Buying vista...to avoid complications haha (32 or 64)

First of all, I wasn't sure where to put this, but because it is in relation the ability to play games properly, I posted it here. Ok, so for a couple of months after buying my new rig, i've been running an 'acquired' version of vista ultimate, however since then it has been really complicated because I can't download service packs etc etc. So I'm buying it, i always intended to but I just didn't have the money. I'll be buying the the Home premium retail pack. My question is, should I just install the 32bit version it comes with or should I order the 64bit one straight away from microsoft? I would get the ultimate pack, however I can't justify paying over $400 aud for an operating system. A lot of games I've been playing lately has been stating that I should upgrade to service pack 1 etc..including FarCry 2. I was going to buy 'the witcher', 'company of heroes' and 'fallout 3', but have decided to go with the operating system to avoid further complications. I'll just have to remember to actually uninstall games that use DRM when i re-install windows. :( Gone are the days when you could just clean your drive and not have to worry about installation limits.

-Chris

Vista x64 was problematic early on due to poor support from hardware vendors, but it's much better now. I have a copy of Ultimate myself, and I switched over from 32-bit to 64-bit not too long ago. The transition was perfectly smooth.

If you have 4GB of RAM, go with Vista x64, no question. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter which one you choose.

Oh, and I'm running 4gb ddr2 @ 1108Mhz. At the moment, I can only see 3.25 with 32bit.akust0m

Yeah, if you have 4 GB definitely go with the 64 bit. I have 4 GB too but stupid Dell only offers 32 bit for Home and Home Office Desktops.

Yeah, ok when vista arrives, I'll get onto Microsoft. Also, I've heard some games don't work on a 64bit OS. One game in particular, Age of Empires 3? It's a game we reguarly play at home over a network. Also, can you actually feel the difference between 32 and 64 yet?

-Chris

Yeah, ok when vista arrives, I'll get onto Microsoft. Also, I've heard some games don't work on a 64bit OS. One game in particular, Age of Empires 3? It's a game we reguarly play at home over a network. Also, can you actually feel the difference between 32 and 64 yet?

-Chris

akust0m

You could always dual boot them, even though it may be against the eula... Performance will be pretty much the same, minus the 768mb of ram.

get the 64 bit version, you can use all your RAM and you'll help further technology for everyone. The sooner people start adopting 64 bit Operating Systems, the sooner companies will start focusing on them rather than 32 bit.

As for the compatability: as far as I know, the only games you should have problems with are really old games. I can't say for sure, though, so don't blame me if there's an odd game here or there that has problems

I had vista 32 bit, Couldn't stand it. Now vista 64 bit..

:lol:

I have 32bit and 2gig of rams, Im fine with that. more bits more rams what's the point?Dogswithguns

Performance, in games that need that much RAM and in applications, if you don't use your PC only for games.

[QUOTE="akust0m"]Oh, and I'm running 4gb ddr2 @ 1108Mhz. At the moment, I can only see 3.25 with 32bit.bedram793

Yeah, if you have 4 GB definitely go with the 64 bit. I have 4 GB too but stupid Dell only offers 32 bit for Home and Home Office Desktops.

Yeah, 4 gigs of RAM and Vista 32 bit is pointless. 64 bit all the way.

Yeah, ok when vista arrives, I'll get onto Microsoft. Also, I've heard some games don't work on a 64bit OS. One game in particular, Age of Empires 3? It's a game we reguarly play at home over a network. Also, can you actually feel the difference between 32 and 64 yet?

-Chris

akust0m

I really haven't run into any game that won't work on 64 bit vista. But I really don't play any really old games. Diablo 2 is about the oldest game I play anymore. Also, most problems can be solved by simply running the game as admin, but that's a Vista problem, not Vista 32 versus 64.

I have 32bit and 2gig of rams, Im fine with that. more bits more rams what's the point?Dogswithguns

Well, obviously you haven't ever used a 64 bit OS with 4 gigs, so you really can't judge. I have Vista 64 bit and 4 gigs, and I see a lot of improvement in processes being a lot faster because it can load more into RAM at once.

Basically, on a 64 bit OS it can utilize all of your RAM for a single process. 32 bit, the max is 2 gigs. If you use anything like Photoshop or 3d rendering software, video editing, etc. you will GREATLY appreciate being able to use all 4 gigs.

As for games, right now, not really much of them benefit from 64 bit. Although I do hear that Supreme Commander performs better, but I can't verify that one.