Win XP 64-bit

[Guest]

I am curious about Winxp 64-bit edition. I just built a new system with an
AMD64 3200+, 1gb ddr400 ram, dual 160gb SATA drives in raid 0, etc, etc. I am
currently running Windows XP Professional but received the free download of
xp64.

I am wondering if I will gain any advantages from xp64. I am an industrial
designer and I primarily run the following applications:
Adobe Creative Suite CS
Microsoft Office 2003
Macromedia MX Suite
Rhinoceros 3D 3.0 (with Flamingo raytracing)
and occasionally ALIAS and SolidWorks.

This machine is a "home" work machine so I also run music/video/games/etc on
occasion.

Please advise.

Thank you,

Olen Ronning
(e-mail address removed)

 

[R. McCarty]

Probably not - Most applications are not coded for 64-Bit use.
As with most "Bleeding Edge" technology, drivers & applications
are not generally available as Windows XP 64 bit isn't a finished
product. If you weren't using the PC for work, it might be O.K,
to experiment with 64 bit computing. I would just use the 32-bit
mode and make use of the excellent hardware you have in the PC.

Maybe to get a feel for XP-64, add an IDE drive and go ahead w/
a 64-bit (Separate) install. Just be sure to Image the permanent
XP installation beforehand. Likely you'll run into driver issues &
supported hardware issues pretty fast.

 

[Andre Da Costa]

Its still in beta, I recommend you still run the 32 bit edition of Windows
XP on that system, if still want know if your applications are working ok,
create a separate partition and install Windows XP 64 Bit on it.

Andre Da Costa

 

[Mike Kolitz]

As Andre pointed out, WinXP x64 is still in beta, so it's not at production
quality yet, though you're welcome to play around with it.

I believe I read somewhere that - in testing - most 32-bit applications will
see a 8%-25% performance increase from running in a 64-bit operating system.
I can't find the source for that, though, so I'd take it with a grain of
salt at this point.