64 bit Vista

[wasted]

Greetings

I'm looking at the prospect of buying a new computer that has a 64 bit
version of Vista Home Premium. It comes with 8GB of RAM.

Can I please ask for comments on the advantages of the 64 bit version, and
what problems might emerge?

I've checked that my printer is supported - tring now to check if my Linksys
modem/router would have any problems.

Thanks

 

[Ken Blake]

Greetings

I'm looking at the prospect of buying a new computer that has a 64 bit
version of Vista Home Premium. It comes with 8GB of RAM.

Can I please ask for comments on the advantages of the 64 bit version,

There are essentially two advantages, and each of them is only a *potental*
advantage:

1. You will get better performance *if* you run 64-bit programs.
Unfortunately there are very few 64-bit programs availoable yet, so very few
people get to realize that advantage for now.

2. You are able to use more than 3.1GB (or so) of RAM, which 32-bit Windows
is limited to. However, unless you run memory-hungry apps (such as
graphics-editing or video-editing) you are highly unlikely to need or be
able to make use of that much RAM.

At least for the present, most people will see no or very little advantage.
That will change in the future, so doing what you propse gets you ready for
what's coming down the line, and could be a good idea.

and what problems might emerge?

Again, two potential problems:

1. Some older software might bnor be supported.

2. There might not be 64-bit drivers available for some of your hardware.

I've checked that my printer is supported - tring now to check if my
Linksys modem/router would have any problems.

If you don't have driver issues, I say go with 64-bit Vista (but check your
software first). Any software issues are likely to be minor. You'll be best
prepared for the future.

 

[the wharf rat]

1. You will get better performance *if* you run 64-bit programs.

Why do 64 bit programs yield better performance?

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Wharf Rat

Because 32bit programs cannot take advantage of the features in the 64bit
operating system.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Greetings

I'm looking at the prospect of buying a new computer that has a 64 bit
version of Vista Home Premium. It comes with 8GB of RAM.

Can I please ask for comments on the advantages of the 64 bit version, and
what problems might emerge?

I've checked that my printer is supported - tring now to check if my
Linksys modem/router would have any problems.

Advantage

You will be able to use all 8 GB of RAM.

Vista x64 is measurably faster than Vista x86 but running one or two
programs at a time on a new system you won't be able to tell the difference.
Running many programs at the same time the difference will be obvious,
especially with all that RAM.

Disadvantage

You will not be able to run 16 bit programs except in a virtual machine.
This shouldn't be a problem with 8 GB.

Some ostensibly 32 programs may actually use old 16 bit runtime libraries
and won't work. Again a virtual machine will solve this.

You may have a problem with drivers for old hardware. This used to be a
major disadvantage. It's not so bad any more. I run Vista x64 and the only
hardware I couldn't get working that I really needed was a Treo phone. I
switched it for a Blackberry which in hind site I should have done long ago.
The Blackberry is a much better phone and PDA.

 

[wasted]

Advantage

You will be able to use all 8 GB of RAM.

Vista x64 is measurably faster than Vista x86 but running one or two
programs at a time on a new system you won't be able to tell the
difference. Running many programs at the same time the difference will be
obvious, especially with all that RAM.

Disadvantage

You will not be able to run 16 bit programs except in a virtual machine.
This shouldn't be a problem with 8 GB.

Some ostensibly 32 programs may actually use old 16 bit runtime libraries
and won't work. Again a virtual machine will solve this.

You may have a problem with drivers for old hardware. This used to be a
major disadvantage. It's not so bad any more. I run Vista x64 and the only
hardware I couldn't get working that I really needed was a Treo phone. I
switched it for a Blackberry which in hind site I should have done long
ago. The Blackberry is a much better phone and PDA.

Thanks for that.

 

[wasted]

I have x64 with 8gb's of ram with a quad core cpu. I use Photoshop
quite a bit. Also, I run a VM to use an older app. I couldn't be
happier. I also love Vista superfetch (which is on x86 & x64 versions).
My apps start very fast, and the system as a whole runs as smooth as
buttermilk.

Ahh - Photoshop - that's one of the programmes I use - great to hear -
thanks

 

[wasted]

Advantage

You will be able to use all 8 GB of RAM.

Vista x64 is measurably faster than Vista x86 but running one or two
programs at a time on a new system you won't be able to tell the
difference. Running many programs at the same time the difference will be
obvious, especially with all that RAM.

Disadvantage

You will not be able to run 16 bit programs except in a virtual machine.
This shouldn't be a problem with 8 GB.

Some ostensibly 32 programs may actually use old 16 bit runtime libraries
and won't work. Again a virtual machine will solve this.

You may have a problem with drivers for old hardware. This used to be a
major disadvantage. It's not so bad any more. I run Vista x64 and the only
hardware I couldn't get working that I really needed was a Treo phone. I
switched it for a Blackberry which in hind site I should have done long
ago. The Blackberry is a much better phone and PDA.

Thanks - I've checked my hardware and it will all work - I might find some
software doesn't, but that happens with every advance. Thanks for the
response