64bit or 32bit ?

[Oscar99]

:huh:I'm in two minds whether to install 64bit windows 7.

just want to know which is better really, i've always had 32bit windows, would moving to 64bit be beneficial to me ?

i know for my whole 4gb RAM to be noticed i need to have 64bit, but is there any other reasons why i should move ?

[Mungo]

Are there any reasons not to move is more to the point...

64 bit will become more and more used, i reckon software developers should start phasing out 32 bit.
What's the point in having all of that RAM if you can't use it?

[Seanbond]

Im on 64-bit, and it seems faster to me. I dont know if this is just me being weird, but it seems to be faster and there are no problems really

[Oscar99]

ah i see, hmm its just i'm not really familiar with 64bit to be honest with you

[Damian]

x64 is faster and not many compatibility issue's apart from with really old hardware (8+ years)

[snakedoc]

X64 is not any faster but it can address more memory. Compatibility is achieved via WOW 64. In most cases the transfer to x64 will be seemless.

[Damian]

X64 is not any faster but it can address more memory. Compatibility is achieved via WOW 64. In most cases the transfer to x64 will be seemless.

x64 is faster, mainly when your using x64 programs on the x64 OS , that's when you really notice the speed difference. It's faster in general also.

[Seanbond]

x64 is faster, mainly when your using x64 programs on the x64 OS , that's when you really notice the speed difference. It's faster in general also.

Photoshop CS4 opens faster than firefox on my x64 system.

[Oscar99]

So folks, will moving to 64bit be a good move for me ? or shall i stick with 32bit ?

[Damian]

If your upgrading OS rhere's no point sticking with 32bit unless you use really old hardware/software that don't have X64 driver support.

[Oscar99]

well i think my hardware is reasonably up to date :D

don't have anything thats really really old.

[iGoD ReleNtLeS]

well i think it is far beyond the time that x32 (x86) bit windows was removed from the list... even laptops now come with 3GB RAM as standard and desktops have a lot more. There was a time when x32 wasn't compatible with x64 but thats now been addressed and since then Everyone has been moving over to x64. Theres no reason not to unless you have a Very old computer that wont be able to cope with it, for example Low Spec Netbooks, but then they should just come with Linux on them as its very light... and not to mention Intel's fail of a CPU the Atom, its stupidly low powered, can just about run OEM windows with the pre-installed software, the only thing its good for is internet browsing, and it doesn't even do that well.

The only reason to go to x64 is 4GB RAM issue. And There NO reason to stay on x32 (x86) at all.

[Oscar99]

ah fair enough then, so i shall move across to 64bit :)

also, this is off-topic but my file systems are all Fat32 (but 1 partition,which is NTFS) is this okay, or should all my partitions be NTFS ?

[iGoD ReleNtLeS]

Should be fine? but i would advise installing windows on the NTFS as its windows native file structure

[Oscar99]

currently windows xp is installed on a Fat32 partition :|

okay, so how do i go about changing all of my drives? do i do this in the windows 7 installation ?

[Oscar99]

I've just noticed that when i go to get the drivers for Windows 7 64bit for my motherboard, they're not listed. so am i screwed ?

also ive looked for 32bit windows 7 drivers and they're not listed! HELP!!

http://uk.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=szSFtrap7crpBaQE

[MindLESS]

Windows 7 is not extremely different to Vista. The driver model is almost identical.
A lot of devices will run happily with Vistax64 drivers. Even if the company say they aren't, it can be worth trying - my G15 keyboard software wouldn't install the latest version when I was using the RC - but emulating Vista worked to get it to install and it worked fine.

If you know someone that's got a copy of Win7 you could install and test it leaving the serial number blank when installing. This will use the 'default' key, which will allow you to use it for 30 days before activation. Should give you ample time to test it and decide if it's working for you. If it works, buy a copy and you can enter your own key and no need to reinstall.

[Oscar99]

installing vista 64bit drivers on a windows 7 system lol :D

unfortunately i don't know anyone with a copy of Windows 7 =\

[snakedoc]

I suspect Windows will have the required drivers, It's an older board and an Nvidia. I would change that, maybe time for an upgrade.

[Oscar99]

snake can you recommend a board that will support my AMD Athlon64 processor 3800+ AM2 ?

or find a good board and processor for less than £100

and so you reckon, windows will automatically install the drivers ?

[snakedoc]

Not really I am not an AMD chap these days. I would always go for Asus though. I would look to changing the processor as well. Look for the fastest AM2 you can or wait and do the RAM at the same time and get an AM3 processor.

[Oscar99]

see well the only reason i stick with AMD is because i have no idea about Intel.

what the chances Windows 7 will accept my Motherboard without the drivers :|

[snakedoc]

Fairly good tbh. It is suprising what it can run.

[Oscar99]

okay, so how does this process work, I install windows 7 and then it just detects new hardware and just installs the drivers =\ ?

[snakedoc]

Yes, puting it simply. It's best to get Audio and GPU drivers from the websites though. They should be more up to date. Just install those after.

[Oscar99]

okay fair enough, this is off topic, but snake, you know my PC rebooting during gameplay problem, the 512mb memory on my GPU is DDR3, and doesn't my motherboard only support DDR2 ? could this be the problem ?

[IainK]

nah, graphics card memory is independent of the motherboard, after al, no motherboard supports DDR5

[Oscar99]

suppose so, oh well was worth asking. okay, i'll buy windows 7 off Koolpc and i'll try and install it with my current hardware, i tried contacting Asus, but the form is extremely long to fill in, so i gave up.

[snakedoc]

The only thing you may have problems with is the Audio:
ADI 1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC
Support Jack-Sensing, Enumeration, Multi-streaming and Jack-Retasking
Coaxial, Optical S/PDIF out on back I/O port

There is a Vista driver though, it may work out of the box though.

[IainK]

know that we're on teh subject of drivers, i tried installing my webcam on my dad's PC with Windows 7 64bit however there are no drivers for windows 7. I downloaded and tried to install the Vista 64bit ones and it said 'the drivers are n designed for your operating system' then quit the installation, any way around this as i'm convinced they'd work if i can get them insalled

[Oscar99]

Oh, you've went and got me in a panic now lol, i have webcams/headsets plugged in.

[IainK]

lol, everything else has worked, even my ancient printer, it's just an ancient 'labtec webcam' (thats the model :P) which was a fiver about 5 years ago, any decent webcams headsets etc will be okay

[Oscar99]

infact what am i talking about, i'm not fussed if my webcam drivers etc doesn't work, i mean you can pick up a good webcam for around £15 nowadays

[IainK]

lol, yeah, anything which doesn't work with windows 7 isn't really worth keeping tbh...

[Oscar99]

anything which doesn't work with windows 7 isn't really worth keeping tbh

Don't get me panicking. my motherboard has its fingers crossed hoping Windows 7 will accept it.

[A Ginger Sheep]

mate dont worry, generally vista drivers work on w7 anyway so you'll have to be pretty unlucky for it not to work.

[Oscar99]

Well, Just Finished Installing Windows 7 , And It is Soooooooooo Amazing!!!

Everything feels just so smooth and trouble-free, not glitches or anything!

i feel like i'm in heaven sitting here admiring the beauty of windows 7 whilst playing the free sample music, "Made With Flaxen Hair - Claude Debussy"

[Mr. Lime]

Well, Just Finished Installing Windows 7 , And It is Soooooooooo Amazing!!!

Everything feels just so smooth and trouble-free, not glitches or anything!

i feel like i'm in heaven sitting here admiring the beauty of windows 7 whilst playing the free sample music, "Made With Flaxen Hair - Claude Debussy

calm down son :D youll need a change of underwear at this rate :)

[Oscar99]

calm down son :D youll need a change of underwear at this rate :)

Think i already need them! lol

[snakedoc]

Oh dear lol hello Oscar. Gald you like it. Have a good play, then have a look around the Windows 7 forum here and pick up some tricks and treats.

[Oscar99]

Yeah i sure will, its weird adjusting from XP, everything has been moved, like i tried to look for System/Hardware so i can check all my device drivers etc, but i can't find it lol.

according to ASUS there is no drivers for my motherboard for windows 7, but everything is working ! no errors so far.

[snakedoc]

Right click on Computer in start and select Manage. Then Device Manager.

[Oscar99]

Thanks :) everything sorted. 2 devices aren't found but i'm assuming thats my webcam, & something else, (on XP there was an unknown device before)

Overall, yeah windows 7 64bit is excellent :D

just need to try out my Gaming now.

[Oscar99]

Well an Update.

Gaming is great on Windows 7 :D

and media centre took my breath away, best music player yet i think. i mean just look at it, its stunning!!

[Ryan.Nova]

So folks, will moving to 64bit be a good move for me ? or shall i stick with 32bit ?

Iv just installed Ultimate 64-bit, and its very very nice. It does seem to handle more, with less load on the CPU.

Watch this as I did two years ago and decide, but I would say DO IT!

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EDIT: Sorry I'm late lol

[Terrum]

I like 64-bit. Fairly buggy for me, like sometimes things don't save properly, and sound recorder hates 4GB, but I still like it. Very fast.

[Oscar99]

you know the thing i like about Windows 7 , before when i had XP, i used to have to use CTRL ALT + DEL all the time.

With Windows 7 i haven't had to use it once!! no system errors what so ever! doesn't even lag or nothing!

[iGoD ReleNtLeS]

you know the thing i like about Windows 7 , before when i had XP, i used to have to use CTRL ALT + DEL all the time.

With Windows 7 i haven't had to use it once!! no system errors what so ever! doesn't even lag or nothing!

you wouldnt want to it slows it down even more if you have an error as CTRL + ALT + DEL doesn't load task manager. Instead you want to use CTRL + SHIFT + ESC loads task manager the shorter way. If you go CTRL + ALT + DEL it loads up the user 'Maintenance' menu first.