Vista 32bit or 64bit?

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Hey dudes,

I am looking for some advice regarding the 32 and 64 bit versions of windows vista. I am planning on ordering 2 vista home premium and 2 vista ultimate very soon.

I believe the 64bit version is superior but is it the same old story that it's very difficult to get any other programs in 64bit ie AV, firewalls, media players etc?

All the PC's due for upgrade have 64bit capable dual core CPU's but I dont see much point if everthing else is still 32bit. Do you think the software market is catching up yet or in near future? I dont want to upgrade to vista 32bit ultimate and in a years time be wanting the 64bit version!

 

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Take note that the 64 bit version won't allow you install any unsigned device drivers either so make sure all the drivers you'll want to use are signed.

 

as far as im aware, and dont quote me on this
the vista license covers you for 32 or 64bit installations
so you could change

that said, if you play games, dont bother with 64 bit, if u use random dodge apps, dont bother, not a lot of support for anything but the bad boy apps out there

 

For now stick with 32 bit.

 

Yep - there's currently a lot more support for 32-bit apps and drivers and such. Over time, I'm sure 64-bit support will improve. I'm running 32-bit right now.

 

I personally will be 32 bit until i see the need for more than 4gb ram plus application/driver support.

Phoenix, i believe you are correct if you buy the retail boxed version as it contains both, but OEM its one or the other and if you have the Action Pack, im told its just 32bit Business edition.

 

I run 64bit with 4GB of memory on my workstation for vmware server usage
my gaming rig is still XP


bear in mind windows has a hard time addressing memory correctly over 1GB not 4GB, hence the /3G flag hacks for the boot.ini file

and it probably wont detect more than 3.6gb, so even with 4gb its a problem

 

I have 2gb in my XP pc at home do i need to do anything to get it to see the memory properly ? never heard of this before

 

This is more a problem with certain motherboards. 2GB is fine on most boards. More than this can be a problem in a few cases.

Harry.

 

AFAIK the /3GB switch is to change the division between User and kernel memory. Using this gives more memory to user space.

Info here...

Harry.

 

thats right harry
hence the problem with more than 1gb of memory, especially for consumer systems

dont worry if you have 2gb, windows can use it and address it, however as harry points out the division at which the memory is assigned to apps vs os lower functions can benefit from tweaking
most the programs you run are considered 'userland' processes

 

like everyone else has said...go 32bit for now...once 64bit apps become available and everything has been confirmed ok then we can go for 64bit Vista...also good point from Phoenix, MS have been very sneaky with Vista...its like all the versions of OS is on the disc and the only way you get the version you bought is by entering the right license key. Weird, but sneaky! But yeah I have seen on ebuyer they are selling the 32bit OEM version of Ultimate for £125!!! Cheapest found so far

 

Wheres that mate?

 

Hey dudes,

Thanks for all the info, going with the 32bit ultimate.

Both www.ebuyer.co.uk and www.dabs.com have it for £125 OEM version.

Thanks to all who took the time to reply.

 

Good luck with that...

Reseller Ratings for:
Dabs.com: 3.79 out of 10 rating
EBuyer UK: 2.06 out of 10 rating

 

Aria have Vista Ultimate OEM for £119.85

 

£125.67 according to the page im on, is this the right one?
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.asp?Category=&SubCat=&Name=vista&Page=2&SortBy=

 

I think BBM hit the nail on the head for this thread:-

BrainBeacon Michael Yep - there's currently a lot more support for 32-bit apps and drivers and such. Over time, I'm sure 64-bit support will improve. I'm running 32-bit right now.

I've been searching for 64bit drivers for my devices and it's like pulling teeth! 32bit is the best bet now. The market will drive the developers to code 64 bit drivers which apparently are harder to create.

 

So.... if i buy a new processor, with 64-bit capability, and use 32 bit vista, what kind of issues, performance issues, etc, will i see?

 

Your... software will work (if it's Vista-compatible)? Not sure what you're asking... what issues are you expecting? 32-bit apps work fine with 64-bit-capable processors.