Vista 64 bit

[Dan DeCoursey]

I am comtemplating buying a new PC (HP dc7900 )
they offer Vista business 64 bit as an OS option does ths mean this PC
is a 64bit machine ??? it has a Intel Q9650 processor there is no
mention of the PC being a 64 bit computer........will vista 64 run old 32
but stuff??

the 64 bit OS will permit me to get and use more than 4gb but is 8gb
enough to run Vista 64 fast ? I would hate to go with the 64bit thing to
get me up over that old 4gb limit just to find 8gb wasnt enough to run vista
really fast

 

[Carey Frisch]

The Vista RAM puzzle: Is 2GB enough?
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=282

Stay with Vista 32-bit! Vista runs as fast as it will ever run
with only 2GB RAM!

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

You can't run Vista x64 on 32-bit hardware, so the system has to be 64-bit
capable. Vista x64 can and will run 32-bit software for the most part. The
exception is where the software uses device drivers - these have to be
64-bit, but these are not all that common.

Vista x64 will run just fine on 2, 4, or 8GB of physical memory.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Paul Smith]

I am comtemplating buying a new PC (HP dc7900 )
they offer Vista business 64 bit as an OS option does ths mean this PC
is a 64bit machine ??? it has a Intel Q9650 processor there is no
mention of the PC being a 64 bit computer........will vista 64 run old 32
but stuff??

the 64 bit OS will permit me to get and use more than 4gb but is
8gb
enough to run Vista 64 fast ? I would hate to go with the 64bit thing
to
get me up over that old 4gb limit just to find 8gb wasnt enough to run
vista
really fast

The amount of RAM you need depends entirely upon what applications you're
using. Windows Vista works great on 2GB of RAM for the usual web browsing,
the odd light game here and there playing back media. Going for 4GB or 8GB
for this would be wasted, adding more memory for the sake of adding it won't
make the system any faster (it would be better to spend the money on a
faster CPU, or hard disk, or graphics card).

If HP are offering a 64-bit operating system, I would assume they know the
machine they'll selling it for would work fine. The question comes down to
the applications you want to run and any accessories you have at the moment.

Compatibility is worse on 64-bit. Peripherals require 64-bit drivers (if
they've got the WQHL Vista logo they do have 64-bit drivers) so you might
want to make sure what you've got now does have drivers. You'd also need to
check the applications you use work on 64-bit. Often times applications
that push drivers into the system (like copy protection on some games) work
properly, you're basic run of the mill applications like Word, Outlook etc
work fine.

So in all honestly it depends what you'd be planning on doing with the
system, and if you'd be willing to deal with any incompatibilities if they
show up.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Desktop Experience.
http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*

 

[Don]

The only reason to NOT go 64 bit these days is if you have some old
printer or scanner or something that has no 64 bit driver. All your 32
bit apps will run just fine in 64.

You will be going 64 bit sooner or later anyways, might as well do it now
and be ready for all the good stuff to come.

4 GB is plenty for 64 bit, unless you have a real need for more. I have
8 GB, but I run several VMs in VPC and make good use of the RAM.

Since your machine is 64 bit capable, there is no reason to run a 32 bit
OS on it, unless you have something with no 64 bit driver as I already
mentioned.

I would have to agree as well. I installed Vista Ultimate 64 bit back in
late Feb, after making sure I had drivers available for all my devices I
would need.
I have been extremely pleased. I run it with 4gb of ram, and it runs
fantastic. I set up a dual boot with XP Pro, thinking I would want to keep
my XP install to do my main things on, but that is no longer the case.

I would highly recommend anyone buying an OS today, if they have the drivers
available and satisfied their programs they need will run ( and most will ),
to look at getting a 64 bit OS - provided of course they have a 64 bit
processor , and of course most processors of the last few years have been 64
bit.

 

[+Bob+]

I am comtemplating buying a new PC (HP dc7900 )
they offer Vista business 64 bit as an OS option does ths mean this PC
is a 64bit machine ??? it has a Intel Q9650 processor there is no
mention of the PC being a 64 bit computer........will vista 64 run old 32
but stuff??

the 64 bit OS will permit me to get and use more than 4gb but is 8gb
enough to run Vista 64 fast ? I would hate to go with the 64bit thing to
get me up over that old 4gb limit just to find 8gb wasnt enough to run vista
really fast

If you're concerned about "really fast", stick with XP - then 2gb is
plenty.

 

[Gareth Erskine-Jones]

I am comtemplating buying a new PC (HP dc7900 )
they offer Vista business 64 bit as an OS option does ths mean this PC
is a 64bit machine ??? it has a Intel Q9650 processor there is no
mention of the PC being a 64 bit computer........will vista 64 run old 32
but stuff??

the 64 bit OS will permit me to get and use more than 4gb but is 8gb
enough to run Vista 64 fast ? I would hate to go with the 64bit thing to
get me up over that old 4gb limit just to find 8gb wasnt enough to run vista
really fast

I have 32 bit vista on most of my machines, but upgraded a laptop to
64 bit (a D630). It has 4Gb RAM, and seems to take longer to boot (and
obviously, longer to hibernate because I increased the RAM when
upgrading the OS), but the OS is solid as hell, and quicker. I
haven't found any problems with the 32 apps I use, and I've found that
some odd quirks which I experience with Vista 32 bit have gone

(e.g. consistently, if I delete a .VOB file from a folder in Vista 32
- and I've done this on a few machines), I can press F5 and the file
appears again in the explorer window (although it isn't there - trying
to delete it again fails). It often takes a reboot before the file
disappears - I suspect this is something to do with indexing, but it
doesn't occur on the x64 version.)

 

[Gareth Erskine-Jones]

Compatibility is worse on 64-bit. Peripherals require 64-bit drivers (if
they've got the WQHL Vista logo they do have 64-bit drivers) so you might
want to make sure what you've got now does have drivers.

I was worried about this, but it turned out not to be an issue for me.
The only devices which didn't work with Vista x64 didn't work on Vista
x86 either. It does piss me off when companies can't be bothered to
release new drivers.