32-bit vs 64-bit

Hi Folks,

I'm about to buy an OEM version of Vista Home Premium from the vendor
that I just bought a new computer from two weeks ago. I have an
Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, but I'm not sure whether to get the
32-bit version or the 64-bit version of Vista. I'd very much like to
hear your comments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Ken

kjk wrote:

> Hi Folks,
>
> I'm about to buy an OEM version of Vista Home Premium from the vendor
> that I just bought a new computer from two weeks ago. I have an
> Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, but I'm not sure whether to get the
> 32-bit version or the 64-bit version of Vista. I'd very much like to
> hear your comments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each.
> Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Sorry to say, but there are still major problems with the 64-bit
versions of the os.
If you aren't a server and just home stuff... stick with the 32-bit for now.

kjk wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> I'm about to buy an OEM version of Vista Home Premium from the vendor
> that I just bought a new computer from two weeks ago. I have an
> Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, but I'm not sure whether to get the
> 32-bit version or the 64-bit version of Vista. I'd very much like to
> hear your comments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each.
> Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Ken

I agree with Maverick unless you have an application that you use a lot
and which is coded for 64-bit use -- i.e., can benefit from the extra
address space. There are precious few of these applications around yet,
and, unfortunately, 64-bit drivers are unavailable for many hardware
devices. Going with the 32-bit version can save you headaches with setup.

There a lot more benefits then additional address space for applications
when using a 64bit OS with a 64 bit CPU. One of the biggest that is
independendt of the appliations is the ability of the OS to load/move/store
data using 64 bit registers instead of 32 bit so data can be moved in 1/2
the number of instruction exectutions. Another benefit is many of the 64bit
instructions used by the OS can perform the same amount of work as 2 32 bit
instructions back to back so again cutting down execution time.
I do agree that many vendors have not yet supplied 64 bit drivers for their
hardware to MS approval on the WHQL list for use in 64bit Vista so waiting
till you know that you have full 64bit driver support is a good idea.
"Ron Miller" <millerDOT90@osu.edu> wrote in message
news:OvmrS0$RHHA.2252@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> kjk wrote:
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>> I'm about to buy an OEM version of Vista Home Premium from the vendor
>> that I just bought a new computer from two weeks ago. I have an
>> Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, but I'm not sure whether to get the
>> 32-bit version or the 64-bit version of Vista. I'd very much like to
>> hear your comments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each.
>> Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
>>
>> Ken
>
> I agree with Maverick unless you have an application that you use a lot
> and which is coded for 64-bit use -- i.e., can benefit from the extra
> address space. There are precious few of these applications around yet,
> and, unfortunately, 64-bit drivers are unavailable for many hardware
> devices. Going with the 32-bit version can save you headaches with setup.

Is it just a question of whether the hardware will work, or is there a
possibility that software that will run in the 32-bit version won't
run in the 64-bit version?

--------------------------

On Sat, 3 Feb 2007 20:09:38 -0800, "JW" <nospam@no.spam> wrote:

>There a lot more benefits then additional address space for applications
>when using a 64bit OS with a 64 bit CPU. One of the biggest that is
>independendt of the appliations is the ability of the OS to load/move/store
>data using 64 bit registers instead of 32 bit so data can be moved in 1/2
>the number of instruction exectutions. Another benefit is many of the 64bit
>instructions used by the OS can perform the same amount of work as 2 32 bit
>instructions back to back so again cutting down execution time.
>I do agree that many vendors have not yet supplied 64 bit drivers for their
>hardware to MS approval on the WHQL list for use in 64bit Vista so waiting
>till you know that you have full 64bit driver support is a good idea.

-------------------------

>"Ron Miller" <millerDOT90@osu.edu> wrote in message
>news:OvmrS0$RHHA.2252@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> kjk wrote:
>>> Hi Folks,
>>>
>>> I'm about to buy an OEM version of Vista Home Premium from the vendor
>>> that I just bought a new computer from two weeks ago. I have an
>>> Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, but I'm not sure whether to get the
>>> 32-bit version or the 64-bit version of Vista. I'd very much like to
>>> hear your comments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each.
>>> Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
>>>
>>> Ken
>>
>> I agree with Maverick unless you have an application that you use a lot
>> and which is coded for 64-bit use -- i.e., can benefit from the extra
>> address space. There are precious few of these applications around yet,
>> and, unfortunately, 64-bit drivers are unavailable for many hardware
>> devices. Going with the 32-bit version can save you headaches with setup.
>

There should not be any problem with application software. The potential
problem is with hardware drivers not being available yet since AFAIK there
is still a backlog of getting 64 bit drivers approved and therfore "signed"
by MS and 64 bit Vista requires Signed drivers and without a driver a piece
of hardware probably won't work it will work in very degraded mode by the
64bit installation providing a minimal capability driver provided by MS.


"kjk" <kjk@usa.com> wrote in message
news:61mbs2t1f6408i5flpt77tn7gaisdgfsgs@4ax.com...
> Is it just a question of whether the hardware will work, or is there a
> possibility that software that will run in the 32-bit version won't
> run in the 64-bit version?
>
> --------------------------
>
> On Sat, 3 Feb 2007 20:09:38 -0800, "JW" <nospam@no.spam> wrote:
>
>>There a lot more benefits then additional address space for applications
>>when using a 64bit OS with a 64 bit CPU. One of the biggest that is
>>independendt of the appliations is the ability of the OS to
>>load/move/store
>>data using 64 bit registers instead of 32 bit so data can be moved in 1/2
>>the number of instruction exectutions. Another benefit is many of the
>>64bit
>>instructions used by the OS can perform the same amount of work as 2 32
>>bit
>>instructions back to back so again cutting down execution time.
>>I do agree that many vendors have not yet supplied 64 bit drivers for
>>their
>>hardware to MS approval on the WHQL list for use in 64bit Vista so waiting
>>till you know that you have full 64bit driver support is a good idea.
>
> -------------------------
>
>>"Ron Miller" <millerDOT90@osu.edu> wrote in message
>>news:OvmrS0$RHHA.2252@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>>> kjk wrote:
>>>> Hi Folks,
>>>>
>>>> I'm about to buy an OEM version of Vista Home Premium from the vendor
>>>> that I just bought a new computer from two weeks ago. I have an
>>>> Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, but I'm not sure whether to get the
>>>> 32-bit version or the 64-bit version of Vista. I'd very much like to
>>>> hear your comments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each.
>>>> Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
>>>>
>>>> Ken
>>>
>>> I agree with Maverick unless you have an application that you use a lot
>>> and which is coded for 64-bit use -- i.e., can benefit from the extra
>>> address space. There are precious few of these applications around yet,
>>> and, unfortunately, 64-bit drivers are unavailable for many hardware
>>> devices. Going with the 32-bit version can save you headaches with
>>> setup.
>>
>

JW wrote:
> There a lot more benefits then additional address space for applications
> when using a 64bit OS with a 64 bit CPU. One of the biggest that is
> independendt of the appliations is the ability of the OS to load/move/store
> data using 64 bit registers instead of 32 bit so data can be moved in 1/2
> the number of instruction exectutions. Another benefit is many of the 64bit
> instructions used by the OS can perform the same amount of work as 2 32 bit
> instructions back to back so again cutting down execution time.
> I do agree that many vendors have not yet supplied 64 bit drivers for their
> hardware to MS approval on the WHQL list for use in 64bit Vista so waiting
> till you know that you have full 64bit driver support is a good idea.

You're certainly correct about the other benefits of the 64-bit OS, but,
speaking from personal experience, x64 Windows XP does not seem to
provide any speed increase discernible by the user compared to x86
version. In fact, it's been shown ( http://tinyurl.com/3agqz7 ) that
running apps coded for 32-bit in x64 Windows XP actually makes them run
a little more slowly, and some games won't run at all. You need the app
to be recompiled for 64 bits (and often more RAM) before x64 Windows
allows these apps to run faster that they do on x86 Windows XP. I'm not
aware of any such testing of 32-bit apps in 64-bit Vista, but I don't
see why the results would be different.
When x64 XP was released, cNet had this to say about it, "The bottom
line: Only software developers and high-end workstation users will see
real benefits from Windows XP Professional x64 Edition; everyone else
should stick with 32-bit Windows XP instead."

So, I'll repeat the opinion that unless one spends a lot of time using
an application that's been recoded for 64-bits, it's probably wiser, for
now, to stay with the 32-bit operating system.

Ron Miller wrote:

> kjk wrote:
>
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>> I'm about to buy an OEM version of Vista Home Premium from the vendor
>> that I just bought a new computer from two weeks ago. I have an
>> Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, but I'm not sure whether to get the
>> 32-bit version or the 64-bit version of Vista. I'd very much like to
>> hear your comments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each.
>> Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
>>
>> Ken
>
>
> I agree with Maverick unless you have an application that you use a lot
> and which is coded for 64-bit use -- i.e., can benefit from the extra
> address space. There are precious few of these applications around yet,
> and, unfortunately, 64-bit drivers are unavailable for many hardware
> devices. Going with the 32-bit version can save you headaches with setup.

Another thing for those that are upgrading from XP to Vista...

Backup your media codecs... Vista wipes all third party codecs away.

JW wrote:

> There a lot more benefits then additional address space for applications
> when using a 64bit OS with a 64 bit CPU. One of the biggest that is
> independendt of the appliations is the ability of the OS to load/move/store
> data using 64 bit registers instead of 32 bit so data can be moved in 1/2
> the number of instruction exectutions.

Minor point, but on my 64-bit os running on a PPC, you won't notice the
difference. In fact, the other PPC is 32-bit and it has a slower clock
rate, but the boot up is actually faster. Why? I don't know.

> Another benefit is many of the 64bit
> instructions used by the OS can perform the same amount of work as 2 32 bit
> instructions back to back so again cutting down execution time.
> I do agree that many vendors have not yet supplied 64 bit drivers for their
> hardware to MS approval on the WHQL list for use in 64bit Vista so waiting
> till you know that you have full 64bit driver support is a good idea.

It'll be a while. HP products are now getting on the 64-bit bandwagon,
so it is a good start. Games... the best bet for the gamers is to go to
the store and read the fine print on what is supported. If the 64-bit
o/s isn't supported it is best to just wait till it is.

Ron Miller wrote:

> JW wrote:
>
>> There a lot more benefits then additional address space for
>> applications when using a 64bit OS with a 64 bit CPU. One of the
>> biggest that is independendt of the appliations is the ability of the
>> OS to load/move/store data using 64 bit registers instead of 32 bit so
>> data can be moved in 1/2 the number of instruction exectutions.
>> Another benefit is many of the 64bit instructions used by the OS can
>> perform the same amount of work as 2 32 bit instructions back to back
>> so again cutting down execution time.
>> I do agree that many vendors have not yet supplied 64 bit drivers for
>> their hardware to MS approval on the WHQL list for use in 64bit Vista
>> so waiting till you know that you have full 64bit driver support is a
>> good idea.
>
>
> You're certainly correct about the other benefits of the 64-bit OS, but,
> speaking from personal experience, x64 Windows XP does not seem to
> provide any speed increase discernible by the user compared to x86
> version. In fact, it's been shown ( http://tinyurl.com/3agqz7 ) that
> running apps coded for 32-bit in x64 Windows XP actually makes them run
> a little more slowly, and some games won't run at all. You need the app
> to be recompiled for 64 bits (and often more RAM) before x64 Windows
> allows these apps to run faster that they do on x86 Windows XP. I'm not
> aware of any such testing of 32-bit apps in 64-bit Vista, but I don't
> see why the results would be different.
> When x64 XP was released, cNet had this to say about it, "The bottom
> line: Only software developers and high-end workstation users will see
> real benefits from Windows XP Professional x64 Edition; everyone else
> should stick with 32-bit Windows XP instead."
>
> So, I'll repeat the opinion that unless one spends a lot of time using
> an application that's been recoded for 64-bits, it's probably wiser, for
> now, to stay with the 32-bit operating system.

A better question would be: Do you need more than 4Gb of ram? If not,
you don't need 64-bit.