Help choosing a Os

altron1983

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 20, 2007
Messages
130
im building a pc for my cousin, and he wants 64 bit os, im telling him there is no point. Can any 1 agree with me or disagree with me and provide some facts? So im goin with these choices, Win Xp 32 bit or 64 or Vista 32 bit or 64
 
If you want access to 4GB or more RAM, then 64 bit is probably a good choice.
 
There's been a billion of these threads already, so nothing new is going to be said. As mentioned, if you want full use of 4 GB of memory, go with an x64 OS. If you decide to go with Vista, going with x64 is a no-brainer. Considering memory prices now, you might as well go 4 GB, especially if its a gaming system. All it takes is another earthquake in Taiwan for those prices to go way back up.
 
If he wants 4GB of RAM, and has plans to utilize all of it, and this is a brand new machine based on a brand new dual or quad core processor with all new hardware throughout, there's simply no reason not to use Vista these days. Vista x64, any edition, will function adequately, but of course your friend would need to decide just what he wants and then match the edition of Vista x64 to those requirements.
 
sup guys ... i'm the cousin and i've been mentioning to him to go for windows vista 64 ... anyways i already bought all my parts and shipped it to him (he lives in a different city than i do), but anyways i got 2x2GB ram (4GB total), and this video card ...

so i'm going to be using it for gaming, and he mentioned that not many, if all any, games run in 64-bit but i also mentioned that i wanted to be setup for the future with minimal builds, which is a reason i got a quad-core processor as well ... anyways so windows vista 64 right?
 
sup guys ... i'm the cousin and i've been mentioning to him to go for windows vista 64 ... anyways i already bought all my parts and shipped it to him (he lives in a different city than i do), but anyways i got 2x2GB ram (4GB total), and this video card ...

so i'm going to be using it for gaming, and he mentioned that not many, if all any, games run in 64-bit but i also mentioned that i wanted to be setup for the future with minimal builds, which is a reason i got a quad-core processor as well ... anyways so windows vista 64 right?

btw, my final specs are in this thread: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1251320&page=2
 
They will all run on a x64 bit OS. Very few games have been released in an x64 platform, but you aren't sacrificing anything at this point by running an x86 application/game on an x64 OS.
 
They will all run on a x64 bit OS. Very few games have been released in an x64 platform, but you aren't sacrificing anything at this point by running an x86 application/game on an x64 OS.

yea thats what i meant ... so you got vista ultime 64 bit? are you liking it so far?
 
I'm loving it. I have three PCs running Vista x64, without issue, and two of them are used for gaming. If I had to pay for my copy, I wouldn't have gotten Ultimate. My wife's PC is running Home Premium x64, and my work PC is running Enterprise x64. The Home Premium is the only one we've paid for, and I can't say anything in my Ultimate would justify the price difference.

I bought the Home Premium x64 System Builder's Edition at MicroCenter during a sale, and was able to reactivate it after upgrading her components, despite what someone else says in another thread.
 
Vista x64 is the best option for any new computer with four or more gigs of RAM. On a 32-bit version of Windows, you are limited to 4 gigs MINUS the total amount of component memory installed on your computer (i.e. the memory in your video card.) For most new rigs these days, this means that you'll have little over 3 gigs available, at best. For SLI rigs, it means that nearly half of your RAM may go unused.

Compared to XP-64, Vista x64 has far superior hardware and software compatibility, plus much greater 3rd party support (this is especially true in the home / gaming arena.)

Keep in mind that there are other benefits to installing a 64-bit OS, although none of them are nearly as critical (at the moment) as the RAM use issue. 64-bit binaries, while still rare, can offer increased performance due to a 64-bit code-path and the ability of the binary to utilize more than 2 or 3 gigs of RAM. (Most 32-bit binaries can only use 2 gigs of physical RAM at once, unless it contains special compilation code, which allows for 3 gigs of use.. Noe that this separate from the 4 gig issue described in the first paragraph.) Among popular games that come to mind at the moment, Far Cry, Crysis, and Half Life 2 both offer 64-bit binaries.

Finally, Vista x64 offers several advantages over Vista x32 due to a more modern and robust code-base. The Vista x64 kernel is arguable more stable than the 32-bit kernel, thanks in part to stricter driver requirements and the exclusion of 16-bit runtime support. Furthermore, all versions of 64-bit Vista (I believe) ship with a system dll memory remap feature, such that the locations of loaded system code in memory are randomized. This has the potential to thwart malicious software (viruses, trojans, etc.) that attack core system code. (Note that Mac OS X Leopard has a similar feature.) I'm not sure if this feature is available on 32-bit Vista, but it's certainly worthwhile to have.

Mark.
 
You have to first define what you want to do with the computer(gaming, office, basic home computing, etc).

Just from the compatiblity aspect of it, I would recommend XP 32 bit. 64 bit XP and Vista 64 bit have limited use right now. If you favor Vista I would recommend 32 bit for the same reason that I choose XP 32 bit: software and hardware compatiblity. I think 64 bit operating systems are great for servers or perhaps game/video developers but home users would not see much benefit for the cost.
 
Just from the compatiblity aspect of it, I would recommend XP 32 bit. 64 bit XP and Vista 64 bit have limited use right now. If you favor Vista I would recommend 32 bit for the same reason that I choose XP 32 bit: software and hardware compatiblity. I think 64 bit operating systems are great for servers or perhaps game/video developers but home users would not see much benefit for the cost.
Apparently, when others have asked you stop spewing incorrect information, you ignored them. First off, compatibilty for both Vista platforms is roughly the same. Do some searching for drivers, and you'll see how both x86 and x64 are available. Secondly, have you bothered running Vista x64? If so, you would know your compatibility comments are FUD and nothing more. Thirdly, what extra cost??? If you buy x64 outright it costs the same. If you already own an x86 version of Vista, is $10.60 a high cost for an OS that manages your memory very well, and lets you use a full 4 GB or more in your system? $10.60? Seriously, in everyone's best interest, if you know your information is incorrect, don't post it. It isn't very helpful to people asking for answers.
 
Just from the compatiblity aspect of it, I would recommend XP 32 bit. 64 bit XP and Vista 64 bit have limited use right now. If you favor Vista I would recommend 32 bit for the same reason that I choose XP 32 bit: software and hardware compatiblity. I think 64 bit operating systems are great for servers or perhaps game/video developers but home users would not see much benefit for the cost.

This is simply not true, period.

You could make such claims 3 years ago, perhaps even 2 years ago, but no one can make such a broad claim right now today given that Vista x64 has finally opened the door to 64 bit computing to the majority of computer users wanting a 64 bit OS - and XP x64 has been working for years without issues for many of us. I've been using XP x64 off and on for nearly 3 years now, and I have yet to really find anything that doesn't work, so again, such claims are just too broad to be made. Cost has nothing to do with it since the processors are capable and the OS is too, and the cost is the same for 32 bit and 64 bit CPUs and operating systems.

Considering the fact that most nearly every single processor on the market today - even the lowly Celeron D line - is fully 64 bit compatible, there's no reason not to consider a 64 bit OS as a partner in a new machine. Also, considering that purchasing any 32 bit version of Vista automagically entitles you to the 64 bit version as well - just pay ~$10 shipping and handling for the 64 bit installer DVD unless you're buying the retail version of Ultimate because it has both DVDs in the box - again there's no reason not to go for it.
 
Yep, the compatibility/driver situation of Vista 64 is greatly over exagerated. Most people screaming about it have never even tried it. As long as you're not trying to get a 10 year old printer that still uses the parallel port, you should have minimal problems. If you're in doubt about any of your hardware, visit the manufacturer's sites and double check for drivers. By the way, Vista 64 shipped with the drivers on the disk for my 4 year old HP all-in-one, so driver support is very good.
 
Apparently, when others have asked you stop spewing incorrect information, you ignored them. First off, compatibilty for both Vista platforms is roughly the same. Do some searching for drivers, and you'll see how both x86 and x64 are available. Secondly, have you bothered running Vista x64? If so, you would know your compatibility comments are FUD and nothing more. Thirdly, what extra cost??? If you buy x64 outright it costs the same. If you already own an x86 version of Vista, is $10.60 a high cost for an OS that manages your memory very well, and lets you use a full 4 GB or more in your system? $10.60? Seriously, in everyone's best interest, if you know your information is incorrect, don't post it. It isn't very helpful to people asking for answers.

Dear sir, "spewing" and "ignore" are a harsh words. :). Certainly I do not have enough posts to have warranted such words yet and I won't ignore you or others on this forum.
Since this a forum, I would hope you would accept a few different viewpoints other than your own. I am not posting information that "I know is not correct". If you disagree please let me know with information and less insults. I am posting an opinion from running both XP and Vista. I am not saying Vista (Which I run with another PC) is bad or XP 64 bit is bad. I just think XP 32 bit is more used and is very compatible with hardware and software and is cheaper than Vista 32 bit or Vista 64 bit edition. I am aware of the ram limitions of 32 bit(4GB max) and the memory compacity (about 128GB). Thank you for your advise, I will post my words more carefully in the future. I have no doubts at all you can make Vista 64 work.

In the end, if he would like to try Vista 64 bit I would wecome his opinions on his experience with it.

Thank you!
 
[Quote:
Originally Posted by anime4u
Just from the compatiblity aspect of it, I would recommend XP 32 bit. 64 bit XP and Vista 64 bit have limited use right now. If you favor Vista I would recommend 32 bit for the same reason that I choose XP 32 bit: software and hardware compatiblity. I think 64 bit operating systems are great for servers or perhaps game/video developers but home users would not see much benefit for the cost.

This is simply not true, period.

You could make such claims 3 years ago, perhaps even 2 years ago, but no one can make such a broad claim right now today given that Vista x64 has finally opened the door to 64 bit computing to the majority of computer users wanting a 64 bit OS - and XP x64 has been working for years without issues for many of us. I've been using XP x64 off and on for nearly 3 years now, and I have yet to really find anything that doesn't work, so again, such claims are just too broad to be made. Cost has nothing to do with it since the processors are capable and the OS is too, and the cost is the same for 32 bit and 64 bit CPUs and operating systems.

Considering the fact that most nearly every single processor on the market today - even the lowly Celeron D line - is fully 64 bit compatible, there's no reason not to consider a 64 bit OS as a partner in a new machine. Also, considering that purchasing any 32 bit version of Vista automagically entitles you to the 64 bit version as well - just pay ~$10 shipping and handling for the 64 bit installer DVD unless you're buying the retail version of Ultimate because it has both DVDs in the box - again there's no reason not to go for it./QUOTE]

I see. I will look around for more information. My statement of "64 bit XP and Vista 64 bit have limited use right now" was too broad and I admit my mistake. Thanks!
 
I think we can all also agree that XP x64 suffered from driver unavailability for quite some time as well, which might lead people to assume the same for Vista x64. However, drivers for XP x64 have pretty much caught up, and by design, Vista's drivers are usually available for both platforms at the same time.
 
Compared to XP-64, Vista x64 has far superior hardware and software compatibility, plus much greater 3rd party support (this is especially true in the home / gaming arena.)

Bullcrap imo. Drivers are a non issue for XP64 at this moment, and if software isn't compatible with XP64 it most likely isn't in Vista 64 either.
 
If you have a driver for Vista x64, that same driver will work in XP x64, almost guaranteed. I've yet to find anything where this isn't the case, from low end serial cards to flatbed scanners and anything else I had laying around to test compatibility with.

The days of 64 bit driver and software issues are long since past. There aren't any that I'm aware of anymore.
 
anime4u, i'll definitely keep you posted on my experiences with Vista 64 bit.

Mempho to diego, I look forward to reading about your experiences with Vista 64 bit. Who knows, I might want to switch to Vista 64 bit sometime in the near future myself.

Thank you.
 
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