Vista x64 or Vista x32 or XP Pro x32

[T^2]

I have a new computer and I can't decide which OS to put on it. I am going to put ubuntu on it but I want a windows OS for office 2007, adobe premier, adobe photoshop, and some gaming.

Rig's stats:
Core2Dual E6700
ASUS P5W DH Deluxe Mobo
4 GB DDR2 Kingston
nVidia 9600 GT
160 GB SATA HD

I am afraid of jumping into Vista x64 because I know a year or ago it had a lot of compatibility issues with hardware and software...I am hoping it has gotten better now but am still a bit afraid to take the jump. And of course the 32bit OS would not make use of all 4 GB of my ram.

What do you think? Thanks,

Tang

[Dynash]

Still to 32bit for awhile, since you said it yourself, the compatibility issues.
I'd personally choose XP Pro at the moment, but it's a hard choice.
Eh, I vote XP Pro.

[Dini]

I got a new laptop with no OS and installed Vista Ultimate. I used it for half a month and got XP Pro. I was having sound issues and a very sluggish performance. If you want to enjoy your machine, go for XP.

[iBrightDev]

i like vista, and i would use the 32 over 64 just since there is still not a lot made for 64 software wise.

[heymrdj]

My Vista x64 is turning 1 year old next week and the only thing that gave me trouble was VMWare server not being signed. I've used XP Home 32bit on here as well and overall it did not have the multiapplication speed that Vista Ulimate had. Vista's issues are a thing of the past if you have modern hardware. (T7200 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo with 2GB Ram, 160GB main drive, 320GB secondary drive, Nvidia 8800GS)

[hamster]

XP Pro all the way! :P

[JonnyH]

With the specs you have, go for Vista 32. Once it's installed and used you'll get a big performance boost comapred to XP. All the little tweaks vista has I just can't live without now.

[AdamJ]

I agree with Jonny, I've hit the magic 5.9 on my Vista Performance Rating, took me some time and a lot of tweaking, but finally made it. Vista is worth every penny, it's just absolutely brilliant, forget XP, it's old now and outdated, just go for Vista, and you'll never turn back ;)


Also, I recommend Vista Ultimate for your setup, its near enough the same as mine

[sep]

Vista 64bit. Then you can tell me how it is and whether I should get it or not. :D

[T^2]

I'm kind of leaning towards Vista Ultimate x64... from what I understand most x32 software work on it now....and it'll give me that extra GB of ram. It's a big waste otherwise because my 4 GB are set up in dual channel. I'll decide sometimes next week and let you guys know.

[iBrightDev]

if you use stuff like photoshop, stay with the 32bit vista. photoshop is still only 32. we may be lucky to have it be 64 when the new cs4 is released, but, we will see.

[JonnyH]

I'm kind of leaning towards Vista Ultimate x64... from what I understand most x32 software work on it now....and it'll give me that extra GB of ram. It's a big waste otherwise because my 4 GB are set up in dual channel. I'll decide sometimes next week and let you guys know.
I used Business x64 but noticed no difference and stuff was breaking slowly... Then i switched back to x32.
The thing is.. I'm only on 1GB of ram, hint me staying on business. It uses less resources and runs faster than the other versions.

[AdamJ]

I agree Jonny, it all falls down to what your motherboard/hardware holds. If all the hardware in your PC/Laptop can handle x64 then use it, but be warned that not all software is compatible.


I'd say, as said earlier, just use x32, you won't notice the difference at all, and it looks nicer than XP :D

[iBrightDev]

I'd say, as said earlier, just use x32, you won't notice the difference at all, and it looks nicer than XP :D

not entirely true. x64 utilizes the processor a lot better than x32 cause it is made for it, but, it wont be a huge difference. so, i will stick with my previous statement of using x32 vista unless you dont run any programs that are only x32 right now like Photoshop. that is the main reason i dont have x64 myself.

[T^2]

Is there somewhere I can to see if my hardware is compatible with x64? No part of this machine is more than 4 months old...so I think I should be fine in terms of hardware. I have a SB Audigy 8880 Sound card and nVidia 9600GT OC.

[heymrdj]

Is there somewhere I can to see if my hardware is compatible with x64? No part of this machine is more than 4 months old...so I think I should be fine in terms of hardware. I have a SB Audigy 8880 Sound card and nVidia 9600GT OC.

I'm running Vista Home Premium on my gf's 3 year old system. You're beyond 64bit Vista ready.

[iBrightDev]

im pretty sure you need a 64bit processor to run x64.
read about it here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista_64-bit_editions

[heymrdj]

im pretty sure you need a 64bit processor to run x64.
read about it here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista_64-bit_editions

Unless he's running a VIA chip, if that computer is 4 months old then it has a 64bit processor.

[T^2]

I know the Core2Dual chips are x64 ready. And all the incompatibility issues I know about are from like 1-2 years ago. I feel like now most of the bugs should have been fixed. x64 is just really tempting because I have 4 GB of ram and I would like to use all of it. And I know my machine can handle any version of vista...well I think I will take a jump into vista x64 in a week or so unless someone can give me a reason not to.

[iBrightDev]

i say go for it. i have been using it since it was in beta, and it is great.

[[JSH]John]

I'd get Vista x32 simply for the compatibility issues with x64 os's.

[DarkBlood]

That's an x86 processor though, is it not? If so, then I'd advise on using a 32-bit.

Now if it was AMD, I'd say use x64, and have more than 4 GB of RAM.

[heymrdj]

That's an x86 processor though, is it not? If so, then I'd advise on using a 32-bit.

Now if it was AMD, I'd say use x64, and have more than 4 GB of RAM.

I'm not sure I follow...have you looked at processors within the last 3-4 years, since 2004? While AMD was one of the first major consumer 64bit processors, Intel has had EM64T (64bit) processors since the late model Pentium 4's (codenamed Prescott, also known as firebreathers and steam broilers for their notoriously high TDP's when Intel still used NetBurst Architecture). Models that used 64bit include E revisioned Prescotts, Pentium D's, Pentium Celeron D's, Intel Xeons since the Nocona core, Intel Extreme Editions (of the Prescott, not the Galation cores), all Intel Core architecture (Core Duo, Pentium Dual Core, Celeron 4/5 series, and I believe Core Solo as well), and the newer Intel Atom architecture. Of course the new Quad cores (Phenom from AMD and Kentfield and Yorkfield from Intel) all support 64bit as well.

Both intel and AMD have been 64bit ready for years, with AMD64 in late 2000, and Intel with EM64T in mid 2004.

[DarkBlood]

Sorry, I didn't know that Celeron D, Pentium Ds now were 64 "ready." I'd still trust AMD before intel though in terms of x64

[heymrdj]

Sorry, I didn't know that Celeron D, Pentium Ds now were 64 "ready." I'd still trust AMD before intel though in terms of x64

I would do some research on the latest processor slandering that are late AMD X2's and Phenom before falling victim to what is called fanboyism in the tech forums :angel:.

[pugboy]

If you have 2gig of RAM or more, and a decent graphics card, get Vista 32bit.

My sister's laptop LITERALLY took 10 minutes to boot with Vista, and only about 30-45 seconds with XP. It was an old laptop though.

[T^2]

If you have 2gig of RAM or more, and a decent graphics card, get Vista 32bit.

My sister's laptop LITERALLY took 10 minutes to boot with Vista, and only about 30-45 seconds with XP. It was an old laptop though.

Lol I take it you didn't read my post eh? I have 4 GB of ram and nVidia 9600GT, which I would consider a "decent" graphics card.

Yea I think I'm gonna get Vista x64 in a week or so.

[heymrdj]

Lol I take it you didn't read my post eh? I have 4 GB of ram and nVidia 9600GT, which I would consider a "decent" graphics card.

Yea I think I'm gonna get Vista x64 in a week or so.

Good choice :beer:.

I like Vista because it feels like a self healer in a way. I can work on my laptop all day (I run in excess of 50 different programs per day for work, and even at the moment I have 13 different programs running), and naturally this gets slow. But during the night I leave it running, where it grinds away, self performing defrag, indexing, and scan disk without messing with the sloppy Scheduled Tasks set up previous OS's used. It works just like out of the box the next morning.

[DarkBlood]

I'd still rather have 6 GB of RAM and ATi or NVIDIA =/

[T^2]

Just an update for those that may care, I installed vista ultimate 64 bit and everything is good so far. My motherboard, video card, sound card, and pretty much everything I have used so far has special drivers.

The plunge wasn't so bad! Recommend it to others that have the hardware to handle it.