which OS?

[pike8]

after upgrading my machine, one question remains: which OS to choose.

is it better to go with 64-bit systems, or stick with the 32-bit; will 64-bit system perform significantly better than 32-bit (with the proper hardware, of course)?

and if i choose 64-bit, will everything that works on 32-bit system work on 64-bit?

if i decide to go with 64-bit which would it be, vista or xp?

 

[dude_se]

its all very much personal preference. id personally go with 32 bit vista. its just the easy way.
some people will choose 64 bit, and yea it can work well if you have decent hardware and software. the main issue with 64 bit is drivers, but im sure most software will work fine.
so if you need the extra power and know how to setup your pc decently then why not go for 64 bit, otherwise 32bit is still perfectly fine.

 

[Teny]

i choose 32-bit because i dont really want to go through figuring out which programs will work with the 64-bit.

 

[StratosP]

Both have there ups and downs.

64 bit can handle more RAM etc but has compatibility issues.
32 bit is a simple and basic OS that most users have.

64bit would be good if more drivers, software, games and applications worked with it.

 

[drumthrasher]

To me, 64bit is only good if you have 4GB or more of RAM, and a lot of apps have issues with 64-bit, even if its in XP.

SO, get Vista 32-bit.

 

[defredey]

I did the mistake of not asking from experienced people about working in 64bit environment which led me to a host of problems. I am somewhat unfortunate though coz that time I did not know much about these forums. At least u are lucky to get reliable advices. Anyways mate go for Vista!

___________
network color laser printers

 

[DJ-CHRIS1]

To me, 64bit is only good if you have 4GB or more of RAM, and a lot of apps have issues with 64-bit, even if its in XP.

SO, get Vista 32-bit.

64 bit XP wasn't actually the XP kernel, which spawned alot of the problems. With Vista 64 bit, theirs performance gains and great compatibility with almost all hardware.

 

[JogaBonito1502]

It's really personal choice, like many have said. If you like the sleek design and want DX10 support for games, you're left with no choice but to go with Vista. From there you have to decide between 64-bit and 32-bit. I would take DJ-Chris' advice and go 64-bit, because it allows room for improvement, and there's always the chance that it will be tweaked to improve performance. If you don't care about the sleek designs and you don't really need the DX10 for gaming, get XP. XP will provide you with stable OS (not that Vista isn't, XP just has more tweaks) that useless little resources compared to modern hardware. It also has a very simple interface. And again, go with the 64-bit.

 

[worshipme]

64 bit Vista has a 32 bit emulator so it will still work with 32 bit apps. 99% of hardware has 64 bit drivers available, just check for your printer, wireless adaptor first.

 

[StratosP]

So 64bit Vista will work with nearly all apps?