super newbie 32 vs 64 bit?

[Paula]

I am a 60 year old lady who just got her first laptop. It's a Dell Latitude
820D running win xp pro T2400 Duo core 1.83 GHz. I was going to wait until
Vista came out but I don't know how much longer I have <g> so decided to buy
now. My question is what is the difference between 32 bit and 64 bit? Is
it one of those questions "If you have to ask..........." How do I find out
what I have? When I buy Vista should I get the 32 bit or the 64?
Advantages? Disadvantages? Not doable? If I have win xp pro now, what
version of vista should I upgrade to? Wanting to learn new things....please
pardon if this is a silly question.
Thank you,
Paula

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

Well, the major advantage of 64-bit Vista is really the large memory address
space, which can handle up to 128 GBs + of physical RAM. If you are working
in scientific and engineering environments with demanding applications that
are memory hungy and you process large sums of data for analysis, then
64-bit is right for you.

With Vista though, especially 64-bit, Microsoft aiming to bring the platform
mainstream and its feature rich in every way like its 32-bit counterpart,
although you still face the issues with hard device drivers needing to be
64-bit native to work. If you plan on migrating to Vista x64, its
recommended you do the necessary research to ensure that your existing
hardware and applications can work with Windows Vista x64, checking
manufacturers website or contact them directly.

In the mean time, you might want to check out the Windows Vista product
guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/
details.aspx?FamilyID=BBC16EBF-4823-4A12-AFE1-5B40B2AD3725&displaylang=en

Also check out my year in review article of Windows XP Professional x64, a
lot of the content applies to Windows Vista x64 also
http://www.activewin.com/articles/2006/8.shtml

Here is an excellent one to check out, is 64-bit Windows right for me, by
Charlie Russel - MVP:
http://download.microsoft.com/downl..._XP_Professional_x64_Edition_Right_for_Me.doc
--
--
Andre
Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

I almost forgot, your processor is not 64-bit, none of the Core Duo's are,
the Core Duo 2 line of processors expected to start shipping in August will
use the Merom architecture which will add 64-bit instructions. Thats what I
am waiting on.
--
--
Andre
Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta

 

[Michael Nemtsev]

Paula,

it depends on you task. If you are just use you PC as notebook, to serf
internet and other everyday task like emailing and etc - 32bit version is
suitable for you.
The problem of 64bit version of Windows is that they are not 100% ready for
end-user, because
there are a lot of applications/plugings/ActiveX objects that don't work
correctly in 64bit enviroment.

If you are not engineering person using PC in your specific task I recomend
to use 32bit platform

 

[Paula]

Excellent reads!
Especially the "is 64-bit Windows right for me "
Very well explained and easy to understand.
Thanks!
Paula

 

[Paula]

Thanks again and HAPPY WAITING!
Paula

I almost forgot, your processor is not 64-bit, none of the Core Duo's are,
the Core Duo 2 line of processors expected to start shipping in August will
use the Merom architecture which will add 64-bit instructions. Thats what I
am waiting on.
--
--
Andre
Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta

 

[Paula]

Yes, I see that now Michael.
Thanks for making it easy.
Paula

 

[DJ Bjorklund]

Indeed, yet another fundamentally very informative little thread.

Paula, recently invited by MS to test Vista's 2nd beta, I myself have
asked some "silly questions" here too, and have been frankly somewhat
surprised, pleasantly but surprised nonetheless, at the help offered
by these higher level Windows folks like Andre, etc.

He and those like him are doing good work for those of us who while we
ain't exactly experts, are endeavoring to increase our understanding
of the inner workings of the systems that run on these boxes we
(usually) enjoy using so much, day in and day out, at work and at
home.