Which Vista: 64bit or 32 bit?

Question

Im building a new computer and have decided to move away from XP and go with Vista. The new rig will have at least 4GB of RAM; so I was wondering if I should use the 64 or 32bit version of Vista? Is there enough driver support out there? Will my printer still work ;) ?

Answer 1

There are a few differences between the two types. x64 can run twice as many colours than x32, giving a much better looking image than you would be used to. Also, performance-wise, x64 is much faster than x32, and the difference is immediately noticable. Besides that, on an x32 system, the max amount of RAM that can be installed is 4GB, whereas on Vista Ultimate x64, you can have 128GB.

The main disadvantage of x64 (on XP mainly though) was that alot of programs still aren't compatible, deciding to stay with x32 for a little while longer. But seeing as Vista is primarily an x64 system, that problem won't be around much longer.

Hope that helps=]

Answer 2

Simply try to download drivers for all of your current hardware right now. You'll know immediately if 64 bit drivers are available.

Seriously, it's not worth switching to a 64 bit OS unless you plan on having MORE than 4GB of memory, and have access to 64 bit SOFTWARE. You will get no real performance boost from running the same 32 bit apps on a 64 bit OS.

Finally, what are you doing right now with XP that could be done -better- with Vista?