Desktops: Poll How many bits is your main computer's operating system?

RE: Poll How many bits is your main computer's operating sys

In reply to: Poll How many bits is your main computer's operating system? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

I run a dual Intel quad processor machine, 8 GB RAM, and an Nvidia Quadro FX3500 video card running under XP-64 SP-2. I have a RAID 0 boot drive and a RAID 3 drive for rendering to. I've had the system since last August and initially had some problems with the Nvidia drivers which have since been resolved.

When I first got it, I had to do some research to find a suitable AV software provider. I liked NOD32 best, but wound up using Avast primarily because it was free. My Wacom serial port driven UDXL2 12x12 tablet didn't have drivers for it and Wacom had no plans for supporting it under 64 bit OS's so I had to purchase a new USB Wacom tablet. The version of Nero that came bundled with my machine had limited functionality. I had to upgrade to Nero 8 in order to get all of it's features enabled.

I had similar problems in regard to back-up software, which was part of the reason for the upgrade to Nero 8. My copy of UltraBac didn't support 64 bit machines although a newer version is available that does. I just don't want to pay the cost of the upgrade at this time.

My old Linocolor scanner didn't look viable for use with the new machine either since there weren't drivers for any of the SCSI-2 & SCSI-3 cards I had laying around. The scanner died last winter and I had to purchase a new one. When I began researching new scanners, I discovered that Microtek didn't have any drivers for their scanners, nor a timeline to support 64 bit OS's. Others were spotty at best. I wound up purchasing an Epson V750 Pro which was one of the few that had USB drivers for 64 bit machines. Unfortunately, some of it's best features, such as the Silverfast AI software included with it don't run under 64 bit Windows. I'm hoping they'll release a new version soon that will support 64 bit OS's.

I've had to upgrade the firmare and use different drivers for my Minolta 2300DL Color Laser printer which I don't like nearly as well as the drivers I use on my 32 bit machines. However, at least there *are* drivers which support the machine. My modem uses generic Microsoft drivers since the manufacturer doesn't provide their own.

I've not bothered with looking into monitor color calibration software yet as my need hasn't been strong enough, not to mention that my 30" HP LCD monitor has essentially no adjustment capabilities of it's own, so a Monitor Calibration system such as DataColor's Spyder may not even work with it for that reason alone. My DPT calibration hardware is made for CRT's, so I know it won't work with the monitor anyway.

With all that said, I'm very pleased with the way the machine runs Maya 8.5 as well as Photoshop CS2; the primary applications I run. I tend to run the 32 bit version of Internet Explorer so I can use the plug-ins for it such as Flash which won't run in the 64 bit version of Internet Explorer that comes with XP-64. I find it aggravating that many essential plug-ings for browsing the web don't have 64 bit versions, but for what I primarily use the machine for, it's something I can overlook.

I do have numerous other 32 bit apps that run under 32 bit XP which either won't run or won't install under 64 bit XP, but I can't recall the names of most of them at the moment other than Adobe Type Manager; a program I beta tested for many months during it's development for NT and am having trouble living without. I can readily live without DOS programs running in a Command Window as I had few of those to begin with.

I've been very hesitant about using any kind of a Registry cleaner and have found sites that check for driver updates such as PC Pitstop, etc. that don't fully understand that drivers for XP-64 are different than those for XP-32.

I think that pretty much sums up my experience to date. I'm happy with my choice of a 64 bit machine and OS, but it does have it's limitations in terms of hardware & software that one can use with it. If there's a specific 64 bit application you primarily use with it, then I'd highly recommend it. If not, I see no reason to make the change at this time.

- pixel