Should I install vista 32 or vista 64 on my bootcamp partition?

I cant decide...

What would be faster? I have 4 gigs of ram and I want to play games on vista too.

I also want most of the cool MBP functions to work too...like wireless backlit keyboard, trackpad etc etc

Thanks!

 

get the x64 vista

 

64 bit drivers aren't available.

if you want gaming and driver functionality, consider windows xp 32 bit.

 

i heard they should have 64 bit drivers soon. But yeah any 32bit will do fine.

 

Either, really. Official 64 bit drivers should be out soon, but as you may have seen from posts here and elsewhere there are, supposedly, x64 drivers out for the Mac Pro that work well with the MBP.

 

well is there a speed advantage with 64 bit vs 32 bit? What are the pros and cons?

 

I know that 32 bit can't address the full 4gb of ram in my macbook and the 64 bit version can.

 

Stick with 32-bit Vista for now. 64-bit drivers aren't available, and popular software isn't available for the 64-bit environment either. But, all hope is not lost as there is a person in these forums who found and got most of the hardware to run on Vista 64-bit. I'll see if I can find it...

Edit: I found the thread. It's a guide on getting 64-bit drivers for Vista. Hope it helps. Please note I have not tried this.... yet.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=149395

 

There isn't even a point in using VIsta x64 on a PC, let alone a Mac. Prepare for a *slower* Vista experience if you do decide to go x64.

 

It can be slower?

 

There's no reason for it to be slower. If anything it will be a little faster. The only thing that could possibly be slower is gaming based off how good the x64 graphics drivers are you're using.

 

I've got an iMac - 2.4GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and use Boot Camp for running Windows Vista Home Premium, 32bit. So far its run flawless. With SP1 it "see's" that I have 4 gigs of RAM, but I think its only actually using a little over 3. Vista's been running great on it and I havent had any issues with performance lags

 

so if i run the 32 bit version for the games and I have 4 gigs of ram will the games notice that I have 4 gigs of ram instead of 2?

Thats the main reason id go with the 64 bit version. I could care less if outlook knows I have 4 gigs of ram.

anyone?

 

Knows and being able to use are two different things. The max available memory to a Vista 32-bit OS is around 3.5GB. I read someone say that SP1 causes the OS to recognize the full 4GB but it's still only a 32-bit OS so I don't think it can ever address more than the 3-3.5GB.

 

I will probably be installing the 64 bit version...i have it on another laptop and my desktop and it runs well. I'll just hope I can find all the drivers.

 

don't worry as long as the hardware isnt past 3 years old you be fine looking for drivers

 

I'm running Vista 64-bit on my desktop and it runs marvelously well on it. The drivers for the most part are now mature enough to work well in Vista. I have tried Vista 32-bit on my MBP and it also ran very well.

Any 32-bit operating system can use about 3.3 GB of RAM, but a 64-bit OS can get much higher. Vista 64-bit (Business or Ultimate) will allow addressing up to 128 GB of physical memory. Only thing is where are you going to find a motherboard that can hold that much memory on it? Apple's Mac Pro can hold up to 32 GB.

 

TBH you probably won't be able to notice the performance gain of 64 bit Vista (assuming there is one). Personally I would go with 32 bit Vista for now to avoid the hassle of finding drivers and the headache of setup. But if you don't mind either you should be fine.

 

You'll notice a performance difference only if the software is developped with 64bit code... If not, you'll have compatibility issues with some 32bit software in 64 bit windows anyways... It's not worth it yet


I would wait at least 1-2 years before considering a switch because most software is 32 bit and there's no major sign of that changing

 

The 64bit drivers came out in Jan on the disks that came out the the new Mac Pro. They are all over the internet if you care to google them or go there.

http://rapidshare.com/files/85474135/BootCampDrivers64.zip

Honestly go with XP....will anything you run while in Windows need 4 gigs of RAM?

 

Well I cant go with XP due to work requirements (no I dont work for Microsoft but some of our work does require the latest Microsoft software).

 

How soon do you think they'll have drives for 64-bit available?