Vista Ultimate 32 or 64 bit??

[Ray]

Yes, I have seen the messages about the problems of Vista but Microsoft isn't
going to reverse itself and Vista is going the be the future.....even if it
is a step backwards.

My question is which version to use....the 32 bit or 64 bit version?? If I
go 64 bit will I lose access to all my programs and have to start from
scratch or will it handle most 32 bit programs okay??

I know it is bad when the Mac advertises it can run Vista better than a PC
can. I do believe most of the problems are because Vista hardware
requirements are so much higher than XP.

 

[David]

Yes, I have seen the messages about the problems of Vista but Microsoft isn't
going to reverse itself and Vista is going the be the future.....even if it
is a step backwards.

My question is which version to use....the 32 bit or 64 bit version?? If I
go 64 bit will I lose access to all my programs and have to start from
scratch or will it handle most 32 bit programs okay??

I know it is bad when the Mac advertises it can run Vista better than a PC
can. I do believe most of the problems are because Vista hardware
requirements are so much higher than XP.

Do you NEED more than 3Gb of RAM? If yes, and don't mind putting up
with even more issues in the 64 bit version, then give it a whirl.
Otherwise, stick with the 32 bit version. Neither one is ideal, but the
32 is less of a headache.

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

64 Bit processors is really just a state of the industry right now, the
technology is there so why not make it available? Regardless the majority of
applications for the desktop remain largely 32 bit, it is prepapring for
inevitable when there will be a mass transition to 64 bit, whether by the
Industry or end users. For instance, suppose you start doing a lot of
technical work that goes beyond the limits of 32 bit computing requiring
more than 4 GBs of RAM and real 64 bit OS such as the 64 bit version of
Vista, then you won't have to worry about changing out all your hardware to
take advantage of it.

The market that understands the capabilities, advantages and disadvantages
of using it, the biggest advantage of all has to be the support for a larger
memory address space
that allows you to do more number crunching with scientific, financial and
other engineering applications that use a lot of memory. Hopefully in the
future, more mainstream applications will support the platform and harness
its capabilities, but with the majority of systems coming with 1 to 2 GBs of
memory, and 64 bit really addressing larger amounts up to 128 GBs, you won't
see a lot of apps for now.

Here is a great article by Kristan Kenney (MVP) to read:
http://www.windows-now.com/blogs/km...bit-vs-64-bit-which-one-is-right-for-you.aspx

 

[Tim Slattery]

My question is which version to use....the 32 bit or 64 bit version?? If I
go 64 bit will I lose access to all my programs and have to start from
scratch or will it handle most 32 bit programs okay??

The 64-bit OS will run your 32-bit apps just fine. If you're still
running any 16-bit apps though, you'll be stuck. 64-bit Vista won't
run 16-bit apps.

There are currently few 64-bit programs, and many drivers come only in
32-bit versions. So there's not a really strong case at the moment for
using the 64-bit version of Vista.