to 64, or not to 64, that's the question!

[TdC]

now that my new poota is 80% done, bought and paid for, I'm mulling over doing something I've never done before. Purchasing a Windows. In a shop. Ugh :/

As I *only* use the fast poota for games it requires the giant virus that is doze, because some of the games I play do not come in unixesque flavours. sadly enough. anyway now comes the question. I'm going to buy WinXPpro.....but which one: the 32bit or 64bit version? Both will run on my future processor.

Drivers, I'm thinking, for the 64 will still be of the lame/buggy/broken variant, and it's the drivers I'll be wanting not apps. Hmm. Anyway, is anyone running the 64bit WinXP? Any advice?

 

[Embattle]

I'd personally go for the 32bit version, Vista is due out next year any way.

 

[TdC]

hrmm, so possibly I'll be buying something that will last me less than a year, isn't upgradable (for free or otherwise), isn't 64bit and is virus/bug/crap riddled? I'd expect no less heh

tbh I'm thinking that Vista will be a pile of steaming poo when it is released, so perhaps XP will tide me over for another year after that? All I want is stable drivers from Nvidia, nothing more.

 

[fatbusinessman]

tbh I'm thinking that Vista will be a pile of steaming poo when it is released, so perhaps XP will tide me over for another year after that? All I want is stable drivers from Nvidia, nothing more.

A general rule of thumb with any OS release which is “new” is to give it six months for any particularly nasty bugs and/or vulnerabilities to be ironed out. If I were feeling cynical I'd say double this for Windows.

 

[Poag]

Tdc,

I've got a 64bit 4000+ and run Normal XPPro SP2 on it, runs perfectly wella nd gives me 100 fps in BF2.

Not much more info than that really, it runs well..i play games..it works....joy!

 

[Mazling]

If you are just going to run a desktop, with games and interweb and things, stick to 32-bit and you'll save cash. I think you should ask yourself "Why would I need 64-bit, and will the programs that I'll use benefit from it?" 64-bit isn't an instant access to mega-framerates and the like; even though your OS may be capable, programs themselves must be capable individually.

 

[TdC]

heh I know that there are great odds that it won't benefit me in the slightest, especially considering that I use my doze computer for games only. I use 64bit machines running unix for a living and am aware of what the extra bits mean in the real world.

though I want to futureproof my rig as much as I can within reason, when push comes to shove I share a place with Gale. 32bit doze will run perfectly fine, 64bit doze may saddle me with unexpected problems, I don't really want to buy it if it's only going to be a year before Vista gets sprung on an unsuspecting public, etc.

strangely I'm more willing to buy Vista than I am to buy XP :/

 

[Mazling]

Vista will require a DRM-capable monitor or so I keep hearing. It's a sippery slope, etc. How long can you put off having a q4/unreal3 capable rig

 

[Embattle]

Vista will require a DRM-capable monitor or so I keep hearing. It's a sippery slope, etc. How long can you put off having a q4/unreal3 capable rig

Another scare story maybe

 

[Jonty]

Hi TdC

I'm currently running Windows XP Pro x64 and I have to say it's rather impressive. That said, I'd probably recommend you stick with the 32-bit version.

Basically, x64 is running all my hardware just fine and every 32-bit application I've installed is running perfectly thanks to the WOW32 layer (Windows 32-bit in Windows 62-bit environment). Out of the box 64-bit drivers are running all my hardware just fine, but I don't have much connected to the system. Drivers are really the biggest problem as although nVidia, ATI etc. have stable 64-bit versions, many companies still do not (e.g. Belkin and, to a lesser extent, Espon, which is a real pain). Sadly unlike 32-bit programs, you cannot use 32-bit drivers with 64-bit versions of Windows. There are some people who have modified generic 64-bit drivers to work with their hardware, but that's far from perfect. As I say, my stuff works fine, but it isn't a very extensive setup.

As for software, 32-bit programs run just fine and without any performance hit, but note some are known to have problems, particularly at the installation phase. Again, I've had no trouble personally, but maybe I've been lucky. Also note that 16-bit support is now out, so that means that basic DOS and other installers will refuse to run. Again, in this age of Installshield and Windows Installer this isn't a major problem, but still some programs do use these older installers.

As for 64-bit support, FarCry has a package which takes advantage of the new environment, but the two packages needed are well over 400MB each to download. Future programs will take advantage of 64-bit, particularly games and resource-intensive design and productivity applications, but right now support is still lacking.

Windows Vista may well be a better bet for switching to 64-bit support. By the time it ships late next year there will be far broader 64-bit driver support (to my mind the most pressing aspect) and 64-bit programs will be more widely available to take advantage of the improvements. Note that Vista will also be available in 32-bit form since 64-bit Windows cannot be installed on non-64-bit hardware.

As for DRM-capable monitors, Mazling, yes this will likely be a feature of Vista. But you won't have to have one, just as you won't have to have a DRM-enabled processor. You may miss out on some protected content, or not be able to take full of advantage of it at high resolutions, but sadly big business is pushing these technologies so Microsoft isn't alone in supporting them. As ever I'm sure their will be ways around such technologies, not all of them legal ...

Kind Regards

 

[xane]

A general rule of thumb with any OS release which is “new” is to give it six months for any particularly nasty bugs and/or vulnerabilities to be ironed out. If I were feeling cynical I'd say double this for Windows.

Agreed, I waited until SP1 for XP, and before that Windows 98 Second Edition, and before that Windows 95 OSR2 (a.k.a. 95 "B"). In all cases I've skipped all the heartache I hear about coming from people who don't realise that "early adopter" is slang for "beta tester".

 

[TdC]

cheers for the answers guys! methinks I'll just keep on running my poota as is atm, and wait a bit more. that said, if I can get my hands on a 32bit winXP OEM when next purchasing a disk I prolly shall as I shan't be getting Vista until 99% of the userbase has it and the second servicepack has been released.

 

[Catsby]

Catsby hopes you find this link enlightening.

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NzY1LDE=