xp 32 or xp 64 for gaming

[slick2004]

is there any benefit to run xp 64 bit for gaming?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

primary reason would be to be better prepared for the future

although considering its XP, I'd probably stick to regular 32bit XP for maximum compatibility (with drivers and what not)

 

[PingSpike]

I'm sort of at an impasse here as well. I never had a reason to install the xp x64 version I had lying around, but I now have 4GB of ram. The only knocks I saw against it were that there were some driver issues sometimes with hardware, and certain older games had 16 bit installers sometimes. The few lists of games tested I saw were pretty complete.

At any rate, I decided to install it on my second hard drive and I'm going to gradually try to phase it over to my main install and see how it goes. Video card drivers seem to come out regularly alongside their 32bit counterparts.

 

[mancunian]

I've just this week loaded Vista 64. I have to say I'm very impressed. Stable, fast and can use the 6GB of RAM I have.

I'm convinced now that 4GB RAM and upwards, combined with a fast Core 2 + fast video card and Vista 64, is the way to go for any serious gamer.

 

[slick2004]

is there the same benefit for xp 64bit??

 

[programmer]

XP 32-bit or Vista 64-bit.

XP 64-bit is not well supported since the driver model changed with Vista, and Vista 32-bit does not have the same kernel protections available as in the 64-bit version.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: programmer
XP 32-bit or Vista 64-bit.

XP 64-bit is not well supported since the driver model changed with Vista, and Vista 32-bit does not have the same kernel protections available as in the 64-bit version.

What he said, with the exception that it should be Vista 32 or 64 bit and not XP 32-bit. Why anyone is sticking with XP is beyond me. I've had my home desktop PC running Vista 64 for over a year and change now without any issues whatsoever. Performance is great, the interface is awesome, and I only had ONE issue with a game not installing (because it required a driver for a USB dongle - was my son's game - no big, just installed it on a Vista 32 install on mommy's laptop). You get DX10 support, and all is well.

Can't say the same for XP. I hate my work laptop - great laptop, XP installed. The system BSOD's if I leave it idle for any length of time. I have crappy video drivers from NVIDIA (stuck with OEM crap). Explorer locks up (not IE - the shell UI) for 2 or 3 minutes at a time randomly. I'd wipe the machine and put Vista on if I could.

 

[tboo]

Ive been running XP64 for a while. Everything works great. I switched over after getting sick of Vista64 & its compatability problems with older games & my X-fi.