64-bit: List of issues

[dannyaa]

I see a few threads dealing with the 64-bit version, but it would be nice to see an informative post dealing with what issues exist in the 64-bit version. If I decide to install 64-bit, what problems may I run into?

Looking at my hardware in my sig (x2 4800+, geforce 7800gt, etc.) what problems/driver issues may I experience? I, like others, would like to use my full 4gb of memory. Important apps to me are:

- Adobe Master Collection CS3 releasing this July with VISTA support.
- Recent & upcoming games (Rainbow Six Vegas, Crysis, etc.)
- Microsoft Office
- Nero
- iTunes/QuickTime
- DVD playback, anything video-related

- Drivers for Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
- Nvidia & AMD drivers/support; ASUS mobo

Should I expect to encounter any problems if running Vista 64-bit?

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

Same here also, i'm gonna be getting 64bit vista, only i'll mainly be playing games like BF2, maybe BF2142, and ArmA [Armed Assault] ^_^

 

[pkellmey]

Some of your problems will be Vista driver related and some will be 64 bit specific issues. The rundown:

ITunes will be a problem or at the minimum an annoyance, Nero and Office depends on version, video is mostly a non-issue but it might depend on what player/codecs you're using. Adobe should not be an issue, but we'll have to wait and see. AMD has no issues, ASUS depends on the mb, and creative has the poorest drivers I have ever seen for an OS. 4G of RAM will not be an issue for 64 bit or 32, but again it depends on your mb as far as how the memory is mapped.

At this point, Vista support is all about the versions and how much you care about backward compatability with older games/apps. My suggestion, start by looking at all of your hardware and make sure there are 64 bit drivers from the man., if so you are halfway there. If you can find all your 64 drivers, you can usually find app equivalents for most of the apps you listed above if your intended apps end up not working. If you absolutely need the specific apps above, you might want to think about sticking with 32 bit for a little while because it is a little more lenient, especially with older games.

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

Well this is the computer i'm gonna be building:

You said creative has bad drivers? so i'm worred about that part and I don't know any other sound cards besides them that are fair price and still good, but besides that, does it still look good for a Vista x64? I've heard some people working fine with it.

 

[dannyaa]

Ok I looked some stuff up. Adobe's new suite of Apps is designed for Vista, but they are 32-bit apps. There are no 64-bit versions of Adobe.

But does this just mean that the app won't run "better" on a 64-bit OS? Or does it mean it won't run at all? Because if it runs with the same level of performance/stability on 64-bit (even if not optimized for it) then that is no problem... will it? And will it still allow me to use my full 4gb of RAM?

Also, I checked drivers. But what specifically do I need drivers for? There are 64-bit drivers for Creative & NVIDIA, but what else would I need?

 

[pkellmey]

OK, so if all of your hardware has 64 drivers, that means it is all accessible by the 64 bit OS. It will work, however it may not work as expected. Creative, as an example, works differently with the same hardware between XP and Vista due to the way the driver works.

The apps are a completely different story. Vista 64 with 64 bit app means it works with little issue. It may not perform better yet because it may not be 64 optimized, but it should perform as good as a 32 app on Vista 32. A 32 bit app may/may not work on Vista 64. It is totally dependent on the app and even as specific as the version of the app. Most people are finding most 32 bit apps will work, but Vista 64 is not supposed to be as flexible as Vista 32 for poorly written apps.

 

[joke]

Ok I looked some stuff up. Adobe's new suite of Apps is designed for Vista, but they are 32-bit apps. There are no 64-bit versions of Adobe.

If you go to the Adobe site and dig around a little (search vista in support) they will tell you everything is fine with Vista 64 and they list all of the known problems. There are only 2 minor ones with acrobat 8. I've been using it for 3 weeks and have not had any problems.

I have not had any problems with any of my software from any vendor, except creative. I'm happy with Sigmatel's HD audio on my Intel MB and the creative web-cam driver loads fine. Creative's crap-apps don't work well (which I never use anyway) so I don't really care.