Positives & Negatives of 64bit OS

Just wondering what people's thoughts were on this.
You can see the specs on my laptop in my signature.

Think I should up to 64 bit or just stay at 32 bit?

What would be the biggest plus/minus of the upgrade.

Thanks for any advice anyone can provide.

 

Plus side:

Certain speed and robustness advantages for software that can support it. For example, Skype 64 bit permits multiple webcam conferences, whereas the 32 bit version only allows one-on-one webcam calls.

Another plus is the geek/brag factor.

Negatives:

1. No 32 device drivers are permitted. So, unless your favorite scanner, printer, or other device has a digitally signed 64 bit driver, you are SOL.

2. Certain applications with 16 bit code will not work. This includes 32 bit apps with 16 bit loaders/install programs. Prevalence is completely dependent on users software library. For users who will use only "modern" mainstream software, this is not an issue.


The bottom line is that if you are a person who will be living in the present and future, with no ties to yesteryear devices or software, then you are 100% ready for 64 bit Vista. If you have any carryovers, then you have to look at what 64 bit support is available.

 

Question for anyone who knows:

Is the lack of 32 device driver support simply Microsoft driving a policy of forced obsolescence, or is this really a question of architecture? I ask because I think on the new OSX release (Leopard), the disk is 64, but it includes support for 32, so you can install it on 64 computers (where it functions as 64), or 32 computers (where it works as 32). In addition, if you're running 64 and have a 32-bit application or device, that device will still work seamlessly in 64 Leopard.

If I made a mistake in that, please let me know. But if not, it appears it's more than possible to have one disk that support 64 and 32 bit computers, yet also allows one to run 32 programs/devices on a 64-installation on a 64-OS. So is Microsoft's refusal to allow this simply one of those goodies that comes with having a monopoly on the PC market?

 

Hmmm well I don't have my laptop connected to any thing.
My older model computer has the scanner, printer and all that.

So would that be my main issue? Hardware?

Also not sure what you mean by number 2:

Can I get an expample of some applications?

Will games run better?

I'm a noob ~.~

 

Negatives: Not too much x64 programs/drivers available. Seems like developers aren't too keen to upgrade to x64. I don't see any noticeable speed difference (for now).

Positives: Updated drivers/programs improving.. at a snails pace. If you only have 32bit programs/hardwares, x64 will run in compatibilty mode.

I'm using x64 and it's fine. I now have 4gb RAM from 2gb. What one I notice is that x64 IE7 runs a bit faster than the x32 version.

 

64 bit is very cool

you need alot of ram for it, im talking 4gb min.

 

You don't need more RAM, you can just squeeze more of it

I used Vista Beta and RC2 X64 and loved it. Too bad IE7 X64 wasn't compatible with all the java,shockwave and that kind of stuffs in the time (is it now?).

Devs aren't doing X64 version solely because no one knows about it.

Crysis will make FULL use of Quad-Core + X64 so it's nice. X64 gives a straight 15% boost on your CPU in the game (as of today)

 

Yes it is now

I use Vista X64 on a 2GB and it's pretty good. Almost no compatibility problems here.

I even tried it on my 1GB desktop, this is where I noticed that it does slightly use a bit more RAM. But I still managed on 1GB. Just didn't have the multitasking power as with a 2GB or higher.

I also tried X64 on Ubuntu(Linux) it was almost flawless until I found out Flash wouldn't work, so I reinstalled 32bit instead.

 

The only compatibility problem I've had with Vista HP x64 is my old sound card (Terratec Aureon 7.1) and wifi. I gave up on the sound card issue as I had a spare card anyhow so just swapped it. My wifi problem was solved by some drivers which I had missed on the manufacturers website! (found them via forums) a good source of 64bit driver info being http://www.start64.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=9&Itemid=106 (<-- load times on the website can be a bit slow sometimes not sure why, could be just my work internet connection I guess)

Overall though I find Vista x64 runs very smoothly (with 2gb ram and socket 939 Athlon X2 4200+) and I can honestly say I've not had any more grief from it than I have from any other new OS.

 

64bit - earn the right to brag about your computer being better than the 32bit OS computers (just kidding)

64bit + - Stable (so far), slightly faster (in certain scenarios with 64bit optimized apps) and more secure.


64bit - - The compatibility problems that dogged 64bit OS (i only know about Microsoft's 64bit implementation), lackluster driver support for some devices. Only Vista x64 seems to be better at driver support.

 

Architecture. Anything running in kernel mode has to be 64-bit for the CPU to swallow it, as long as the CPU is in 64-bit mode. So it's not just MS being stupid.

Not sure exactly what the deal is with Leopard. However, Apple has a long tradition of just letting executable files contain several images for different architectures, which might help solve the problem. (So each driver file can contain both a 32 and 64 bit version)

Don't confuse applications and drivers. (And not sure exactly what you mean by devices)
Applications can indeed be 32 or 64 bit, and Windows will run them both. Drivers have to be 64 bit on a 64-bit OS by default. Of course, with enough effort, it's possible to work around this. I don't know enough about OSX's inner workings to answer that.

 

All right, that clears things up some. Thank you. By "devices", I meant "drivers" for peripheral devices. It feels better knowing this is an architectural restriction.

 

Are all games compatible with the 64 bit version.

 

im running vista64 and as of yet iv had no problems with any.
played a lot of recent games and some that are 2-3 year old and havent had any problems tho you will have to update any games you use with the newest patches in case of compatability problems when using a new operating system i.e v32 or v64 which was same case with xp when it came out.

but i recommend anyone playing games that they should have 4gb ram as v64 uses a little more ram than v32 as it has more going on internally that is if you want a very smooth ride in games while mutlitasking.