XP 32bit vs. 64bit

cwtaylor

cwtaylor

cwtaylor

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42
Hey all,

Just ordered another 2gb of ram wacking me up to 4gb. Thus meaning i will have to use 64bit XP.

My question? Is there any major badness in 64bit? Can games still play well. Can all mainly used software (office, msn, firefox) use it well.

And is there any main performance boost in 64bit?

Ta.
 
You don't have to use XP64, just that would only get around 3.25-3.5Gb of RAM showing.

The early problems of XP64 were mainly driver related and that has resolved itself over time.

No real problems with software now.
 
cwtaylor said:
1)Is there any major badness in 64bit?
2)Can games still play well.
3)Can all mainly used software (office, msn, firefox) use it well.
4)And is there any main performance boost in 64bit?

Ta.
Click to expand...

1)No, but drivers for out of date hardware is a challenge
2)Yes, but only a few actively use 64 bit technology
3)Yes, but only a few actively use 64 bit technology
4)Yes, but it is that slight that it doesn't make itself known in the real world

Cheers.
 
I disagree with the performance answer given by bloodyL

XP64 has proven itself to be faster than XP32 in almost all games, in many cases its very close, in others its leagues ahead.

I myself have found that all the PCs on my LAN that had been previously running XP32, I decided to dual boot them XP32 v XP64 and I ran the exact same installs, with the exact same drivers and run the exact same tests and on every single test, XP64 came out on top.

This then prompted me to move the LAN PCs over to 64Bit and I have never since bothered to waste my time with a 32Bit O/S on anything with the\ exception of my LapTop. and thats only because its a 32Bit CPU.

If your choices are 32Bit or 64Bit then it must be 64Bit all the way. ( EDITED - THANKS TO BRIAN STUART FOR POINTING THAT OUT )

You can actually download a trialversion of XP64 and I suggest you do just that and see for yourself why XP32 is a waste of time.
 
Last edited:
FatRakoon said:
If your choices are 32Bit or 64Bit then it must be 32Bit all the way.

You can actually download a trialversion of XP64 and I suggest you do just that and see for yourself why XP32 is a waste of time.
Click to expand...
Do you not mean 64Bit is the preferred choice?
Also I don't know of any trial versions of MS operating systems. The only info I can find is dated 2004 :)
 
I think you can install a 30 day trial version of the software if you borrow someone's disk. I know when I installed vista it gave me the option of using a trial rather then entering any registration codes etc.
 
There's a 120 day trial of XP64.

I'd advise having a look for drivers for your software before you make the plunge (if you do). A lot of the popular stuff is covered but other things are not.
 
awesome looks like i will use 64bit.

I have used ubuntu 64bit and it is a tad faster than ubuntu 32bit. But never tried windows.

Well will be installing on tuesday,. Thanks to all.
 
I use XP64 on one of my machines and have had a few problems. The latest LOTR On-line patch caused the game not to load on XP64, requiring a small workaround in the config. The game installer for one of the Zoo Tycoon expansions also wouldn't work in XP64, needing a patch. A few other little things like that as well. Nothing major - games/apps work 100% fine once you can get passed any little problems. Can't really comment on any performance gains/losses because I've never put it head-to-head against XP32 on the same machine.

Basically, I would advise slight caution with XP64 - but nothing that should put you off :)
 
bear in mind that no 16-bit code will excecute on a 64-bit OS, so REALLY old games won't run.

Also, if you've got exotic or old hardware you might have an enormous hassle finding drivers (all hardware needs dedicated 64-bit driver)

a friend bought XP-64 and asked me to come install it for him. he had no issues untill we tried to install drivers for his Linksys USB Wireless Tx, which weren't available.

luckily the AMD64 forums saw us straight and someone had knocked up home-made .inf's for it.
 
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