XP 32 or 64 for Dual core?

[Chris Jones]

im going to be building a new pc soon and have decided to have a dual core CPU but im not sure what to do about the OS

XP64 can run 32bit applications right? but supposedly driver support isnt that good atm?

does XP64 run faster than standard XP on a dual core? also ive seen some people say that 1GB of ram isnt that big if you use XP64?

what about standard XP on dual core? does it use all the cores? or is dual core overkill for XP?

any known issues with using XP64?

also, 1 last thing, why does the novatech name for Windows XP64 have


Microsoft Windows XP Pro 64Bit OEM **At This Time We Cannot Guarantee Compatability**

whats that about?

thanks!

[Taxation]

xp64 cant run 32 bit programs, they have to be 64 bit programs from the start.

support isnt that great at the moment for 64 bit programs and drivers.
get xp pro, it is faster than xp64 and has a larger driver support.

U have some issues wrong here, 64 bit processors run 64bit os faster than 32 bit processors, dual core is basically 2 normal 64 bit processors but on one chip (die).

1GB of RAM isnt that big on 32bit OS, just because games are loving using it compared to the quake 3 era when 512 RAM was a luxury.

32 bit XP doesnt use all the cores at idle, but when you do something on the OS then it uses both cores.

Didnt get what you meant by "is dual core overkill for xp"
dual core is basically a way of future proofing your pc so you dont have to upgrade to dual core when everything will need dual core.

If you like overclocking then get a cheap intel dual core 805 and overclock it. it will do the job and more if you overclock it, and if you want to go the 64bit route in the future then it is also compatable of 64 bit operations.

tbh,imo, i would go AM2

[djgandy]

If you have a need for 64bit you most likely run huge databases on a linux based webserver.
Sooooo, no don't use 64bit XP :p

[Taxation]

use 32 it xp home, cheap and not worth getting pro because of vista

[Chris Jones]

hey, thanks everyone for replying :)

ill go with standard winXP :)

X64 can run 32bit programs.
You just need x64 drivers and an x64 antivirus.
It runs much faster then 32bit windows with my amd 64.

I even have the 64bit version of Half-Life 2 the graphics detail and speeds are much better :shock: .

[Chris Jones]

ok, thanks

im gona buy the parts tomorow, im really not sure about which to get now. The main thing that is stopping me going XP 64 is driver support, i suppose currently all the main companies are making x64 drivers, but small things like my data stick etc wont work.

i think ill get XP 32.. can i always get xp 64 later and install it on a seperate partition?

[Taxation]

get xp32 then by the time you want to go xp64, windows vista will come out :D

[David T]

I agree with Tax, its just simpler and makes for an easy life :lol:

[Chris Jones]

get xp32 then by the time you want to go xp64, windows vista will come out

im not sure that i want to get vista, i cant really see the point.. also, i dont know/think my (new) graphics card (Geforce 7600GT) will be compatible with it... or maybe im confused about that.. DX10 seems fairly pointless.. especially that also, modern (atm) games will run slower because DX9 has a software layer...

maybe some of my info is wrong about this, but theres nothing really pulling me towards vista

[Taxation]

7600 will run on vista!!
direct x 10 will be more realistic effects to gaming, eg. clouds that arent 2d :lol:
direct x 9 games will run on it and run as well as they would do normally.

plus vista is a year or so away, and winxp 32 bit is perfectly fine.xp64 is too over rated, save some money for other upgrades and buy winxp 32

[djgandy]

7600 will run on vista!!
direct x 10 will be more realistic effects to gaming, eg. clouds that arent 2d :lol:
direct x 9 games will run on it and run as well as they would do normally.

plus vista is a year or so away, and winxp 32 bit is perfectly fine.xp64 is too over rated, save some money for other upgrades and buy winxp 32

You are right.

IF you like marketing buy vista. If you want a fast pc, carry on using xp pro <:-)

[gwendes]

...xp64 is too over rated, save some money for other upgrades and buy winxp 32

I have been running x64 for a while now and can't wait til I've got enough space to reinstall back to XP Pro. x64 is fine for most things and may be a little faster but the software support is useless, I can't run a number of programs and drivers :(

[GMW]

ive been using x64 for a while now and its amazing, the only problem i have found so far is that i cant get a driver for my freeview antenna but thats no real problem, x64 has so many good points, it runs alot of the new games sooo much faster and can handle more ram than the 32 bit version of xp its also faster i think. hope this helps. :D

[Taxation]

I wish that my motherboard could handle more RAM, My board cant take 4 sticks of RAM which sucks.
I want to go XP64 now, **** you :x

[Nox]

My 2p :) If you are going for 4GB of ram, you want to be looking at xp 64 bit, it runs 32 bit apps fine - you just need 64 bit hardware drivers and most companies bundle these with the motherboard now too. Support is a lot better.

If you have 3GB or less, xp 32 can address that fine, but can still only assign 2gb max to a single thread, ie in general, a single application.

If you're in doubt - download the xp64 6 month trial from microsoft website - see what you think first hand.

Nox

[GMW]

I wish that my motherboard could handle more RAM, My board cant take 4 sticks of RAM which sucks.
I want to go XP64 now, **** you :x

btw what is your system specs taxation?

[Nox]

Also XP64 is based on Server 2003 with a bolted on pretty front end, rather than XP32, and thats got half decent support these days too.

Nox

[GMW]

he does have a point, lots of times ive had web pages saying im using windows server 2003, even microsoft originally said i was using server 2003 on the automatic updates! but they fixed it now, it says windows x64 now