Vista: 32 vs 64 bit

OK, I'm clueless when it comes to 64 bit. I'm planning on installing Vista on my new build ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=278918), and everyone was advising 64 bit. Why? I've found 64 bit drivers for the things I need, so that's not much of a problem. I currently only have 4 GB of ram, but if 64 bit turns out to be good, I may up that to 8 GB. Will I have application compatibility problems? I will be running a few older programs from 2000/XP, will I be able to use them? What are the pros\cons of 64 bit?

Thanks,
-CompFreak847

 

... Vista 32-bit or 64-bit?

 

Guess I should have looked harder. Anyway, can anyone tell me what the advantage would be if I use 32 bit applications exclusively? Would there be any benefit if I only went with 4 GB of ram?

 

Q1: There are no pros of x86 over 64-bit, really. Compatibility is a non-issue (used to be when XP 64-bit was the only 64-bit option)

Q2: A 32-bit system would only be able to address between 3.2-3.5GB of RAM, depending on the memory addressing need for your hardware. So you would essentially be wasting a portion of RAM in exchange for... ?

 

Sure.

The OS itself will be 64-bit, so it will run a little faster. 64-bit Vista is generally faster, even with only 2 gb of RAM. (Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1354 )

Each 32-bit app can use up to 2 gb... so in theory all it takes is two apps running simultaneously to use the full 4 gb.

Also, RAM not being used by apps can be used by Vista for caching (to reduce hard disk access and therefore speed things up).

Finally, 64-bit Vista has some security and stability advantages.

The downside of 64-bit is worse compatibility with old hardware and with some really old software.

 

OK, so I shouldn't run into any problems with 64 bit, and its still worth it with 4 GB of ram?

 

Given a choice, I'd go for it.

I only have 2 gb installed right now, but I'm planning to upgrade to 64-bit anyway.

Oh yeah, there's one more thing. You MUST use only 64-bit drivers with 64-bit Vista. So... make sure there are drivers for all your hardware before taking the plunge. For the stuff that came with your system, Dell should have it on their support site. But... check for drivers for any other hardware you have that needs drivers.

 

I'm building it. I have checked everything for drivers, though: My Scanner, Camera, Joystick, Printer, Hard Drive, Video Card, Sound Card, and DVD drive all work with it, I think that's all I need.

 

oh, ok. In that case, I guess you're all set!

 

Let's say you're absolutely **NEVER** going to ever use a 64-bit app. Maybe a 64-bit app gave you an evil eye on the bus the other day and you now have some very strong prejudice against them. If that were the case, you'd still get benefit from a 64-bit OS, as it can use over 4GB of RAM (unless a bunch of 2GB RAM sticks mugged you at knife point in 2004 and you have no intention of ever going over 4GB).

I think if one uses a 64-bit OS, they may find 64-bit apps they want to use. I love 7zip 64-bit, it handles all my archive needs wonderfully.