Vista 32 vs. Vista 64

Hi, from my understanding you need to have a 64 bit processor in order to run Vista 64 bit. You can run 32 bit on a 64  but not a 64 on a 32.

In order to "future proof" a bit i would say to get a 64 bit processor & Vista 64 as you can then - down the track - take your ram from the current maximum of 4 gig to 8 gig when it becomes more available. This will be better for high data usage things such as Photoshop,  iTunes & Pictures handling.

I'm not an expert but i'm in the same situation where i want to run PowerPoint, Excell, Mediaplayer & data projector presentation software all at the same time. My computer adviser suggested i go 64 rather than 32.

Hope this is of some help.

Some more info for ya:

Official What is the difference between Vista 32 bit and Vista 64 bit?
Choosing between Vista 32 bit and Vista 64 bit Editions

I'm not sure about Photoshop, but all the other things you mention work the same in both 32 and 64 bit.

In order to actually get 64bit you have to have the following three things: a 64bit capable chipset (on the motherboard) and processor, and a 64bit operating system.

I am running Vista x64 after using Vista x86 (32 bit), and about 65% of the programs run in x86 mode.

Some programs written for x64 run in that mode and run great.

The x86 programs run in WOW (WindowsOnWindows) meaning they are running in a x64 compatibility mode, and not actually x64, and it works well.

As Dell-Larry R suggest, you will need a x64 processor and x64 chipset motherboard, but nearly all of the mid to upper range systems have this capability now.

As others mentioned, for future considerations, I would suggest an X64 OS.

Lest we forget, if you have any hardware now, such as printer, etc., that you plan to use with a x64 OS, you should check and make sure that x64 drivers are available for your current hardware, or it will not work.

I love mine and would not go back to x86 for any reason.

Hope this helps.

Windows Vista 64-bit links and factoids

32-bit vs. 64-bit Vista comparison table…
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/06/04/differences-and-advantages-between-32-bit-x86-vs-64-bit-x64-windows-vista/

32-bit means it can only “see” 2^32 (2 to the 32nd power) = 4GB.
The computer has to be able to see the (usable)RAM + VRAM + other devices on Motherboard, etc.
e.g. If you have 1GB VRAM and “other devices” takes up 0.3GB, you will only be able to use a max of 2.7GB (4 - 1 - 0.3 = 2.7) RAM.
In this case, if you install 3GB RAM, you waste 0.3GB…if you install 4GB RAM you waste 1.3GB!

This one's a bit technical, but it describes some of the nitty-gritty of 64-bit technology.
http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2007/10/16/64-bit_more_than_just_the_ram/1

If this is any indication that 64-bit is the wave of the future and 32-bit will be “obsolete”…

There appears to be a shift taking place in the PC industry: the move from 32-bit to 64-bit PCs.
We've been tracking the change by looking at the percentage of 64-bit PCs connecting to Windows Update, and have seen a dramatic increase in recent months. The installed base of 64-bit Windows Vista PCs, as a percentage of all Windows Vista systems, has more than tripled in the U.S. in the last three months, while worldwide adoption has more than doubled during the same period.  Another view shows that 20% of new Windows Vista PCs in the U.S. connecting to Windows Update in June were 64-bit PCs, up from just 3% in March. Put more simply, usage of 64-bit Windows Vista is growing much more rapidly than 32-bit. Based on current trends, this growth will accelerate as the retail channel shifts to supplying a rapidly increasing assortment of 64-bit desktops and laptops… PC Accelerators built into Windows Vista, such as Windows SuperFetch, improve performance by keeping commonly used programs in memory, even when the program is closed. More memory capacity on 64-bit PCs allows SuperFetch to do its job more efficiently.
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/07/30/windows-vista-64-bit-today.aspx

Understanding how SuperFetch uses RAM to enhance system performance…
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=735

Windows Vista - SuperFetch & ReadyBoost
http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2007/03/29/windows-vista-superfetch-readyboost.aspx

Considering this, SuperFetch is probably the most significant feature that distinguishes Vista from all other OS's for users of all walks.  Many other features won't be noticeable or even used by the common person (that is until commercial developers start using WPF/WFC etc., and even more DX10).  So why not take advantage of it since RAM is so cheap?

Consider that many workers like to have, say 20 windows open and do not shut down  in order to save time in the morning (even Monday morning), they can now leave 40 windows (or more) open.  Also, the more RAM they have, the more stuff can be SuperFetched and Auto Disk Defragmenter and whatever can run more efficiently in the background when AFK too.

For the above scenario, workers will probably “lock” Vista with the S3 sleep more because they can resume in 5 seconds anyway, or it will just auto-sleep after a period…translating to a huge savings on energy consumption.

All these are big bonuses from having a large amount of RAM (which is dirt cheap these days as well as cheaper going forward).  Costs associated with driver/equipment upgrade for 64-bit compatibility may be more than made up for in productivity savings by having more RAM.


Some interesting hardcore Vista 64-bit info:
...all 64-bit versions of Microsoft operating systems currently impose a 16 TB limit on address space and allow no more than 128 GB of physical memory due to the impracticality of having 16 TB of RAM. Processes created on Windows Vista x64 Edition are allotted 8 TB in virtual memory for user processes and 8 TB for kernel processes to create a virtual memory of 16 TB.
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5709

Some info on a popular title in 64-bit…

Adobe Photoshop® Extended and Acrobat® Pro natively support 64-bit editions of Windows Vista. Adobe Premiere® Pro, After Effects®, Soundbooth®, Encore®, and Adobe OnLocation™ are certified on 64-bit Windows Vista.
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/mastercollection/systemreqs/

Adobe CS4 is 64-bit only on Vista.  OSX have to wait for CS5 or something like that when they catch up.
http://www.betanews.com/article/Adobe_CS4_will_be_64bit_but_only_on_Windows/1207258861

To put things in perspective, this is what 64-bit does...

What are the advantages of 64-bit computing?
In early testing of 64-bit support in Photoshop for Windows®, overall performance gains ranged from 8% to 12%. Those who work with extremely large files may realize noticeably greater gains in performance, in some cases as dramatic as ten times the previous speed. This is because 64-bit applications can address larger amounts of memory and thus result in less file swapping — one of the biggest factors that can affect data processing speed.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshop/faq/?promoid=DRHXB