Vista: 32 bit vs. 64 bit

[evil homer]

i'm in the market for a new laptop and i see a lot of the new models being sold are coming with 64 bit vista. i know that i would need 64 bit for 4GB of RAM and up, but i have heard bad stories about incompatibility with current software on the 64 bit platform (have these been rectified?). i will mostly use this laptop for internet, e-mail, text sims, and basic word processing/spreadsheets. is there some future proofing i would do with 64 bit, or is a machine with 32 bit and 3GB of memory more than enough for me?

[BrianD]

I can't think of any reason that you would need more than 4GB RAM for a personal machine any time in the near future. The applications you list are not terribly memory intensive with the possible exception of text sims and even those should be fine at 4GB. I wouldn't recommend going 64-bit.

[TheOhioStateUniversity]

I have 64 bit Vista and 4gb Ram and I haven't run into any compatibility issues, especially with the type of things you hope to do. Really 32 bit vista with 2gb ram should be more than enough for you and less expensive

[Alan T]

It depends on what you are going to use it for. I know of all kinds of issues that people in my company have with 64bit vista not supporting all kinds of software from various VPN clients to other productivity software.

Obviously alot of the mainstream stuff (such as some of what you list) will work just fine, but if you have a specific purpose for this system, I would make sure the applications you need to use it for will work with 64bit vista first.

[jeff061]

I would never, ever go with 64-bit unless you have 4GB+ ram. It's a mess of drivers and application compatibility problems.

I'm running it on my laptop, else I lose 512mb of ram. 3gb is plenty. My 4gb is mostly to run simultaneous virtual machines.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm considering getting a computer in the next year with 4 (or more) GB's of RAM and Vista 64. Are there good estimates out there when these compatibility issues will be resolved (if ever?)

[astrosfan64]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm considering getting a computer in the next year with 4 (or more) GB's of RAM and Vista 64. Are there good estimates out there when these compatibility issues will be resolved (if ever?)

I run Vista 64 ultimate on my home PC. I have 0 issues with games, word, office, visual studio.

I play MMO's, RTS and RPG's. All have run fine.

[jeff061]

Most games work. Driver issues are very hit and miss, whenever you decide on a system you want, do the research. I have several issues with work related applications most people probably wont use.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm considering getting a computer in the next year with 4 (or more) GB's of RAM and Vista 64. Are there good estimates out there when these compatibility issues will be resolved (if ever?)

Most of the issues that we have at work (with various work related applications) the timetable for them to be fixed seems like trying to hit a moving target. For instance Nortel originally said december '07 for some applications... now most of the way through '08 and they say "No timetable"

[gstelmack]

It's going to be very specific and typically older applications that will have issues. Most driver issues have been worked out, at least for recent hardware. Older hardware / software is as always a guessing game (and how many of these even work on Vista 32 can be a question mark).

I'm expecting my next machine to be Vista 64-bit, as I use it mostly for hobby development and gaming, and there are enough games that work fine on it that I won't worry too much about those that don't...

[Draft Dodger]

if you're going to go 32-bit, go ahead and go to 4 gigs. your OS will recognize more than 3 gigs (some argue the full 4 in some cases) and the memory will run faster

[MizzouRah]

Get Windows XP and then upgrade to Windows 7 when it comes out. :P

[Mac Howard]

There are definitely compatibility problems with 64 bit. I certainly had to carry out modifications.

[Drake]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

if you're going to go 32-bit, go ahead and go to 4 gigs. your OS will recognize more than 3 gigs (some argue the full 4 in some cases) and the memory will run faster

Agreed. I haven't had any problems with this setup.

I did, however, have to flash my BIOS to get the machine itself to recognize the 4 gigs, but that wasn't a Windows issue. (That's such a weird phrase to type related to PC problems -- "wasn't a Windows issue". I can't honestly ever remember having a legitimate use for that phrase in my entire life.)

[evil homer]

thanks for the replies. here are the machines i am considering:

32 bit: hxxp://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8907944&type=product&id=1213046785626

64 bit: hxxp://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8878887&type=product&id=1210379318796

so, is it possible to get the 32 bit machine, and then upgrade to 4 GB, and it would all be recognized? i thought 32 bit architecture only recognized 3 GB (or something less than 4 GB)?