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General discussion

What to do

Dec 9, 2009 8:54AM PST

I placed an order for this sytem;

Intel(R) CoreT i5-750 2.66 GHz 8M L2 Cache LGA1156
EVGA 9800 gt 512 mb
750gb HDD
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz RAM
EVGA P55 LE Intel P55 Chipset
700W PS

Now I have a choice;

Buy Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit from my school for 15$, or buy Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit for 105$

Would you say it's worth 90$ for 64 bit > 32 bit? I'll be using it for basic web browsing, MS Office, and the occasional game (Mainly just FPS, I'm sure I'll get Crysis soon). Oh, and I'm on a somewhat limited college budget.

Discussion is locked

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Before doing anything
Dec 9, 2009 10:41AM PST

Before doing anything, why not investigate the possibility of trading the 32-bit install disc for a 64-bit one?

At 4GB you're right on the edge of where either kind of works, but I honestly figure 64-bit is the future and so you may as well familiarize yourself with the landscape. That and you'll get to actually use that extra 0.5GB of RAM with the 64-bit version over the 32-bit one.

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Well,
Dec 10, 2009 6:36AM PST

Here is how I am getting 7; I have to buy Vista 32-bit (they only have 32-bit) Full OEM for 8$, and buy a Windows 7 Upgrade for another 8$. For 7 they carry 32-bit and 64-bit; my main problem is getting my hands on the 64-bit Vista Full, and I don't know anyone with one, or where they carry them.

What exactly do you mean by the different 'landscape'?

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Prefer buying windows7 32bit
Dec 14, 2009 3:27AM PST

64bit windows7 utilizes full 4gb ram while 32bit windows7 uses only 3.25gb off 4gb.U can prefer buying 32bit windows 7 ultimate that would support all ur computing(browsing,game,..) needs..

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One serious consideration
Dec 14, 2009 6:21AM PST

That $15 price tag sounds too good to be real. Educational institutions do get great deals but these do come with restricted use policies. You mentioned a Home version versus a higher end version. You will need to consider whether or not you need to join a domain at your school. The home versions don't do this.

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I agree
Dec 17, 2009 8:47AM PST