Should I choose 32bit or 64 bit?

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Vista is Identical 32 bit and 64 bit except RAM ... more ram more power ..
Not accurate. There are some major differences between Vista32 and Vista64. To get 32bit software to run on a 64bit OS Vista64 uses an emulation layer called Windows on Windows 64 (WoW64) that lets 32bit software run as if a 32bit OS was installed.

That happens by translating instructions passing in and out of 32-bit applications into 64-bit instructions. Those 32bit programs running on WoW64 act as though they are running on a 32bit x86 computer. They still operate within the 2 GB of virtual memory that a 32-bit version of Windows provides to every process. Even with Wow64 32-bit programs on Vista64 cannot take advantage of the larger 64-bit address...
Virtually everything runs on 64 now except 16 bit apps and games and the Cisco VPN client. Vista 64 has become pretty much standard install now for enthusiasts with good equipment. As always there are little things here and there and some older apps might need to be upgraded to more recent versions.

64 is rapidly becoming the standard so go for it unless you know of some particular app you simply have to have and if so research it by name.
 

core i7 ownage

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Wow, i never knew that almost all programs can run 64bit and they are BC
 
Vista is Identical 32 bit and 64 bit except RAM ... more ram more power ..
Not accurate. There are some major differences between Vista32 and Vista64. To get 32bit software to run on a 64bit OS Vista64 uses an emulation layer called Windows on Windows 64 (WoW64) that lets 32bit software run as if a 32bit OS was installed.

That happens by translating instructions passing in and out of 32-bit applications into 64-bit instructions. Those 32bit programs running on WoW64 act as though they are running on a 32bit x86 computer. They still operate within the 2 GB of virtual memory that a 32-bit version of Windows provides to every process. Even with Wow64 32-bit programs on Vista64 cannot take advantage of the larger 64-bit address spaces or wider 64-bit registers on 64-bit processors. This helps explain why some 32bit programs run slower on Vista64 than they do on Vista32.
 
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rasmasyean

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Windows Vista 64-bit links and factoids

32-bit vs. 64-bit Vista comparison table…
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/06/04/differences-and-advantages-between-32-bit-x86-vs-64-bit-x64-windows-vista/

32-bit means it can only “see” 2^32 (2 to the 32nd power) = 4GB.
The computer has to be able to see the (usable)RAM + VRAM + other devices on Motherboard, etc.
e.g. If you have 1GB VRAM and “other devices” takes up 0.3GB, you will only be able to use a max of 2.7GB (4 - 1 - 0.3 = 2.7) RAM.
In this case, if you install 3GB RAM, you waste 0.3GB…if you install 4GB RAM you waste 1.3GB!

This one's a bit technical, but it describes some of the nitty-gritty of 64-bit technology.
http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2007/10/16/64-bit_more_than_just_the_ram/1


If this is any indication that 64-bit is the wave of the future and 32-bit will be “obsolete”…

There appears to be a shift taking place in the PC industry: the move from 32-bit to 64-bit PCs.
We've been tracking the change by looking at the percentage of 64-bit PCs connecting to Windows Update, and have seen a dramatic increase in recent months. The installed base of 64-bit Windows Vista PCs, as a percentage of all Windows Vista systems, has more than tripled in the U.S. in the last three months, while worldwide adoption has more than doubled during the same period. Another view shows that 20% of new Windows Vista PCs in the U.S. connecting to Windows Update in June were 64-bit PCs, up from just 3% in March. Put more simply, usage of 64-bit Windows Vista is growing much more rapidly than 32-bit. Based on current trends, this growth will accelerate as the retail channel shifts to supplying a rapidly increasing assortment of 64-bit desktops and laptops… PC Accelerators built into Windows Vista, such as Windows SuperFetch, improve performance by keeping commonly used programs in memory, even when the program is closed. More memory capacity on 64-bit PCs allows SuperFetch to do its job more efficiently.
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/07/30/windows-vista-64-bit-today.aspx

Understanding how SuperFetch uses RAM to enhance system performance…
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=735

Windows Vista - SuperFetch & ReadyBoost
http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2007/03/29/windows-vista-superfetch-readyboost.aspx

Considering this, SuperFetch is probably the most significant feature that distinguishes Vista from all other OS's for users of all walks. Many other features won't be noticeable or even used by the common person (that is until commercial developers start using WPF/WFC etc., and even more DX10). So why not take advantage of it since RAM is so cheap?

Consider that many workers like to have, say 20 windows open and do not shut down in order to save time in the morning (even Monday morning), they can now leave 40 windows (or more) open. Also, the more RAM they have, the more stuff can be SuperFetched and Auto Disk Defragmenter and whatever can run more efficiently in the background when AFK too.

For the above scenario, workers will probably “lock” Vista with the S3 sleep more because they can resume in 5 seconds anyway, or it will just auto-sleep after a period…translating to a huge savings on energy consumption.

All these are big bonuses from having a large amount of RAM (which is dirt cheap these days as well as cheaper going forward). Costs associated with driver/equipment upgrade for 64-bit compatibility may be more than made up for in productivity savings by having more RAM.

Gaming…
A January 2009 survey by Valve Corporation indicated that of the 33.26% of gamers running Windows Vista, 24.47% run 32-bit, 8.79% run 64-bit. That’s over one third of the Vista install base.
http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/


Some interesting hardcore Vista 64-bit info:
...all 64-bit versions of Microsoft operating systems currently impose a 16 TB limit on address space and allow no more than 128 GB of physical memory due to the impracticality of having 16 TB of RAM. Processes created on Windows Vista x64 Edition are allotted 8 TB in virtual memory for user processes and 8 TB for kernel processes to create a virtual memory of 16 TB.
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5709


Some info on a popular title in 64-bit…

Adobe Photoshop® Extended and Acrobat® Pro natively support 64-bit editions of Windows Vista. Adobe Premiere® Pro, After Effects®, Soundbooth®, Encore®, and Adobe OnLocation™ are certified on 64-bit Windows Vista.
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/mastercollection/systemreqs/

Adobe CS4 is 64-bit only on Vista. OSX have to wait for CS5 or something like that when they catch up.
http://www.betanews.com/article/Adobe_CS4_will_be_64bit_but_only_on_Windows/1207258861

To put things in perspective, this is what 64-bit does...

What are the advantages of 64-bit computing?
In early testing of 64-bit support in Photoshop for Windows®, overall performance gains ranged from 8% to 12%. Those who work with extremely large files may realize noticeably greater gains in performance, in some cases as dramatic as ten times the previous speed. This is because 64-bit applications can address larger amounts of memory and thus result in less file swapping — one of the biggest factors that can affect data processing speed.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshop/faq/?promoid=DRHXB
 
RAM is gunna get really cheap soon
Yeah? Cost of the standard 1GB DRAM chip over the last 3 months. RAM had already gone up in price at retail, it might climb a bit higher still.
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And if another DRAM maker besides Qimonda (2nd largest) files for bankruptcy anytime soon the competition factor will lessen and DRAM prices could climb higher still. They've already risen about 25%.
But maybe the economic downturn and lessening demand will cause an oversupply and soften the prices some.
 

rasmasyean

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It's cheap enough. Compared to what it used to be 2 years or more ago? I don't think the recent increase in price will make most people sweat it.

Just last year I payed $94 AR for this 4 GB cas 4 RAM. Now it's $25 AR.
What other part of your computer costs $25. Even most DVD drives's are more expensive and that's something that you don't use all the time.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220269
 
If we look through our "way back" machine we can see that 2 years ago we were paying:
$223 C2D E6400 (2.13GHz 2MB cache)
$268 2GB Super Talent (2x1GB) DDR2-800
So RAM is still a bargain, just not the bargain it was before Christmas.

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I didn't mean to pick on tavernarija :whistle: - its just been a while since I saw someone get so much so wrong is so short a time.


 
def not you guys are wrong how many of you out there actually use both O.S 's dual boot ? I do so i know exactly what i am talking about ... there is absolutly no difference beside the added ram ... if you think there is ... IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK !
You're still wrong.
If you were right then programs running on 32 or 64 would have the same benchmark scores.

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def not you guys are wrong how many of you out there actually use both O.S 's dual boot ? I do so i know exactly what i am talking about ... there is absolutly no difference beside the added ram ... if you think there is ... IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK !


I would opine, sir, that less time spent talking and more time spent reading would be beneficial. Please direct your browser as follows:


http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_ff_x64.asp

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3602/sponsored_feature_ram_vram_and_.php

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,1857478,00.asp


http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3034

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3044

http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=3060

V64 Questions and Answers
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=511
 

randomizer

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How many links did you actually click? There's performance improvements with only 2GB of RAM :sarcastic:

Well, after reading your previous posts I see you have a history of not knowing what you're talking about and not listening to others who are answering your questions, therefore there is no reason to continue schooling you.

@Everyone else: Don't continue feeding the trolls.
 
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