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General discussion

Vista 32 bit with amd 64 bit

Oct 2, 2007 1:00PM PDT

here's my question .... i'm about to install windows vista to my machine, i have amd 64 bit processor... i've been reading a lot that the 64 bit version of vista has issues with unsigned drivers, so here's my question...

If i install the 32 bit version of Vista will i waste processing power with my amd 64 bit processor ?

and if so, how much will i waste...?

if not, what are the benefits/cons of running vista 32 bit with amd 64 bit. ??????

is it better to install winxp 64 ???


system specs

amd 64 4000
1.75 GB ram
geforce 8400 Gs
netgear wireless pci wg311t

Discussion is locked

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No loss...
Oct 2, 2007 2:18PM PDT

There have been many discussions here about the benefits and detriments of 64-bit versions of Windows, but suffice to say you won't be 'wasting' your processor by using Vista x86. In fact, your processor being 64-bit only shows true benefits when you're running calculation-intensive applications that have been optimized for 64-bit computing on top of a 64-bit OS. To quantify it, let's say much less than 1%.

The main pro of x64 is support for 4GB+ of RAM and 64-bit apps while the negative is driver support and Vista x64's enforcement of signed drivers. Aside from that it's the minor performance benefit the average user would encounter.

Finally, you will actually receive better performance with XP x64 because XP is less resource-heavy than Vista. Then again, the best performance may come if you run Windows 95. The question is what functionality do you want the OS to possess?

John

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thnx BUT
Oct 2, 2007 5:10PM PDT

ok, thnx for the reply that was the kind of answer that i hoped to get. in other hand i understood that xp64 is better than vista 32 right ??? because its specs require less than vista's ....

then again, im sticking with xp 64...

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Right...
Oct 3, 2007 12:01AM PDT

Each new version of Windows, and any OS really, has greater functionality and therefore needs more power. Thus, you can almost always enhance system performance by reverting back to previous editions. You just have to judge if the performance increase is worth the lack of enhancements.

John

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nthn much
Oct 3, 2007 7:22AM PDT

well really i only use that computer at home, for playing ocasional games not graph intense BUT that computer always stays on 24/7 because its the house computer, everyone uses it. so in that case i want a stable OS that everyone can use even though vista hasta a lot of enhancements it's new to the old xp users like my folks that barely can open their email.

i've learned that when i leave the computer on after several days it becomes hungry for more RAM, and vista uses almost 750+ MB ram when in idle :/

thats why i had to switch back to xp....