Posted: 7/13/2008 5:40:15 AM EDT
|
Me and a few friends are planning on building a few new PC's in the very near future and I was wondering are there any real disadvantages to using a 64 bit OS. I know (well at least think) that you have to have a 64 bit OS to utalize 4 gigs of ram. Is there any real problems with running a 64 bit system? And are there programs that have problems with the 64bit OS? The computers in question would mainly be used for gaming, if that counts for anything. Thanks, Carter. |
|
drivers used to be an issue, not so bad now. it really depends on the manufacturer not all software will work with a 64bit os. some require patches. you are correct on the memory part. 64bit os is required to utilitze 4gb of memory. what are you going to use the system for ? |
any low level software like drivers, anti virus, maybe some codecs, disk utilities, system monitoring utilities will/might have issues. also, with the move to 64 bitness, microsoft dropped support for 16 bit app (dos and windows 3.11) |
|
If you want to load the system up with ram you need to use 64 bit Vista Ultimate. As far as I know 32 bit still has the 3gb plus limit unless SP1 fixed that. I've been running 4gb 64 bit Vista Ultimate for 6 months now and I'm ready to metaphorically burn my old XP systems. I'm going to load this Vista system up with about 8 GB of ram and only run XP in VMs on this system. 64 bit Vista Ultimate is by far the best thing Microsoft has ever done. |
Thats why I'm wondering about 64 bit. I dont want to waste money on RAM and an OS and then find out I can only take advantage of par of it. |
64bit OS can in theory recognize up to 8, 16, or 128 gb of ram, depending on which version you get. Vista Ultimate 64 bit can recognize up to 128 gb. However, some motherboards will only support so much, regardless of OS. The mobo I have only recognizes 8gb. I would be very surprised through if you could find a mobo that would recognize less than 8gb. |
|
The problem with the 64 bit Windows thing, is that all the software is 32bit... So it ends up running in a 'Windows on Windows' semi-emulation mode.... Think 'Running Windows 3.1 software on Windows 95 or 98'.... Until they start compiling games for X86_64.... You will never really get that benefit, simply because while the OS is 64bit, the game is still running in 32bit mode... Now, if we're talking UNIX and web-servers (that you can get in 64bit, or re-compile yourself)... Different story.... |
|
So, I missed what you said earlier. Your pals that are considering running XP64? tell them no fucking way. Under no circumstance run XP64. Run XP32. For vista, here are the limits. |
When RAM was expensive, sure, it would be a waste. Going to newegg, and clicking on the very first sale they have this www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184 4gb of PC2-6400 ram for $86.50, $66.50 after rebate. And that's a deal without even looking too hard. RAM is cheap enough now that you can afford to buy 4gb and waste 0.75 to 1.25 gb. |
|
Ok so what you guys are saying is stick with 32 bit and still get 4 gigs and you will be fine, gottcha. Thanks for the replies and help this probably saved a lot of cussing and headache in the future. If I have more questions or problems Ill post them up. Thanks again! Carter. |
That is a good deal |
Not true. I run an Intel Q6600 processor in a system with 8GB matched RAM and Vista x64 Ultimate. Most of the newer games have 32bit AND 64bit versions. One of the games I play most often is 64 bit: Crysis. I also play CoD4 very often. I run it with all the highest settings (I 'only' have a single 8800GT) and have never once had a problem with it in x64. Don't hamper yourself by purchasing or building a new PC and sticking with older 32bit technology when you can get cutting-edge for the same price or a bit more. As hardware demands increase, more and more companies (and software) are going with and even requiring 64bit. For example, Microsoft now REQUIRES a 64bit system to run Exchange in a production/supported environment. If you go with 32bit, you will find yourself upgrading very soon. Unless you're the type to upgrade every year, save some money and some headache and go with 64bit now. |
|
I agree with most of what's been said already (although I happily run XP x64 on my development workstation and laptop), but there's one other gotcha with 64-bit Vista that hasn't been mentioned. I hate Vista generally, and the only box in my house that runs it is my media center PC, since Windows Media Center in Vista is a major improvement. However, if you're running 64-bit Vista, you're running 64-bit Media Center. This is a problem because most of the third-party audio and video codecs you need to watch ripped movies (Xvid/DivX, H.263, H.264, etc) are 32-bit. You can of course install and run 32-bit media players like VLC and Media Player Classic, and they can use the 32-bit codecs no problem, but WMC is 64-bit and thus can't use any of the 32-bit codecs. KLite has a 64-bit codec pack but it sucks pretty bad, and the H.264 codec it comes with sucks so bad it can't keep up with a 720P stream on a dual-core AMD box, even though the 32-bit version of the same codec runs fine. So, the lesson is: if you're building a media center PC, don't go w/ 64-bit unless you're aware of this issue and it doesn't bother you. |
Yup. I use XP 64 at work, and it's a pain in the rear for any driver that's not uber-common. For Print drivers the large manufacturers have "universal drivers" or proxies that suck, and for smaller printer brands, I just can't print to them period. It's a work machine, so I can get around stuff, but it would be completely unacceptable for gaming. 3 gig XP gaming machine is fine, just spend the extra few bucks on a better video card. Never used Vista, so can't say anything about that. |
|
I am running Vista Home Premium 64 bit with 4GB ram on a new laptop. Runs pretty good, but as mentioned most apps are still 32 bit. Ironicly enough, iTunes and Quicktime are the only 64 bit programs I have ran across. The only thing I have found that just wont work is Noteburner. Emailed them and they said a 64 bit version was in the works but it would be a while. If I were building a machine today, I would run XP Pro with 3GB ram. |
| I am going to be building a new system and the MB supports 8gb. I was considering Vista 64bit, but after reading this I am really doubting about moving to 64bit. I am not a gammer, but do watch movies using DivX, and from time to time run Autocad. I am thinking since ram is so cheap to go ahead and fully populate the MB for later use and just run XP. Is my judgement sound? |
No, because XP can't use it. |
WoW64 is nothing like earlier versions of WoW. Intel and AMD 64-bit x86 architecture processors have hardware for running 32-bit applications. So unless you are running an Itanium system, emulation isn't an issue. |