64 bit (some basic questions)

I am looking at getting a laptop that could be 64 bit and tons of RAM if I wanted.

but I have no idea if I should go 64 bit or not.

It SEEMS like if I do, I wont be able to run certain programs or certain hardware I have.

I can I know if everything I have and want to run will be fine on a 64 bit machine?

64 bit sounds so much better but it sounds like endless headache in reality. Ive tried to research but am not getting very far in clarity.

 

What programs are you speaking of? There is a very low percentage of programs that don't work with 64bit, and most of them are old.

 

I run 64 bit and have not ever had any issues. Have a lot of friends running 64 bit now and they love it. Program compatibility is great and have not had any that dont run. Stuff like older versions Adobe you may have issues but other that that I would not think to much about it. Just make sure to download the latest drivers from the hardware manufacturers and that will make a big difference. Also update your BIOS and that sometimes will add better compatibility with 64 bit.

 

Also, though some programs WILL work in 64bit, they won't work as good. Not as fast, etc. To be honest, 3 GB of ram is plenty for no lag ever, and 64 bit isn't worth it in my opinion.

 

I have ran 64 bit for months and have had better performance running games in 64 bit. If you have older hardware you may not see a big difference but another benefit is the fact that Vista 64 has a more secure kernel.

 

A lot of laptops fall into this category. Been to an electronics store lately? Almost all laptops released as of a few months ago support 4GB of RAM, and all CPUs available today (with the exception of a variant of the Atom) are 64-bit capable.

The best way to be sure is to google "programname vista 64-bit" and see what comes up. There are few programs that have problems working on Vista's WOW64 layer.

 

That's not true at all.

If any programs is running slow or having trouble under 64bit, then it's just not compatible. As for the programs that work (which happens to be most programs), things are actually more stable and quicker. Maybe XP x64 isn't worth it, but Vista x64 is as close to flawless when it comes to compatibility as you can get.

 

64 bit is the future. pure and simple.

yes, theres some programs that don't work with 64 bit, however:

if the programs are going to continue to be developed > they'll soon be 64 bit compatible
if the programs are not going to continue to be developed > you don't want to use them anyway

 

Im talking about the Dell m6400 (16GB) or the HP 8730w (8GB)


Basically, I run all the office, itunes, Roxio, Norton blah blah blah,

But there are more specialized programs I run and will want to run with this laptop like Pro Tools and other audio related production/recording software, I was about to pay a lot for a scheduling/calendar program, tivo desktop, a streaming vid recorder, Macdrive, etc etc.

I guess I have to contact each of these companies not to mention all my hardware companies, ext hard drives, scanner, printer and ask them all separately??

Then just decide which ones I am willing to sacrifice?

Im just not sure how much better it will be and if there are several programs that arent going to be 64bit for a while, if its worth waiting.
I wish this transition would be quicker. I remember thinking about this when I bought my current laptop 4 years back.