Gaming in 64bit

[Redviper]

So, when making recommendations to *others* you need to look at what they are running and what possibilities they may run in the future.

Why others in quotes? I'm not sure what you're meaning to convey by this. To address your statement, yes, exactly right.

To say that you will not run / recommend x64 OSs because a person is comfortable' with x86 OSs is mildly absurd

How is an adult conversation furthered by using nasty words like "absurd" when addressing others? I'm reasonably sure that you wouldn't take kindly to me behaving in kind.

- I mean, hell, I'd recommend 32bit too - except that within 2 years you won't be able to run 32bit OSs unless your machine is cripplingly old. 32bit OSs cannot make full use of 4 GB RAM - and Vista already needs 3 GB to run adequately.

32bit SW isn't going to cease to exist, and neither will ancient HW for a good while. Joe Pentum-class users tend to leverage a computer purchase for a very long time. They don't care about the implications of 64bit, or address space or what's going to happen to the industry in 2-years. For the most part, casual gamers (the few who haven't taken the easy console route) are only a little better. Hardcore gamers are a different breed, though. I have no problem offering V64 as an option to THIS class of user.

To recommend that someone stay with a 32bit OS would be pertinent ***only*** is if you are 100% sure they are not planning on doing any hardware upgrades in the near future, and neither are they going to need any advanced capabilities from their already x64 compliant hardware.

Absolutely nothing is 100% when it comes things like offering computer advice to friends and family on the subject of computers. I know this, after having done so for almost 30-years. All you can do is take the person and how they use computers into account and go from there. Also, I wouldn't say that having a 64bit CPU is that same as having "x64 compliant hardware."

I have seen all the Vista bad press - and yet I am still pushing for Vista as the established OS.

There was a time when I felt the same way, until I got tired of swimming upstream. Here's a personal example: I work with a network tech who is simply the best I've ever seen. He hasn't bothered with certs or formal training, he simply does the work. He couples this with a customer service mindset that ALMOST equals mine. Simply put, and I've told him this, he's my idol. :D Once Vista was running well for me I tried to interest him in it as well, because I felt he could handle the transition easily. He's seen detailed pictures of my HW, extensive Vista screens and in-game caps. Though he thinks my rig is stunning in both form and function, he still thinks Vista is garbage, as MANY people still do. I simply don't see myself wasting any more time trying to sell something that a multi-billion $ company has seemingly given up on.

Part of the bad press comes from OEMs pushing machines that were not really Vista capable as 'Vista capable" and another part of the bad press comes from perennial naysayers who just like to bash Microsoft (Ed Bott did a great expose on some 'technical writer' who bashed Vista earlier this year - turns out that the same guy used almost the same words for XP 7 years ago - and Bott proved it with Google Archive material.

Agreed.

I don't care what others think about an OS - my personal experience matters more to me.

I feel the same way. Vista has served me well, but I don't try to export my experiences to others who simply don't have the same commitment to computers that I do.

Finally, as to taking into account hardware when making recommendations: Good idea, but you forgot one important thing:

• This is a Gaming forum
• The topic of *this* thread.

I haven't forgotten anything. I simply view the topic in a different light than you. Good computer gaming and quality, well-matched HW go hand-in-hand, for me at least. I KNOW my computer gaming.

 

[ltwally]

There's more Vista 64 drivers than there was for 64bit XP.

To be fair: 64bit XP can use 32bit XP drivers. 64bit Vista cannot. So, there's a pretty good reason for it having more drivers than 64bit XP.

 

[S.SubZero]

To be fair: 64bit XP can use 32bit XP drivers.

Ummm.. no. XP64 cannot use XP32 drivers.

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

You can't mix drivers between 64 and 32 bit OS.

 

[ltwally]

To all the "You can't use 32bit drivers on a 64bit OS":

Sure you can. Just not kernel drivers.

Lots of things run outside of ring-0, including things like printer drivers and scanner drivers and the like. Those 32bit drivers (mostly) worked fine on XP 64bit.

So, I suppose I should have been more specific in my original post.

 

[S.SubZero]

To all the "You can't use 32bit drivers on a 64bit OS":

Sure you can. Just not kernel drivers.

Lots of things run outside of ring-0, including things like printer drivers and scanner drivers and the like. Those 32bit drivers (mostly) worked fine on XP 64bit.

So, I suppose I should have been more specific in my original post.

Uh.. No. You can't use 32-bit Windows drivers on a 64-bit Windows OS. At all.

 

[ltwally]

My experience in using 32bit printer drivers under XP 64bit says other-wise.

 

[S.SubZero]

The driver you installed was most likely a unified package that had both drivers. Intel does this with their chipset drivers too.

Windows x64 can't use 32-bit drivers. That's all there is to it.

 

[ltwally]

Nay. If memory serves, we were forced to use Brother printer drivers. They were 32bit, and predated XP 64bit.

 

[S.SubZero]

I just went to Brother's site, picked a random printer, looked at the downloads, and yes, the drivers are all bundled into one big download. The 32-bit and 64-bit drivers are installed via the same installation package (which is completely valid, by the way).

 

[ltwally]

*sigh* I believe I said the driver pre-dated XP 64bit. There were no XP 64bit drivers for that printer. It was a 32bit driver.

You can believe what you want to believe. My direct experience trumps what you think you know.

End.
Of.
Arguement.

 

[S.SubZero]

No, it's not the end of the argument. You're wrong. XP64 can't use 32-bit drivers at all. In fact it is one of the reasons people whine about XP64 so much. It's also WHY there's XP64 drivers for printers. Without them XP64 wouldn't be able to print to those printers.

How to find a compatible printer driver for a computer that is running a 64-bit version of Windows

Note To print from a computer that is running a 64-bit version of Windows, you must have a 64-bit printer driver. You cannot use a 32-bit printer driver on a computer that is running a 64-bit version of Windows.

 

[dmex]

This was taken from Microsofts own website:

If I'm running a 64-bit version of Windows, do I need 64-bit drivers for my devices?

Yes, all hardware devices need 64-bit drivers to work on a 64-bit version of Windows. Additionally, some 32-bit programs might use embedded 32-bit drivers, which might make the programs work improperly on 64bit.

Original Microsoft Document: Windows Vista Help: 32-bit and 64-bit Windows: frequently asked questions

I think this has gone far enough.

Thread Closed.