XP 32 or XP 64 bit?

sniperviper21

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which one should i get to get the most performance out of my system?

I got a P2 940 and a asus M4A78 Pro
all you need to use a 64bit OS is a 64bit compatible CPU and Mobo correct?

and also, i have 4GB DDR2 1066Mhz, but 32 only sees 3.2GBs or so, and 64bit would see all 4gigs, my question also is...

when you add a PCIe card that has 512MB, or even 1GB onboard memory, does this reduce your usable RAM under a 32bit OS due to the card being read first, before the DDR2 RAM?

so if my GFX card was 1gb, my comp would only see a total of 2.2GB DDR2, but a total of 3.2GB ram including the DDR2 and Card right?

so if i got a 64 BIt OS it would solve the problem right?

hope you understand what um trying to say...




and would a XP 64bit really be worth the extra muscle, or wait till 64bit windows 7?

Iv heard that finding 64 bit drivers for components is a bit hard to get ahold of aswell...
 
as far as the ram goes i am not sure what the os's will see. But to answer your question about the hardware, you should only need to replace the mobo and cpu from my understanding. As far as buy win xp 64 bit or waiting for wind 7, The best way to answer this would be if you are going to get windows 7 than i would wait for it to be released instead of buying win xp 64 bit. If not then go for win xp.. Hope this helps
 
If you are planning on running 4 gbs of ram and a 1gb GPU you definitely don't want anything to do with a 32bit OS just because it really doesn't make sense to go out and get all those components and not being able to utilize it. I mean its like buying a ferrari and putting a limit on how much rpm's you can get out of it. And yes you are correct about the 1gb GPU using up memory as well but it is hard to say exactly how much you would have as usable ram but you are pretty close with the 2.2 but it may be up to around 2.5 or so. It is hard to tell without doing it but it depends on what your total system ram. It also depends on how much your BIOS, MMIO, and other peripheral cards use up as address memory as well.

If you are in the USA or Canada Newegg has Vista home premium 64bit for 79.99 with free shipping right now. Well I just got an email for it i dont know if it is a promotional thing but if it is I can give you the promo code if you would like.

But yeah the ram will still be there until you get a 64bit OS so it is fine to leave it the way it is now if you have a 32bit system but in the long run in order to use that memory the way it was meant to be you will need a new OS

Also about the drivers the problems lie mostly in older devices but just about anything you purchase new nowadays has a 64 bit driver available. If you have an old printer you plan on using or older PCI cards and somethings like that you may run into a problem but I haven't really run into any type of problem with drivers at all.

And yes as long as your CPU and MoBo is 64bit compatible you will be all set
 
Honestly, unless you plan to get more than 4GB of ram, I don't think you should upgrade to 64-bit. basically, you will be able to use the rest of that .5GB of ram that you can't on 32-bit, but your bits are longer in 64-bit, twice as long (hence the double in bits) so that extra ram will just be used up by the longer bits. With that in mind, unless you plan on getting more than 4GB, your better off sticking with 32-bit. It's a little easier to work with too, you have one programs folder instead of program files and program files(x86) If you really want 64-bit regardless, then wait for windows 7.
 
ok, thanks you guys, i figure i'll just wait for w7 64bit, no sence an maken a new computer an then using a 7 year old 32bit OS, an my mobo supports upto 16Gigs, so, in the years to come um sure i'll need more Ram.

~Thanks
 
All I remember about XP x64 is that a lot of my software didn't work...even Microsoft's own live products were not supported!
 
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