Vista 32 or 64 bit for games?

[Mark Coleman]

I am beta testing Visa Rc2 5744 32Bit version and I have been running
various games without problems (and actually I have been quite impressed
with the speed and stability so far).

Reading other posts here about the 64bit version of vista I am in two minds
over whether to buy the 32bit or 64bit version at release. Apart from the
memory addressing superiority of the 64bit version of vista are there any
performance gains/advantages of running vista64 just for games? I take it I
have to have the 64bit OS to run 64 bit centric games/patches? Will games
like Flight Sim X run faster/smoother in the 64 bit version.

Thanks

 

[Terje Alexander Barth]

I am beta testing Visa Rc2 5744 32Bit version and I have been running
various games without problems (and actually I have been quite impressed
with the speed and stability so far).

Reading other posts here about the 64bit version of vista I am in two minds
over whether to buy the 32bit or 64bit version at release. Apart from the
memory addressing superiority of the 64bit version of vista are there any
performance gains/advantages of running vista64 just for games? I take it I
have to have the 64bit OS to run 64 bit centric games/patches? Will games
like Flight Sim X run faster/smoother in the 64 bit version.

Thanks

From my experience with Windows XP and Windows XP 64-Bit Edition:

I would say that games that require large amounts of memory WILL perform
better in the 64-bit operating systems, at least that has been my experience
with Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft, both games that require a lot
of memory.

Of course, since vista requires a LOT of memory in itself I dont know how
it will work out in the end... but I'm going to try now ;-)


Regards,

 

[Mark Coleman]

Hi Terje,
Thank you for telling me of your experiences with 64bit OS's. I too am
leaning towards 64bit, I would download Vista RC2 64bit but downloads been
removed now. I am just concerned I am going to buy what ends up a niche OS


Mark

 

[Terje Alexander Barth]

Subject: Re: Vista 32 or 64 bit for games?

Hi Terje,
Thank you for telling me of your experiences with 64bit OS's. I too am
leaning towards 64bit, I would download Vista RC2 64bit but downloads been
removed now. I am just concerned I am going to buy what ends up a niche OS


Mark

Hi,

Well, I have been using XP 64Bit Edition since it was released as my Main OS
and have not had any issues with it.

I kept a 32-bit version of XP "just in case" but for gaming and business
purposes everything could be done in XP x64, that I have tried.

Doubt you will have any problems with the 64bit version of Vista come release.

I think I'll be ready for "64bit-gaming" in Vista when it is launched,
assuming Creative Labs dont screw up with Audio Drivers that is, and nvidia
release x64 video drivers that work fully...

Regards,

 

[Paul Smith]

I am beta testing Visa Rc2 5744 32Bit version and I have been running
various games without problems (and actually I have been quite impressed
with the speed and stability so far).

Reading other posts here about the 64bit version of vista I am in two
minds over whether to buy the 32bit or 64bit version at release. Apart
from the memory addressing superiority of the 64bit version of vista are
there any performance gains/advantages of running vista64 just for games?
I take it I have to have the 64bit OS to run 64 bit centric games/patches?
Will games like Flight Sim X run faster/smoother in the 64 bit version.

Performance wise, some people say 64-bit Vista is faster than 32-bit.

However 64-bit will need 64-bit drivers so there will be compatability
issues, I can't use 64-bit on this machine because my TV card only has
32-bit drivers. If that wasn't the case I'd being using 64-bit. It's
things like printers, webcams, scanners that are generally the most
troublesome with drivers.

Some games won't work... StarForce games which require a driver may have
issues (StarForce have apparently released a Vista driver but it doesn't
work with all games).

64-bit is the future. So things on that front will only improve. In the
Vista timeframe (next few years) machines with 4GB of memory will start to
become much more common the "norm" with gamers, and when that happens 32-bit
will simply be left behind.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*

 

[Terje Alexander Barth]

Some games won't work... StarForce games which require a driver may have

issues (StarForce have apparently released a Vista driver but it doesn't
work with all games).

From what I know about Starforce their drivers are compatible, but it requires
an update of the game executables to work, e.g. Starforce 100% compatible,
game executable not... (Although on a personal level I'd urge you not
to compromise your system with starforce 'enabled' games..)

The best bet is to dual boot a 32 and 64 bit computer and try to do everything
in 64-bit, except the incompatible stuff ...

 

[Mark Coleman]

Snipped

Performance wise, some people say 64-bit Vista is faster than 32-bit.

However 64-bit will need 64-bit drivers so there will be compatability
issues, I can't use 64-bit on this machine because my TV card only has
32-bit drivers. If that wasn't the case I'd being using 64-bit. It's
things like printers, webcams, scanners that are generally the most
troublesome with drivers.

Some games won't work... StarForce games which require a driver may have
issues (StarForce have apparently released a Vista driver but it doesn't
work with all games).

64-bit is the future. So things on that front will only improve. In the
Vista timeframe (next few years) machines with 4GB of memory will start to
become much more common the "norm" with gamers, and when that happens
32-bit will simply be left behind.

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the advice, that was exactly my concern. I want to get the
ultimate edition and dont want to have to buy it twice because I made the
wrong choice without thinking it through. I will probably get the 64 bit
version as I have 1GB of RAM already and already feel that it may be not
enough, especially with Fligh Sim X on the horizon I may upgrade to 3GB. I
have a 3-in-1 printer which I purchased recently, but that doesnt work with
vista anyway, so I will probably just plug that in to my xp machine and be
done with it.

 

[Paul Smith]

Thanks for the advice, that was exactly my concern. I want to get the
ultimate edition and dont want to have to buy it twice because I made the
wrong choice without thinking it through. I will probably get the 64 bit
version as I have 1GB of RAM already and already feel that it may be not
enough, especially with Fligh Sim X on the horizon I may upgrade to 3GB.
I have a 3-in-1 printer which I purchased recently, but that doesnt work
with vista anyway, so I will probably just plug that in to my xp machine
and be done with it.

What I'd do is download an RC build of x64 Vista that will give you some
idea of what hardware is compatible or not. Just be prepared to grit your
teeth when you come across stuff that won't work on x64.

Flight Simulator X runs well under Vista. Lot of improvements over 2004.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*

 

[Virtual Nation Admin]

Mark,

Im running Vista RC1 (build 5600) x64 and have experienced a significant
improvemnt in gaming in Vista.

The most noticable boost is in Age of Empires 3, where memory is important.
I've also been playing Unreal Tournament 2004, and that has some minor
improvements, not quite as drastic as those seen in AOE 3.

I'm planning to test out more games when I get the chance.

Patrick

 

[Benjamin Gawert]

* Mark Coleman:

I am beta testing Visa Rc2 5744 32Bit version and I have been running
various games without problems (and actually I have been quite impressed
with the speed and stability so far).

Reading other posts here about the 64bit version of vista I am in two
minds over whether to buy the 32bit or 64bit version at release. Apart
from the memory addressing superiority of the 64bit version of vista are
there any performance gains/advantages of running vista64 just for
games?

No. Unlike common misconceptions 32bit applications and 32bit games do
_not_ benefit from x64 Windows. All 32bit applications are limited to
2GB (or 3GB depending on the application) of memory. This is also the
case with Vista x64.

IMHO the x64 inly makes sense if your computer has more than 4GB of
memory and if you have 64bit application to run. If not stay with the
32bit version. Less hazzle and problems...

I take it I have to have the 64bit OS to run 64 bit centric
games/patches?
Yes.

Will games like Flight Sim X run faster/smoother in the
64 bit version.

Probably not.

Benjamin

 

[Chuck Walbourn [MSFT]]

No. Unlike common misconceptions 32bit applications and 32bit games do

_not_ benefit from x64 Windows. All 32bit applications are limited to 2GB
(or 3GB depending on the application) of memory. This is also the case
with Vista x64.

Small clarification: on x64 editions of Windows, LARGEADDRESSAWARE 32-bit
applications actually have access to 4 GB of memory space instead of the 3GB
limit on Windows XP booted in /3gb mode.

IMHO the x64 inly makes sense if your computer has more than 4GB of memory
and if you have 64bit application to run. If not stay with the 32bit
version. Less hazzle and problems...

Once you expect a single application to use more than 2 GB of physical RAM,
x64 editions make sense. You can probably utilize 3-4 GB with multiple
memory-intensive things running at once, but to get utilization out of 4 GB+
of physical RAM you really need to be running an x64 OS and memory-intensive
appliations that are either 32-bit LARGEADDRESSAWARE or 64-bit native.

How quickly developers will regularly provide x64 aware versions of their
games really depends on how many users choose x64 editions. Right now,
traditional memory-hungry applications (CAD, video editing, etc.) are
pushing x64 native versions. Games have traditionally followed this path
over time.

 

[grasshopper]

Small clarification: on x64 editions of Windows, LARGEADDRESSAWARE 32-bit
applications actually have access to 4 GB of memory space instead of the
3GB limit on Windows XP booted in /3gb mode.


Once you expect a single application to use more than 2 GB of physical
RAM, x64 editions make sense. You can probably utilize 3-4 GB with
multiple memory-intensive things running at once, but to get utilization
out of 4 GB+ of physical RAM you really need to be running an x64 OS and
memory-intensive appliations that are either 32-bit LARGEADDRESSAWARE or
64-bit native.

How quickly developers will regularly provide x64 aware versions of their
games really depends on how many users choose x64 editions. Right now,
traditional memory-hungry applications (CAD, video editing, etc.) are
pushing x64 native versions. Games have traditionally followed this path
over time.

--
Chuck Walbourn
SDE, Game Technology Group

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.

Crysis will be released in 32 and 64bit versions
as well as some other upcoming releases.
this is why i'll be installing the 64bit edition.

James