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Does 64-bit XP offer enough increase?

O

ohboring1

n00b
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
37
is it worth the hassle and will it be worth it in 6 months?

64bit processors are nice and all but so far as I know.. there is next to no software that utilizes the full potential of it.
 
Lots of threads about that here. Do a search. XP 64 bit isn't for the casual user, but it is a solid OS. If you have an extra partition, download the 120-day trial and dual boot. By the time the 3 months is up, you'll know if it's right for you...
 
IMO unless you have a specific use in mind that you know will benefit greatly from 64-bit, then the answer is no, not worth it. Of course like the other guy says, if you have room and know-how for a dual boot, it won't hurt to give it a shot.
 
No it's not worth the hassle. If you needed it you would know for sure that you did.
 
You also need to balance it against what you'll lose.

I lost access to a few of my media keyboard's functions. You may have problems with some of your software, maybe there aren't your printer's drivers out there.

If you know you need it (you need access to more than 2GB) you'll probably have it.


I also lost a rock solid Windows 2000 installation for an "unsteady" x64 installation. My graphics card doesn't OC as high as it used to inder Win2K, but the efficiency of using XP and x64 means that there's no apparent drop in performance (Doom 3 and 3DMark05). My machine looks prettier, but it doesn't run any better.

Not worth the price and the hassle in my opinion.
 
hard choice, i didnt see that much of a preformance increast if there was one for x64 probably not worth it
 
I don't know how to answer that, I got it from the free upgrade and have been using it just fine. I also have a 32-bit laptop around in case I need to run something that doesn't work. I like it (smooth as butter), but not too many 64-bit native apps around.
 
64-Bit and will never look back, rock solid. Drivers arnt even a problem. I run Napster, old games like GTA new games like CS:S all with no problems. I also have alot of RAM which needs a 64-bit system, very useful ;)

edit: My 32-bit bit system died and I use 64-bit exclusively and not by choice
 
I agree with most of what has been said above. I use 64-bit for all of my mp3 and video work. We take lots of home video of our daughter and I have found that things to encode faster on it. I have found planet amd64.com a valuable resource for drivers and solving issues that you do have but for the most part it is a great operating system. I was able to overclock my video card signifgantly higher than xp Pro by 55Mhz core and 20Mhz memory so that helps with my games. As HL2 as well as future valve games are and will be encoded for 64-bit platforms I have found it a very pleasureable experience. I have not once found a compatability problem with any software that I use. I use two different music notation programs for composing music and they look and run superb. I have recommended it to many people I know. I would recommend a brother printer though since they do supply 64-bit drivers. Hp has some covered in beta drivers that do work well. I have a separate hard drive that holds xp pro in case there is ever an issue. I believe in being safe with my computing.

On a separate note there are more antivirus and spyware programs that are utilizing the 64-bit platform so the future is bright for this.
 
i have had it installed for about 2 months now as my primary OS (dumb choice). the driver support is not very good. here are my things that i cant get working

lexmark e232 printer
logitech mx duo keyboard extra buttons
macromedia flash player

i am thining about formatting and going back to xp pro. i also have ubuntu-64 bit installed and my keyboard buttons work fine in that, but still no 64 bit printing drivers.
 
lets see:

Pros:
1. More than 4Gb addressable ram (but most (AMD) motherboards won't handle more than 4Gb of ram)
2. Each 32-bit app can have its own 4Gb of ram, even if it hasn't been recompiled for 64-bit (that is.... if you actually have more than 4Gb of ram)


Cons:
1. limited driver support (= useless hardware)
2. no performance improvements - (actually usually a minor hit in peformance)
3. hardly any applications have been re-compiled/written for 64-bit
4. some of the apps / games that have been re-compiled for 64-bit are still considered beta and unsupported often.
 
I will be building my new rig this weekend and I have ordered a copy of 64. The question is should I go for the dual boot or just do 64 and go for it. New system is as follows;

TYAN K8WE
2 254 Opty's
2 7800 GTX's
1 150GB Raptor~Boot drive
3 500GB WD~RAID 3
1 Plextor DVD/CD
PC P&C 1kw PSU
4 2GB Samsung 3200
Netcell Revo 5 SATA
Xtreme sound card
Silverstone TJ07 Case
all H2O cooled
 
theseeker said:
I will be building my new rig this weekend and I have ordered a copy of 64. The question is should I go for the dual boot or just do 64 and go for it. New system is as follows;

TYAN K8WE
2 254 Opty's
2 7800 GTX's
1 150GB Raptor~Boot drive
3 500GB WD~RAID 3
1 Plextor DVD/CD
PC P&C 1kw PSU
4 2GB Samsung 3200
Netcell Revo 5 SATA
Xtreme sound card
Silverstone TJ07 Case
all H2O cooled
Click to expand...

Find out if there are 64bit drivers for your motherboard and sound card and any peripherals you use. If there are drivers available, go for the 64 bit. It wouldn't be a bad idea to dual boot anyway just in case. I'm running x64 and MCE on separate hard drives with 0 problems.
 
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