4 GB

**AttackRabbit** · 03-09-08, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by SoySoldier

2Gb and 64 bit Vista will work fine for your rig.

I think it's debatable if Vista works fine on *any* rig. I've got XP 64 installed and it works fine without all the annoyances of Vista. Also, driver support for Vista 64 is even more limited than for Vista 32.
With XP 64, you give up DX10 support, but you get to keep your soul...

'Rabbit

**Keiron** · 03-09-08, 07:48 PM

Don't listen to the silly rabbit as he doesn't know what he is talking about. Vista did have issues (as any new OS does when it first comes out), but they have really upped the support for drivers and I have zero problems with any of my hardware on Vista.

The only thing "bad" about Vista still really, is the Wi-Fi crap it has, but hey, I wouldn't recommend going wireless at all anyways. :P

**MaKe_OuT_33** · 03-09-08, 09:50 PM

Why is 64bit better than 32? I know it is better but want to find the significant reasons. Thanks again for your help guys.

**WileECyte** · 03-09-08, 11:53 PM

The 64-bit OS can fully support 64-bit memory addressing, which means no more 2 gig memory limit. It's not a HUGE deal now since most games don't need more than a gig or two to run smoothly, but as far as a future proof solution, 64-bit is the way to go. I now wish I had gone 64-bit when I purchased Vista. I may need to bite the bullet and buy it somewhere down the road. Don't believe the FUD. Unless you want to run ancient software on your system, Vista will run almost anything you throw at it.

**SapiensErus** · 03-10-08, 12:59 AM

Also, programs written specifically for 64 bit OS (like all in the future should be) will run faster because they can address larger hunks of data to work with at once.

**MaKe_OuT_33** · 03-10-08, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by WileECyte

The 64-bit OS can fully support 64-bit memory addressing, which means no more 2 gig memory limit. It's not a HUGE deal now since most games don't need more than a gig or two to run smoothly, but as far as a future proof solution, 64-bit is the way to go. I now wish I had gone 64-bit when I purchased Vista. I may need to bite the bullet and buy it somewhere down the road. Don't believe the FUD. Unless you want to run ancient software on your system, Vista will run almost anything you throw at it.

yep im pissed that i didnt get the 64 to begin with also. :5 i bet i can hold out until xmas for 64 and more ram though.

**WileECyte** · 03-10-08, 12:41 PM

When I made the jump, 64-bit drivers were dicey at best. I went with good old reliable 32-bit. Read an interview with Tim Sweeney (of EPIC games) who said he was quite surprised to see a 32-bit version of Vista ship at all. Microsoft has already said that Windows 8 won't support 32-bit.

**AttackRabbit** · 03-10-08, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by Keiron

Don't listen to the silly rabbit as he doesn't know what he is talking about. Vista did have issues (as any new OS does when it first comes out), but they have really upped the support for drivers and I have zero problems with any of my hardware on Vista.

The only thing "bad" about Vista still really, is the Wi-Fi crap it has, but hey, I wouldn't recommend going wireless at all anyways. :P

This comment is directed specifically at Vista 64. In Vista 64, all your drivers have to be signed. You know when you install a driver and the warning pops up that it's not signed and you say "Continue Anyway"? You can't do that in Vista 64.
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb756962.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winlog...kmsigning.mspx

Apparently, MS is going to continue this policy for Windows 8, so I might be sticking with XP 64 for a long time.

'Rabbit

**SapiensErus** · 03-10-08, 01:42 PM

When I first installed Vista 64, I had troubles, especially with my Creative crad and specifically it's driver. I had quite a few driver bugs in the early days of Vista 64.

But now it runs perfectly, nary a bug in sight.

Also, vendors are not required to support Windows Xp 64 bit when they release drivers. So traditionally, XP 64 has far more driver problems simply because vendors do not have to support it. So there are many pieces of hardware that do NOT have 64 bit XP drivers unless a thrid party wrote them...bad ju ju in my book.

Also, in Vista you can disable the Driver signing enforcement.

Besides, every device I have has a signed driver that works perfectly; driver signing helps to enforce consistency and testing standards.

But really, the days of Vista being nothing but problems is long over, and from my experience in using BOTH OSes, Vista stomps XP 64 in terms of supported software, drivers, stability and performance. XP 64 was an experiment that failed.