64 Bit or 32 Bit

[caveman]

Can you guys help me out please? I am buying a new computer and my father in law says that I must get a 64 bit these days but when I spoke to one of the computer stores they said 32 bit is safer as there are alot of compatibility issues.

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

 

[B-Rock]

I assume your talking about your OS?

 

[Jafa]

32 bit.

 

[caveman]

Thanks for the reply but can you elaborate on why 32 bit is better. I really dont what to buy the wrong OS.

Thanks!

 

[beaumont911]

I dont think there are many issues with 64bit OS's anymore, but...

What will you be using the computer for? If you have more than 3.3Gb (roughly), then you will need a 64bit OS to use all the RAM.

There are other things, but that is all I can remember right now.

 

[Gman]

Unless you think you will be doing some type of scientific calaculations, possibly high end processing eg GIS Imagery, a programmer who maxs out memory and CPU etc

then there is no need for 64 bit OS.

Also there are issues with getting drivers for devices. Many compamies out there dont feel there is a need to spend time and money testing and writing driver software for a small % of users of 64 bit systems. 32 bit drivers wont work for 64 bit systems.

Safer to stick with 32 bit OS

 

[Magnum]

Beaumont is right. If you have 4Gb RAM and want to address it all, you'll need a 64-bit OS and even then it can depend on your motherboard chipset.

 

[Jafa]

The four things that make 64-bit Vista inadvisable for ordinary users are:

1: No compatibility with old 16-bit Windows apps. This means ancient Windows 3.x software, which most people don't run any more, but 16-bit code can still pop up in the darndest places. Like, for instance, in the installer programs for other apps.

2: Various and assorted application compatibility problems. This has improved considerably as of early 2008, but there's still no blanket guarantee that a given piece of software - especially an older piece of software - will work in 32-bit Vista, much less 64-bit.

3: No compatibility with existing 32-bit drivers. Everything on your computer will need a new driver. 64-bit WinXP is the same, and there aren't many 64-bit computers on which Vista won't at least install, but 64-bit Windows also has...

4: No support for unsigned kernel-mode drivers.

I assume similar problems for WinXP.

 

[Forrest Gimp]

I run vista x64. The compatability issues are overstated, and as the above posters mentioned, if you have 3 gigs+ you will want it. However, if your not planning on gaming much, and don't have a direct x 10 card (at least an 8800, not a 8600 or 8500) then XP is proberly still your best bet. If you do have an 8800 (or ATI equivilant), you will need vista to take advantage of direct x 10 (which to be honest, isn't much at the moment, although if you have the hardware, you'll still want the software). I have tried loads of game demo's, and other software, and the only one that has had major problems for me is Brian Lara 2007, which crashes the system to the point where I need to physically reboot.

Also, you can also dual-boot, running any combination of XP 32 or 64, vista 32 or 64, linux and even MacOS (though there is no way of running Mac OSX legally on a PC).

Hope that helps somewhat.

 

[Cohzee]

I ran xp64 for ages with little to no issues with comatability. But for the general pc user, it isn't really necessary.

 

[Andre]

64 bit is the way to go. It can be annoying with incompatible applications, but set up a virtual PC running 32-bit windows XP and you can get round that.

I'd only say no if you want to run 32 bit games that aren't compatible - running those under a virtual PC wouldn't be ideal.

 

[Jafa]

64 bit is the way to go. It can be annoying with incompatible applications, but set up a virtual PC running 32-bit windows XP and you can get round that.

I'd only say no if you want to run 32 bit games that aren't compatible - running those under a virtual PC wouldn't be ideal.

Seriously - why bother. If it doesn`t do the job - it doesn`t do the job.

 

[Cole Dammett]

so if i was gonna get 32 bit vista, there is no need to get 4gb of ram vs 3gb of ram?

 

[Forrest Gimp]

so if i was gonna get 32 bit vista, there is no need to get 4gb of ram vs 3gb of ram?

Pretty much. If you want 32-bit, anything over 3 gigs is a waste.