Ultimate 64 edition

[lettice]

Hi,
I have a Novatech Laptop with the current spec;

Crossfire II 15.4" WS AMD64 3400
1024MB DDR
80gb HDD
128Mb ATI Mob Radeon 9700
DVD Burner
XP Pro

I'm looking to buy Vista Ultimate edition, replacing or dual booting with my current WinXP.

Microsoft Vista Upgrade advisor says I am fine for Ultimate (aero) etc.

But as I have a 64 bit Laptop as above, was wondering if I will get any benefit or even drawback from a 64 bit edition of Vista.
In that, will any software or devices (drivers) have any problems working with a 64 bit edition?

Jon

[Kevin Street]

Yes.

Drivers for the 64bit platform have to be digitally signed by Microsoft, and that hasn't happened too much yet. Vista 64bit has it's generic drivers which are designed to work with almost any type of product, but they don't offer the many features that, say a graphics card, is capable of.

In this situation, you have a choice. You can either go for the 32bit OEM, which is fairly cheap, and stick with 32bit until 64bit becomes mainstrain. This will mean that you need to buy 64bit OEM as well at a later date. Or, you can get the retail edition of Vista. Whilst a lot more expensive, you get both 32bit AND 64bit in one box, so once 64bit is more widely supported, you can just reinstall and chose 64bit at the setup screen. Retail offers other benefits as well of course, such as the ability to upgrade your motherboard as many times as you like (unlikely to happen on a laptop, mind), and transfer your lisence to another computer should you chose too.

Or, of course, you could just nab 64bit now, but the chances are that you'll run into a problem.