deciding if worth it to jump to XP64

[Scotter]

Hi-

I'm curious to hear from people who have made the jump from XP32 to XP64 if
it seems like a snappier OS, overall? I realize there are not many programs
written FOR 64bit. I'm wondering if just moving around in the OS, stuff like
using the context-sensitive "send to", using the 64-bit version of IE, etc.,
seems any snappier? I'm also looking forward to putting a couple more gig
RAM in my box.

I've researched and found every one of the softwares I use will install and
run on XP64 so at least that is no longer a concern.

Thanks for any advice you can give. Please also note the hardware I'm using
below in case you have had problems with any of them or heard of any...
I'm especially concerned about the sound card and the Sony DVD burner.

Thanks!
--
Scotter
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual Opteron 252s (2.6ghz)
4 gig Corsair XMS DDR400 RAM
XFX 7800 GTX 256 w/VGAsilencerV3
500 gig Hitachi SATA 300
160 gig Seagate SATA 150
Dual Dell 24" wide aspect LCDs
550W Antec power supply
X-Fi Platinum Soundblaster
Sony external DRX710-UL (cd/dvd burner)
-

 

[dawg]

Hi-

I'm curious to hear from people who have made the jump from XP32 to XP64 if
it seems like a snappier OS, overall? I realize there are not many programs
written FOR 64bit. I'm wondering if just moving around in the OS, stuff like
using the context-sensitive "send to", using the 64-bit version of IE, etc.,
seems any snappier? I'm also looking forward to putting a couple more gig
RAM in my box.

I've researched and found every one of the softwares I use will install and
run on XP64 so at least that is no longer a concern.

Thanks for any advice you can give. Please also note the hardware I'm using
below in case you have had problems with any of them or heard of any...
I'm especially concerned about the sound card and the Sony DVD burner.

Thanks!
--
Scotter
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual Opteron 252s (2.6ghz)
4 gig Corsair XMS DDR400 RAM
XFX 7800 GTX 256 w/VGAsilencerV3
500 gig Hitachi SATA 300
160 gig Seagate SATA 150
Dual Dell 24" wide aspect LCDs
550W Antec power supply
X-Fi Platinum Soundblaster
Sony external DRX710-UL (cd/dvd burner)
-

No point really unless you like fixing computer problems and hunting the web
for better drivers.
Seems to me Microsoft kinda cobbled together Win64 just to got something out
there for newly released 64 bit cpu's. Wait for Vista.

 

[Bill]

I'm curious to hear from people who have made the jump from XP32 to XP64 if
it seems like a snappier OS, overall? I realize there are not many programs
written FOR 64bit. I'm wondering if just moving around in the OS, stuff like
using the context-sensitive "send to", using the 64-bit version of IE, etc.,

I don't find it much different. Benchmarks say it's faster, but it's
only marginally so and from a user point of view you won't really notice
it.

The biggest thing is probably larger amounts of memory can be used,
which is great for servers.

I've researched and found every one of the softwares I use will install and
run on XP64 so at least that is no longer a concern.

I have only found a few older programs that wouldn't run on x64, those
that are several years old. Almost everything else runs just fine. A
list can be found here:

http://www.ukgamer.com/article.php4?action=win64&type=0

Hit the hardware and software links near the top and scroll through.

Thanks for any advice you can give. Please also note the hardware I'm using
below in case you have had problems with any of them or heard of any...
I'm especially concerned about the sound card and the Sony DVD burner.

This is where x64 suffers - lack of support for quite a few devices.
Unless the drivers are written for x64, they won't work properly. I have
a printer and a scanner that lack drivers, so they do not work. And none
of the big antivirus programs have been updated for x64.

Since x64 has been out for a year, I seriously doubt any more
development will be put into drivers and software to work with it - if
it's not out now, it won't be out at all.

I'm betting that everyone is waiting for Windows Vista to be released
before releasing updated drivers and software.

 

[Gold Fingers]

I can respond to this topic if you post it on the following google
group:
http://groups.google.com/group/64-bit_Hardware__OSs
You will need to become a member in order to post.

 

[oldwolf]

As Above

Why should he have to move to another group to get an answer??
Or are you too much of a snob to discuss it in front of all of us , who
might like to know the answer also?
Also newsgroups are meant to be free to assist other readers!


I can respond to this topic if you post it on the following google
group:
http://groups.google.com/group/64-bit_Hardware__OSs
You will need to become a member in order to post.

 

[Larry Roberts]

I can respond to this topic if you post it on the following google
group:
http://groups.google.com/group/64-bit_Hardware__OSs
You will need to become a member in order to post.

That's retarded! Why should they go to your group to get an
answer?

 

[-nos1eep]

It is further alleged that on or about 25 Mar 2006 20:58:27 -0800, in
alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64, the queezy keyboard of "Gold Fingers"
<[email protected]> spewed the following:

|I can respond to this topic if you post it on the following google
|group:
|http://groups.google.com/group/64-bit_Hardware__OSs
|You will need to become a member in order to post.

Impressive. 5 members, you say, 6 topics, you say, no responses, you
say.

 

[J. Eric Durbin]

And none of the big antivirus programs have been updated for x64.

AV apps that are reputed to work with XP x64 are:

Nod32
Avast! (both free and pro)
AVG 7.1 (but not Free AVG)
eTrust 7.1 (CA)
McAfee Enterprise 8.x
Symantec Corp 10.0.1

I can only vouch for NOD32 which works like a charm.

 

[Bill]

AV apps that are reputed to work with XP x64 are:

Nod32

Haven't tried it, but a coworker didn't care for it.

Avast! (both free and pro)

Avast works fine, but it's not as thorough as the big names. It failed
to report viruses that Norton and McAfee found (32-bit versions).

AVG 7.1 (but not Free AVG)

AVG works ok, but it has a lousy interface. I couldn't get past that.

eTrust 7.1 (CA)

Would not install - BSOD - could be a driver conflict but since it
wouldn't install in a clean Windows setup with the latest drivers, it's
of no use.

McAfee Enterprise 8.x

No trial available?

Symantec Corp 10.0.1

No trial available, but a friend has it at work and says it's buggy and
unstable - it would corrupt its own database, and sometimes fail to load
after a reboot.

Out of all of those Avast is the only one that seems promising. I'd
still like to see McAfee and Norton get into the 64-bit game, but I
don't think they will until Vista hits the shelves.