Laptop vista 32-bit vs. 64-bit

[John Kotches]

Can anyone come up with a compelling argument to go with 64-bit over 32-bit Vista on a laptop? I don't want to get into the arguments about whether or not XP is a more appropriate choice; I'm not going that route.

Since this machine will max out at 4GB of RAM; I can't see any reason why I'll need anything more than the 32-bit version; other than bragging rights.

I just don't see 64-bit as buying me anything on my new Laptop... Oh, it's the Asus C90S; starting with 2GB, eventually upgrading to more

The new desktop is another matter -- that will be a Quad Core Q6600. This will be running Vista / VMWare (or similar product) on two cores; Linux on another core and Solaris Intel on the other.

My old standby Inspiron 9100 will be a test machine and I'll be doing some radical things like testing automated builds with it (a learning project for me with Linux Kickstart).

Cheers,

 

[chicagofilms]

64-bit is all but pointless right now. There is poor driver support and hardly any 64 bit programs. I'm not sure what the holdup is since XP's been available in 64bit for years but the software companies are just not getting on board.

Now 4GB of RAM may be pointless as well. It's too lengthy to explain here, so I'll post a couple of links

TabBlogger : The 3GB-not-4GB RAM problem
and from Microsoft themselves
The system memory that is reported in the System Information dialog box in Windows Vista is less than you expect if 4 GB of RAM is installed

So, I'd be content with 32bit and 2GB of RAM. There is no actual benefit to 64bit now and may be deterrents like lack of drivers. 4GB of RAM will not be usable by the OS either.

 

[chicagofilms]

Here's an idea of what's available for 64bit:
 Catalog of 64-bit Software
Complete list of 64-bit apps - PlanetAMD64

It is pretty sad...

 

[mike123abc]

I personally run 64bit Vista on my desktops, but 32bit on the laptop. The hard drive space of the OS is larger on 64bit, so is memory consumption. The drivers are harder to come by, but they tend to work well when you get them because they have to pass all sorts of tests to get certified.

I have a bios and chipset (Intel P35 chipset) to support 4+gb of ram.

I like how vista64 runs every program in its own sandbox and keeps one program from causing problems with others.

But, I would not reccomend vista64 for a person with just 1 pc. Some stuff still does not work properly (some web sites, any old hardware forget about it). You need a fallback. On a laptop if you have all the drivers for x64 you do not really have to worry much since the hardware is pretty much fixed. But, the extra memory and disk space probably make it not worthwile.

 

[John Kotches]

Mike:

I have 3 PCs at the moment, getting the 4th one when the new laptop arrives. I'll have a 5th when I get the new desktop built out.

1. Dell Inspiron 9100 -- becoming a test machine for automated builds with Linux Kickstart and Solaris Intel
2. HTPC for Blu-ray and HD-DVD
3. Storage Server Running Unraid
4. New Laptop for travel
5. Future: Powerhouse machine for VMWare

This doesn't count machines used by others in the house

Cheers,

 

[sampatterson]

I used 64-bit Vista for a while on my Dell XPS M1710. There were no driver issues, 100% were available. The biggest issue for me is most VPN clients don't work with 64-bit Vista (or XP/Server 2003), so I had a virtual XP machine on it to do VPN stuff. I didn't get any benefit out of 4G in 64-bit vs 3G in 32-bit so re-installed 32-bit Vista on it to get rid fo the VPN issues.

 

[Brewer4]

I used 64 bit for a while and found no added benefit to speed to the 64 bit apps. There CAN be driver issues depending on your hardware. There are a lot more available drivers now that 64 bit is bit more available. But quite frankly, until someone comes out with that killer gotta have 64 bit application, I would stick with 32 bit.

 

[John Kotches]

Thanks guys -- I figured I was on the right path and a good ole sanity check never hurts

Oops, I just added another computer today -- or at least I'll add it when it gets here. I bought a Sun Ultra2 on E-bay.

Cheers,

 

[mike123abc]

The only real advantage of x64 at this time is the way the device drivers run. One application cannot run amuck and scribble over other applications. X64 essentially runs every process in a virtual PC (windows on windows).

 

[Van]

I walked away from several laptops with vista 64bit in mem configs from 500megs to 2 gigs not liking at all how much it bogged down the laptops.

 

[JonUrban]

John,

My new HP dv9000 came with Vista Ultimate, and I was surprised to find it was the x64 version. There are some programs and drivers that don't support x64 yet (including MS's own OneCare!!)

So far, I have found it to be fast and reliable, but I have not tried to do anything fancy with it, just the basic stuff.

Still, I like it so far, and I've had it since February.

:-jon

 

[John Kotches]

The only real advantage of x64 at this time is the way the device drivers run. One application cannot run amuck and scribble over other applications. X64 essentially runs every process in a virtual PC (windows on windows).

They're taking away all the adventure of running Windows with that approach

Cheers,

 

[John Kotches]

John,

My new HP dv9000 came with Vista Ultimate, and I was surprised to find it was the x64 version. There are some programs and drivers that don't support x64 yet (including MS's own OneCare!!)

So far, I have found it to be fast and reliable, but I have not tried to do anything fancy with it, just the basic stuff.

Still, I like it so far, and I've had it since February.

:-jon

I'm installing on my own -- I have a few friends that work at MS and it was cheaper for me to have the vendor install Vista Home Basic and me buy Ultimate from my friend than it was to have them upgrade to Ultimate.

Oh, and it's out for delivery today; a day early! Woo hoo!

Cheers,