So 32bit or 64bit version of Vista Premium?

jpe20

I am doing a system upgrade on my PC and have now come to the OS. I am unsure about whether to buy the 32 or 64 bit version of Vista.

CPU wise the 64 bit will be the most appropriate though I am unsure about software compatability. Will old 32bit apps run on the 64bit Vista???

Hope you can help

Jools

MercilessKiller

What processor do you have? If your getting a 64bit processor than a 64bit OS will be much faster than a 32bit one

gremlin666_2

Software wise the 32 bit vista is the most supported and seems it will be for a while so id stick with 32 bit vista it does everything i need it to

jpe20

Will be running 64bit processor.

I am sure the new hardware I am getting will come with 64bit Vista drivers etc, just need to know if 32bit apps will run on the 64bit version.

Eventually in long term I will go quad core etc QX6600 but will run a cheap 2160 conroe for now.

Jools

Conor_3

MercilessKiller wrote: »

What processor do you have? If your getting a 64bit processor than a 64bit OS will be much faster than a 32bit one

No it won't. There is no speed differntial. All it means is that 64bit can address more than 4GB RAM.

Unless you're going to be putting more than 3GB in the machine, stick with 32 bit. I tried 64 bit and came across a lot of driver issues. There seems to be the same lack of drivers as with XP64.

sjc_2

Well I have Vista Ultimate 64 Bit since launch and to be honest, it was a bit ropey for support back in the early days for drivers etc but has got better with time.

Having said that given the choice now I would buy the 32 Bit Version as so many more apps are compatible and so few with the 64 Bit Version.

So many of my recent games won't run, and some strange results. Like Brothers in Arms runs fine, but the add on pack won't.

banger9365

your wrong the driver suport for vista 64 is a lott better than xp 64 infact their is only a few companys that do not support it ,that i have found(been using it from day one )eg road angle , itune for burning back up disks and the cheap dvb-t cards'.
even sony supports vista 64 now and most highend pc gamers us vista 64

jpe20

I am confused ...... seems to be a bit of a polarisation of views here!!!

Dead_Eye_Jones

the geeks I hang out with claim Vista 64 is pretty stable. As above, use it if you have more than 3gb RAM. For technical reasons the 32 bit OS can only access a tad more than 3gb. Apps only run with a 2gb limit anyway so unless you run multiple pro memory hungry apps 4gb isnt really worth the premium in many's opinion.

I tought you got both 32 and 64 bit versions with Vista? Or is that just the Ultima edition that gives both? Might be worth checking - paying a bit more for both could prove useful...

BlackCloud_2

Conroes are lovely bits of kit, you won't notice much difference with 64 bit windows. I'd use 32 bit, as driver and software support is much better. I also cannot see any company making software which is only supported on a 64bit architecture, as that would be madness, considering the tiny portion of 64 bit users.

Conor_3

banger9365 wrote: »

your wrong the driver suport for vista 64 is a lott better than xp 64 infact their is only a few companys that do not support it ,that i have found(been using it from day one )eg road angle , itune for burning back up disks and the cheap dvb-t cards'.
even sony supports vista 64 now and most highend pc gamers us vista 64

The expensive DBT cards don't either. Hauppauges' top end ones such as the HVR 1300 and 4000 don't for example.

64bit driver support for Vista is a bit sketchy because the drivers are required to be signed. Sure, you can disable the requirement for signed drivers but then you've just turned off one of the main security features.

An excerpt from Paul Thurrocks (regarded as one of the leading authorities on Windows) site

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_ff_x64.asp
Compatibility issues and other limitations


Sadly, the various benefits of the x64 Vista versions are counterbalanced by a number of limitations, the most important of which are compatibility issues. 16-bit applications are not supported, which is less problematic than it was a few years ago, but still an issue for some applications that use legacy application installers. 32-bit device drivers are not supported, so you can't use any of the existing hardware drivers out there, but must instead use the subset of x64-based drivers that are currently available. This situation will improve over time, but x64 Vista users are going to be orphaning hardware.
New 64-bit applications will need to adhere to the new Windows Vista application standards in order to run correctly on these versions. That means that even some software written specifically for XP x64 might not work correctly.
Those hoping to upgrade should be aware of a few other issues, too. 32-bit versions of XP can only be upgraded to 32-bit versions of Windows Vista. And Windows XP Professional x64 Edition can only be upgraded to 64-bit versions of Windows Vista (Business and above).

Final thoughts

As with Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, the various Windows Vista x64 versions represent a compromise of sorts and are, thus, not necessarily a good choice for most Windows users ... Yet. On the positive side, the x64 versions of Windows Vista are more secure and reliable than the 32-bit versions. The also support enormous amounts of system memory, which can be important in markets such as digital content creation, engineering, and even gaming.
On the other hand, the x64 versions are also far less compatible than their predecessors, with both hardware devices and software, and these incompatibilities will ultimately make the x64 Vista versions less attractive to most users. Within the next few years, most Windows users will almost certainly move to x64-based PCs. But I'm guessing that the 32-bit versions of Vista will dominate throughout this product's lifetime because of compatibility issues.