Stuck on 32-bit Vista, need to upgrade to a 64-bit OS...Windows 7 or 8?

As the topic says i'm currently on a 32-bit vista OS and it hasn't been a problem for many years now and has ran fine....but seeing as how alot of games coming out this year need at least 4GB of RAM (mainly dishonored and XCOM which are coming out here shortly) i need to upgrade my 3GB's of RAM and I cannot do that on a 32-bit OS

so my question to you guys is which OS do you recommned I upgrade to? Windows 7 or 8? Windows 8 I hear will only cost $40 to upgrade when it comes out and that sounds like a fantastic deal, but will it be any good at launch or do you think it may have many bugs?

or is there any chance of windows 7 going down in price once 8 comes out?

any help is appreciated, thank you!

No reason not to go for the Windows 8 upgrade.

As the topic says i'm currently on a 32-bit vista OS and it hasn't been a problem for many years now and has ran fine....but seeing as how alot of games coming out this year need at least 4GB of RAM (mainly dishonored and XCOM which are coming out here shortly) i need to upgrade my 3GB's of RAM and I cannot do that on a 32-bit OS

so my question to you guys is which OS do you recommned I upgrade to? Windows 7 or 8? Windows 8 I hear will only cost $40 to upgrade when it comes out and that sounds like a fantastic deal, but will it be any good at launch or do you think it may have many bugs?

or is there any chance of windows 7 going down in price once 8 comes out?

any help is appreciated, thank you!

CDUB316

Sounds like you want to upgrade to 64bit of Win 7 or 8? If that's the case, you cannot upgrade. 32bit and 64bit are not the same. You'll need to do a full re-install of a 64bit version of the OS you want to use.

You can, however, upgrade to a 32bit version...but you still won't get use out of anything over 4GB of RAM.

Don't 32-bit product keys work for 64-bit versions of the same OS?

If i'm right he could use win7 64 bit legally for free.

[QUOTE="CDUB316"]

As the topic says i'm currently on a 32-bit vista OS and it hasn't been a problem for many years now and has ran fine....but seeing as how alot of games coming out this year need at least 4GB of RAM (mainly dishonored and XCOM which are coming out here shortly) i need to upgrade my 3GB's of RAM and I cannot do that on a 32-bit OS

so my question to you guys is which OS do you recommned I upgrade to? Windows 7 or 8? Windows 8 I hear will only cost $40 to upgrade when it comes out and that sounds like a fantastic deal, but will it be any good at launch or do you think it may have many bugs?

or is there any chance of windows 7 going down in price once 8 comes out?

any help is appreciated, thank you!

neatfeatguy

Sounds like you want to upgrade to 64bit of Win 7 or 8? If that's the case, you cannot upgrade. 32bit and 64bit are not the same. You'll need to do a full re-install of a 64bit version of the OS you want to use.

You can, however, upgrade to a 32bit version...but you still won't get use out of anything over 4GB of RAM.

i'm not understanding clearly (still a PC noob sorry) so there is no way to get this PC running a 64-bit version of windows 7 or 8?

EDIT: Just checked my system information and it says that my CPU can indeed handle a 64-bit OS

Don't 32-bit product keys work for 64-bit versions of the same OS?

If i'm right he could use win7 64 bit legally for free.

kraken2109

i'm running on Vista right now so does that mean my 32-bit vista key can get me the 64-bit version? If so i'd rather just do that right now and hold off on upgrading windows...i'm just trying to get to the point where i can use more RAM here is my main goal

he's saying you can't upgrade a 32bit OS to a 64 bit OS. You can install a 64 bit OS on your PC with no problem at all, the issue is only with upgrading from a 32 bit to a 64 bit OS. You will have to wipe the 32bit OS from the drive before installing 64 bit. you should be able to install the 64 bit version of Vista on your PC if it's on the disk, the key should still work. metacritical

ah ok i get it now

i've never actually changed OS's myself before (i've always just bought new computers every 4+ years) is it pretty simple?

like how exactly do i wipe my current OS from the drive? and does any of my files/music/games/pics etc. get wiped as well when i do this? or will it all still be there ready to go on the new OS?

No reason not to go for the Windows 8 upgrade.

XaosII

I'd go for Windows 8