now, i think updating later may make mkore sense for me.
thanks

 

just did my upgrade from 32 to 64 bit. right now i have 2 folders for "program files". "program files" & "program files(x86)" is this normal

 

Yes it is normal Raven322.

 

One folder (x86 one) is for x86 applications, the other for fully x64 ones.