New here to the forum. Have some questions about vista 64bit

[ian-serena]

Hello all. hope i am in the right area of the forum. I run vista home prem on my dell laptop. works fine runs programs well. vista on my laptop is 32 bit. its what dell gave me. My question is can i run 32bit appilcations and games on vista home prem 64 bit.

I have built my self a new pc tower. which is a amd x4 9750, 2gig ddr 2 OCZ 800 ram. evga 8600gts card, 750 gig hd. right now it is runing xp pro 32 bit. The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 ATX AM2 NF570 SLI it comes with vista cd for 32 and 64 bit drivers.

The games i play are: Half life 2, dirt and the god father right now. also play need for speed carbon. i use photoshop cs3 and other apps like div x, gom player and more.

also should i go for 32 or 64 bit vista. i have order 32bit vista online it was on sale but i am thinking of selling it when it comes in and order 64 bit home preium instead.

thanks for your help and idea.

Ian

 

[Brink]

Hi Ian,

Welcome to Vista Forums.

Yes, you can run any 32 bit program in the 64 bit Vista if it is compatible with Vista. It is just that you can only run a 64 bit program in a 64 bit Vista and not in a 32 bit Vista.

You will need to make sure that you have 64 bit versions of all of your device drivers and that your have a 64 bit CPU though. You will not be able to use 32 bit drivers in the 64 bit Vista or vice versa.

All Vista editions have a 32 bit and 64 bit installation DVD version for them that you use the 32 bit versions product key number to install one or the other, but not both installed at the same time. Only the retail Vista Ultimate comes packaged with both DVD versions. The other editions will have to have their 64 bit DVD versions ordered from Microsoft or your OEM for a small S&H fee. Instructions on how to order are included in the 32 bit Vista installation DVD packaging.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[wysiwyg]

Why not dual boot both systems,!

 

[Brink]

Hi Wysiwyg,

If you have another product key number to use, then it would be fine to dual boot with both the 32 bit and 64 bit Vista versions. You can only use the same product key number for either one, but not both at the same time.

Shawn

 

[mengchanchai]

Hi Ian,
You can run 64Bit Vista as Brink said.
In my opinion all drivers for yours hardwares should included in the CD attached with each hardware.
The last ,no matter to run 32bit or 64bit,you should install service pack 1 for more efficient.

 

[ian-serena]

Hey there thanks for the help. I think i finaly understand the difrence about the 64bit vista. that is good that most recent software and games wich are 32bit can run on vista.

thanks for the help. i think i will switch my 32bit i order for a 64bit.

All my drives for my motherboard and video card and also tv card have 64bit drivers. Which is good. What i like about the 64bit version is it can see more ram than the 32bit. thanks.

Ian

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

I would add RAM for CS2. It can run on 64-bit and 6GB. CS4 will be even more 64-bit and handle 8-16GB.

 

[ian-serena]

Yea i think i will add 2 - 2gig sticks of ocz 800 ram i have 2 -1gigs in there. probly make it a total of 6 gigs of ram for now. sounds like a good idea. 2-2 gigs go for about $110 before tax and shiping from ncix.

Ian

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Probly make it a total of 6 gigs of ram for now.

Hello Ian,

Welcome to the forums!

x86 (32bit) Vista can only address 4GB ram. The 'extra' 2GB will do you no good.


Later Ted

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

I would not mix ram sizes. You will have a better experience with matching RAM size. I would use the same sticks. Less problems with timing.

 

[ian-serena]

yea that is true.

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

I went right to 16GB for Vista x64 Ultimate. I am planning for Photoshop CS4.