To 64 bit or not?

[jediphx]

I have an inspiron 530 desktop that is coming with a Q6600 Quad core processor. From what I have been reading i would be better off running Vista Home Premium 64 bit or Winxp Pro 64bit in the event I would bump my ram from 2 gigs to 4. I guess my question is I know initially most 64 bit OS users had nightmares because of lack of driver support and the fact that you could no longer use unsigned drivers and 16 bit legacy software or drivers. Can someone explain to met the reasoning for and against? Thanks

Also I do plan to do a lot of video editing and occasional games on this rig if that matters.

PS. I want to overclock at some point and I know the dell bios is locked for that type of thing. What affordable but good mobo replacement would you recommend for the Q6600 to sit in? Thanks

 

[badnewcastle]

I would recommend this mobo.

As far as Vista 64 or not... I would say if you are going to have 4GB of ram then go with Vista 64. Edit Vista manages memory and processes so much better then XP besides the fact that XP64 is older and MS will be committing more resources to support Vista then they will xp.

The problems (not really problems in my book, because it protects you), with unsigned drivers is because of UAC (User Account Control). You can turn UAC off though I would recommend against this. You can usually get things to install/run by right clicking and running it as adminstrator.

UAC is protecting you by not allowing unsigned programs to run without admin permission and will not let you install programs without admin permission. You should be able to find most drivers for your system by now and shouldn't have any problems...

Overclocking shouldn't bring any problems... however I recommend installing your OS before you OC.

For 16 bit programs, you can do a Virtual Machine setup... this also works for legacy programs, I have to use Oracle for work and because it doesn't work with IE 7 I had to install xp pro on a virtual machine and it works perfect! I use MS Virtual PC 2007 which is free.

 

[jediphx]

so if the system is coming with 2 gigs right now I shouldn't go 64 bit till I upgrade the ram? Also thanks a lot for the detailed reply.

 

[RebateMonger]

There's no simple answer.

First, check all your current hardware and software for compatibility with Vista x64.

If that looks OK, then you may want to just go with x64. Otherwise, you'll have to do a complete re-install of your system (OS and applications) when you finally upgrade to x64.

Bear in mind, though, that if your next intended hardware or software puchase doesn't support x64, then you won't be buying that new item.

 

[ZappDogg]

The unsigned driver bit is a total fallacy. Also remember that MS is now requiring vendors to provide both x32 and x64 drivers if they want to be eligible for WHQL certification.

You shouldn't have any problems with hardware, minus Creative soundcards (but you'll find that in x32 as well).

 

[kylef]

The 64-bit driver landscape is getting better each day. Microsoft is forcing the issue by stating that Server 2008 is the last version of Windows that Microsoft will release for 32-bit x86 systems.

And I agree with Rebate... re-installing Windows is a huge chore. If you plan to upgrade to 4 GB later, you might as well start with Vista x64 now.

 

[badnewcastle]

Originally posted by: jediphx
so if the system is coming with 2 gigs right now I shouldn't go 64 bit till I upgrade the ram? Also thanks a lot for the detailed reply.

If it were me and I had 2gb now and was thinking about getting 4, I would install Vista 64... Then I would get the 4gb hotfix. Then spend 60-100 on 2 more gigs...