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Windows Vista: Is 64 bit worth it?
Is 64 bit worth it?
by webacons - 9/2/08 7:45 AMHi all: I've been reading previous posts comparing 32 bit with 64 bit OS and I'm still confused. Is it worth buying a new computer with 64 bit OS, or am I looking for trouble?
Here's the specs of the new computer I've been looking at:
HP Pavilion a6500f PC with Intel Pentium Dual-Core desktop processor E2220, 2.4 GHz.
4GB DDR2 Memory, 500GB Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce 7100 Integrated Graphics
Comes with Vista Home Premium with Windows Media Center (64 bit) with SP1.
Plus it comes with Samsung 20" wide LCD monitor.
All this for $550. I thought it sounded like a great deal. Am I wrong?
I hope I supplied enough information.
Thanks for any and all responses.
If your stuff runs on it. Yes.
by R. Proffitt
- 9/2/08 8:04 AM
In reply to: Is 64 bit worth it? by webacons
It's the future of Windows but if you find your software bombs out, ask HP for the downgrade (misnomer warning!) to 32-bit XP or Vista.
Bob
Software won't work?
by mopscare42 - 9/2/08 8:08 AM In reply to: Is 64 bit worth it? by webaconsI have asked the same question about 64 bit and was told that most venders have released 64 bit drivers for things like printer, scanners and other hardware, but most of the software I have will not work.
One tech told me the reason the computer companys are sending out 64 bit computers is because they are installing 4 or more gigs of ram in them now.
I have the 64 bit disk for Vista, but think I will wait until there are software patches available for 64 bit before I install it.
"most of the software I have will not work"
by R. Proffitt - 9/2/08 8:13 AM
In reply to: Software won't work? by mopscare42
You didn't give a list but for instance your common firewall, antivirus should never work unless Vista 64 is noted. Other software such as Office 97, 2000 and such do work but are unsupported. Can you give a short list of the titles you fear won't work?
Remember there is a difference of "it runs" vs. "We support it."
Hi Bob
by mopscare42 - 9/2/08 11:25 AM In reply to: "most of the software I have will not work" by R. Proffitt
The programs that I use the most are photo programs that the tech said wouldn't work.
Such as
Adobe CS3
Adobe Photoshop Elements 6
Canon Digital Professional 3.4
He also said my Quicken and a couple greeting card programs wouldn't work.
He didn't know about my Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007.
I would like to try the 64 bit, but am scared I will end up with a bunch of software I can't use.
Wayne
Sadly I can't check into this.
by R. Proffitt - 9/2/08 12:38 PM
In reply to: Hi Bob by mopscare42
Looking at http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/?cs3Tabs=compare finds 10+ versions. I can't see if they are right or not.
In closing I'm running into cases where they tell the poor buyer that it's not for Vista 64 yet it runs just fine. They are right it's not the full new spiffy 64 bit version of the application.
Bob
Thanks Bob
by mopscare42 - 9/2/08 1:58 PM In reply to: Sadly I can't check into this. by R. Proffitt
For looking into that for me.
I will be buying a new computer in the next couple months that will have 32 bit, so I can transfer everything onto the new one and then load 64 bit on the old one and see what will and will not work.
Thanks Again
Wayne
If you find the exact version I'll be sure to check it out.
by R. Proffitt - 9/2/08 6:01 PM
In reply to: Thanks Bob by mopscare42
At to the remarks below, be sure to see the member's profile and see the flavor of their posts. Sometimes you find out they were burnt by a certain make. I can share our office was burnt over a 24 pack of Sony laptops. Took over a year to recover from that one. Today we have a bazillion Dells and a few HP and other names. Nothing bad to say about such.
Bob
Vista 64
by windmill414 - 9/5/08 10:05 PM In reply to: Hi Bob by mopscare42I have been using the Vista 64 ultimate for a while and found that everything works fine...Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat 10 works (during install a patch is loaded), and all of the other programs work...When installing them be sure to open install folder and right click to run as administrator.
I even got Microsoft Flight Simulator to run!!! Had to install and then go into the program, find the EXE and send it to desktop. Then copy the run disk to extra hard drive so the disk is not needed.
Have installed the beta explorer 8 and it works great too
I used Acornis to copy all the programs to external drive,.. then after setting the hard drives to RAID 0 was able to clone back and all the programs worked without any reinstall!!!
Vista 64 & Software
by MarciBlu - 4/14/09 10:43 AM In reply to: Vista 64 by windmill414We just got a Dell Studio with Vista 64 bit. I have found some patches that will work for Print Shop. I also have Paint Shop Pro 8 and want to use Quicken, but will have to buy a new one as mine has the 3.5 discs for loading. 
They say there is a patch for the newer Quickens to work. Does anyone know for sure if Office Home and Student will work on this? We want to purchase an office program, but want to be sure before we buy. I mainly want Word and Excel. Does anyone know of a patch for the Paint Shop Pro 8?
For starters.
by R. Proffitt - 4/14/09 10:56 AM
In reply to: Vista 64 & Software by MarciBlu
Read http://forums.cnet.com/5208-12546_102-0.html?threadID=269435 about the .HLP issue and UAC.
Use 64 bit Vista Ultimate
by PiperL4 - 9/8/08 5:13 PM In reply to: Hi Bob by mopscare42I have been using Vista 64 bit Ultimate for about six months now with no regrets. It is nice to be able to have 8 gigs of ram working with pictures and vidio. I use Adoby CS3, Pinnacle Studio Plus, Roxio Creator 10 Suite, Acronis True Image 11 and Office 2007 with no problems. The only problems I have ran into was with Pinnacle Dazzle which is 32 bit only at this time. Check with the home page of your programs and they will tell you if 64 bit apps are supported. I think most who have trouble are running under-powered machines.
Running 32Bit software on a 64Bit OS.
by dnheller - 9/23/08 6:45 AM In reply to: Hi Bob by mopscare42A tech told you that your Adobe CS3, Photoshop Elements, Canon Software, and Quicken would NOT run under a 64 bit operating system?
I can personally state that Photoshop Elements and Adobe CS (and newer versions Including CS3) run perfectly under Vistax64. There are 64-bit versions of all the latest Canon software and Drivers, and Quicken runs without any problems under 64bit.
If you want to be sure that future CS versions will still work for you, you can see their FAQ at http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/trial/faq/ . Basically, if you own the software, then you may download and activate the trial version of it. So, say you bought CS5 2 years from now, but you accidentally picked up the box that is for 32-bit systems (assuming they release seperate versions) but you needed 64-bit. You should just be able to download and activate the trial using your CD-Key.
In other words; I'm not sure who you use as a tech, but you need to stop asking them for advice.
------- Now here's the REAL difference between 32 and 64 -------
In technical terms, 64-bit Operating Systems address and interface with your RAM (and all other memory) in different ways. 32 bit systems are only capable of addressing a maximum of 4GB of memory, including System RAM, Video Memory, Sound Memory (Yes, there is memory on your soundcard), and various other devices which have dedicated memory onboard.
For those of us who don't know what that means, it simply means that for systems with 4GB of RAM, Windows will "turn off" some of it, so that it can still use the Video Memory, Sound Memory, etc. It will disable an amount equal to your total non-system memory.
Say I have a system running Vista32, 4GB of RAM, a 512MB video card and a 64MB sound card. Add the total non-system memory (Video and Sound cards) for a total of 576MB. Then subtract that 576MB from the 4,096MB (4GB) of RAM. The total usable System RAM (And the total that Windows will see) is 4,096-576=3,520 - a tiny bit less than 3.5GB.
Vista x64 is capable of supporting up to 64GB of RAM, so in other words, you will not lose any practical RAM when using it.
Software compatibility right now (Late 2008) is almost a non-issue. Almost all major software vendors cater to the 64-bit group now, and most (90+%) 32-bit software will run without issue.
What..... that's REALLY strange...
by dnheller - 9/23/08 6:49 AM In reply to: Running 32Bit software on a 64Bit OS. by dnhellerI just posted that message you see above... but my username is not dnheller. I am darth monkey. http://www.cnet.com/4520-4_1-6871001-1.html
some dude named dnheller is getting credit for my posts!
Now that is strange...
by glenn30 - 9/23/08 1:08 PM In reply to: What..... that's REALLY strange... by dnhellerI go to the link you inserted in this message and it comes up as identified to me, glenn30.
Go figure! That is not all that's wrong with the forum software.
Glenn
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