XP64 - How is it?

Right now, I'm dual booting Vista 64-bit and XP 32-bit. I'm no Vista hater, but I have a fair few games that do not work/work well in Vista (such as Metal Gear Solid 2). The drawback of XP32 is that it only sees 3.5GB of my 4GB memory. I know even 3.5GB is overkill for old games anyway, but it bugs me all the same. So I've been investigating XP64 recently.

XP64 obviously has a bad reputation. However, most of the negative comments refer to the driver support (or lack of). I know where to obtain the correct drivers for the m1330. Is software compatibility comparible to XP32? Obviously compatibility is the reason I'm installing XP32 in the first place, and certainly Vista 64 is no less compatible than Vista 32. Can it act as a replacement for a legacy XP32 install?

Thanks.

 

You should search "programname XP 64-bit" just to check the compatibility of all your programs.

 

I think it really depends on the certain drivers you might need. If your able to get that out the way, then you should have no problems with Vista 64. IMO, it's faster and more solid/reliable than 32bit, especially with 4GB.

I really can't speak on gaming with Vista 64bit as I haven't done so yet.

 

Thanks for the reply, but I know Vista 64 is great - wanted to know about XP64 (and how it compares to XP32)!

 

Driver support for both XP and Vista 64 is abundant and good for today's games. If you're looking to play some older games/ports, I'd highly recommend sticking to a 32-bit edition of either OS. Don't forget about the backwards compatibility features.

 

Oh, sorry .....didn't read it correctly. My experience with XP64 is completely horrible when it comes to driver support. And even some program compatibility problems. But that was around 2 years ago. Maybe things changed with updates and SP3, but I doubt it.

 

XP x64 is still on Service Pack Two - it gets service packs along with Windows Server 2003, not Windows XP x86. I haven't heard anything about a new service pack for XP x64.

On the other hand, I'm not sure when SP2 for x64 was released - that may have been within the past two years.

 

XP64 is a fine OS. It's light on resources and super fast. The driver support is a *little* tricky. Since the drivers are the same as Windows Server 2003 x64 edition, it isn't totally hopeless, but the more "home peripheraly" you get, the less the chances of a driver existing. Your typical nVidia and ATI video card will have current, functional drivers. Sound should not be a serious issue for most chipsets.

Where driver support gets weird is things like webcams, sometimes printers, and other things that the hardware maker doesn't think anyone with Server 2003 (and XP64 by extension) will be using it. I never found a webcam driver for my Sager 5793 for XP64. Nor an infrared receiver driver.

Once the driver issues are settled, XP64 is basically indistinguishable from XP32. It can use more RAM and take advantage of 64-bit applications. I ran it on my gaming rig for 18 months and it was a total pleasure.

 

Just a quick update, I've been using XP Pro x64 for the past 3 days, and it's been a real treat. Drivers seem to be the real issue, though m1330 owners have nothing to worry about with the correct drivers here and even the correct SATA drivers here.

There's been a few minor issues... had to track down a .msi of Windows Live Messenger because the Live Installer wouldn't work. But overall I've had the benefits of using XP, with the bonuses of being able to use 4GB RAM and 64-bit applications. This is a keeper.