What is the difference between 32 and 64 bits Vista ?

[Elsie]

I have Windows XP 32 bit, but has just built my new pc with Intel Core Duo 8400, 4gb ram course, and I am thinking about buying 4gb fairly soon. Already having Radeon 4850 that I will run in cross four eventually. I think I should select the vista in that which supports DX10 but what is the difference between 32 and 64bits vista version? Which version will be best for my pc?

[Marthaz]

64-bit Vista would be best for you. With 4 GB of RAM installed, you have already exceeded the limits for 32-bit vista.

[Squibbit]

Quite agreed with Marthaz for the simple reason 32-bit and 64-bit doesn't means anything, it is not just a number that rings fancy out.

The reason is that the processor in your computer is 64-bit, this means that the indices used to address the memory is 64-bit. In a 32-bit processor, by a very simple math formula we can see that a 32-bit processor can address a maximum of 4 GB of RAM (2 ^ 32 = 4 294 967 296 = 4 GB)

But because of that part of the address space is used to communicate with hardware, this will be significantly limited (~ 3 GB) with large address aware set of boot options. Programs that are not large address aware can only address 2 GB of RAM, because they assume that the other 2 GB is allocated to the operating system.

With 64-bit, address space increases dramatically (though most 64-bit processors use only about 48-bit to addressing) from 2 ^ 32 to 2 ^ 64 is a pretty high number (approximately 18446744073709551616 byte)

A 64-bit processor can perform a simple 64-bit addition in one operation, while a 32-bit processor, you must do this in several (add and add with carry, or adc that instruction units)

64-bit is the future, and it is just wast of money to buy 32-bit vista.

[Terrextre]

If I were at your place then I would have used Windows XP until Windows 7 comes, or wait a few days and download Windows 7 beta.

The improvements from the Vista is enormous, so you will feel cheated if you install Vista now.

[Rkhon]

There are many errors in vista, and it is no faster than XP. On the contrary, it requires more and are much heavier. The computer will work faster with XP than vista.

Another problem is the drivers and software, not everything that works on vista. And the last is the price.

Has even bought a new PC with 4 core processor and 4 gig ram. It came with vista, but after I installed XP on it is much faster.

However, my assessment is that Windows 7 is worth waiting for.