64 bit processor on a 32 bit machine... future?

[Guest]

I have a turion 64 with a gig of RAM. My computer will (as I am told) only
run a poor version of Vista, so, my question now, is, will I be able to go
from 32 bit version to 64 bit version of XP when vista comes out? I figure,
if I wait until vista comes out, then all the drivers I need will be updated
for 64 bit OS's. All my drivers I have now will only work on XP 32 bit, but I
dont want to own a 64 bit computer if 32 bits of my processor will NEVER be
used... They're just sitting there. I want to put them all to good use, but
not overload my system with Vista.

 

[DandyDon]

Take all you hear about Vista with a grain of salt. It's still beta. Wait
till shipping copies of all versions are thoroughly reviewed. I think you
will find one your machine can handle.

As for 32 bit vs 64 bit processors, 64 bit is the standard now. Both AMD and
Intel 64 bit processors run 32 bit code just fine. Within the next 18-24
months, I expect both AMD and Intel to cease 32 bit processor production.

To keep up with Vista news, follow the Vista newsgroup.

Good Luck.
"(e-mail address removed)"

 

[Guest]

Here's the deal - 32 but programs running on a 64 bit system will run at
about the same speed on a 32 bit system - maybe a little faster. 64 but
programs will run quite a bit faster.

Now the only problem is Windows XP Pro 64 bit is a pain to set up, there's
not as much support for it as in 32 bit versions, and you have to get drivers
for everything before you set it up - and there's still a lot of hardware
companies that don't offer 64 bit support/drivers for their products.

Vista will have better support for more hardware, and should have a decent
64 bit driver library included with it.

My 2 cents:
XP Pro 64 will be a lot harder to get set up than Vista will be - and you
have a Turion processor - which should be great with Vista - you'll just have
to make sure that the rest of your hardware on your system is compatible with
Vista. I would rather go with Vista than XP Pro 64, and your computer should
be able to run at least one version of Vista.

And just to clarify one thing that I think you have confused - Vista is not
XP - it's a completely new OS (behind the scenes anyway).

-Dan

 

[AJR]

The following "My computer will (as I am told) only
run a poor version of Vista, ..." is interesting - told by whom! Also the
only way to benefit fully from a 64 bit processor is by running programs
designed for 64 bit processing - a 64 bit processor will not do much better
running a 32 bit program than the 32 bit processor.

"(e-mail address removed)"

 

[S.Sengupta]

Confusing post.
If you already have a turion 64 then what do you mean by-'dont want to
own a 64 bit computer...'
By the by a 64 bit machine can run 32 bit applications without any problem.

regards,
S.Sengupta[MS-MVP]