Is Vista x64 as compatible as x86?

[kingoftherings]

I have Vista Ultimate x86 right now, and I was thinking about moving up to the x64 edition based on the promise of higher Crysis performance.

My dad has an MSDN account that his employer pays for, and they don't care what he does with it, so I can get it for free anyway.

I only have 2gb of RAM, so would I still get that performance boost in Crysis? I have a 939 system, and I don't want to buy more DDR400 RAM when I could save up for a newer system.

And do 32-bit apps work on x64 just as well as on Vista x86? I'm sure its better than XP x64, but is it good enough to use?

 

[munkus]

If you only have 2Gb ram, then I'd stick with 32-bit until you get a newer system. There are tons of threads already about x64 vs x86 compatibility and stability. I don't have any issues with x64, but many people do.

 

[Scotteq]

If you have older parts on your computer, then the makers of those parts may not have created compatibie drivers. If you don't' have compatible drivers, there's liklihood you will have endless problems.


As far as achieving higher performance - Not likely. As things stand right now, Vista isn't as fast as XP.

 

[LoneEagle]

Be careful with MSDN. Those license are for development and application testing only. That why you can have OS, SQL Server, Exchange, ... Once MSDN is not renew, those license are terminated I believe. That the cons of MSDN.

Anyway, I believe Ultimate is coming with the CD/DVD 64Bits??? Only other version have a note to how to order it from Microsoft. Is your Ultimate from MSDN or retail (UpgradeNew), or OEM?

For you question, with only 2GB, you won't really see a benefits but I noticed a better performance when I did reinstall Vista 64 with only 2GB because my 2 others were ordered. But since I have 4GB, will never return to 2 even the price would go up very high where I could sell it for money. So cheap today.

You go 64, get another 2GB.

For applications, in Vista 64, they are installed like this:
* 32 bits: C:\Program Files (x86)
* 64 bits: C:\Program Files
So, yes they should work. That why M$ is offering a program (Vista upgrade advisor) that will analyse your XP with everything installed and will tell you if which hardware and software is compatible or not. But anyway, Vista 64 is not upgradable. A clean install must be done.

 

[kingoftherings]

Be careful with MSDN. Those license are for development and application testing only. That why you can have OS, SQL Server, Exchange, ... Once MSDN is not renew, those license are terminated I believe. That the cons of MSDN.

Anyway, I believe Ultimate is coming with the CD/DVD 64Bits??? Only other version have a note to how to order it from Microsoft. Is your Ultimate from MSDN or retail (UpgradeNew), or OEM?

For you question, with only 2GB, you won't really see a benefits but I noticed a better performance when I did reinstall Vista 64 with only 2GB because my 2 others were ordered. But since I have 4GB, will never return to 2 even the price would go up very high where I could sell it for money. So cheap today.

You go 64, get another 2GB.

For applications, in Vista 64, they are installed like this:
* 32 bits: C:\Program Files (x86)
* 64 bits: C:\Program Files
So, yes they should work. That why M$ is offering a program (Vista upgrade advisor) that will analyse your XP with everything installed and will tell you if which hardware and software is compatible or not. But anyway, Vista 64 is not upgradable. A clean install must be done.

My Vista Ultimate is an MSDN copy, I dunno if it has 64 bit on it or not, I might need to get a new key, then it might install x64.

What I heard that messed up compatibility was having the parentheses in Program Files (x86)

I'll run that upgrade adviser then.

 

[LoneEagle]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx

 

[kingoftherings]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx

I already ran it, but it didn't say anything about x64 compatibility. It did have a list of Vista certified software I had, and it was all MS stuff. Office 2007, Flight Sim X, some XML thing, and Avast (which isn't MS)

I'm sure this can't be the x64 compatibility list since I have BioShock on here which is Games for Windows branded, which requires 64-bit support. :\