so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

So I just got a sweet new vostro 1700, it's all of 3 days old and I just discovered that the version of vista on it (home basic) is a 32-bit os, and that it might not recognize the full amt of ram (2gb sticks) i'm going to put in it.

This kind of sucks - what are my options? Is it feasible/ necessary to upg to a 64-bit version? I'm wishing I did my homework a bit more thoroughly now b/c I could have gotten vista premium when I bought the thing.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Surf

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

Do you run any software that is 64-bit? No? Then don't worry about it.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

How much memory are you putting in that you feel you actually need 64bit?

4GB is the upper limit of what 32bit can normally address.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

Also, why do you think you will actually need 4gb of RAM.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

[ QUOTE ]
So I just got a sweet new vostro 1700, it's all of 3 days old and I just discovered that the version of vista on it (home basic) is a 32-bit os, and that it might not recognize the full amt of ram (2gb sticks) i'm going to put in it.

This kind of sucks - what are my options? Is it feasible/ necessary to upg to a 64-bit version? I'm wishing I did my homework a bit more thoroughly now b/c I could have gotten vista premium when I bought the thing.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Surf

[/ QUOTE ]

You can't upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit vista. You have to do a reinstall.

If you think you really need 64-bit, it may be easier to return the entire computer and order a new one with it pre-installed.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Do you run any software that is 64-bit? No? Then don't worry about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

What type of software is 64-bit? I'm not a hardcore gamer or anything, but I want this machine to last me at least 1.5-2yrs.

I checked dell's website and vista premium (is that it?) is $100 more. What are the benefits to it besides a higher RAM limit? I can't imagine needing more than 4gb.

Thanks for the help,

Surf

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

He will only be able to use 3.2-3.5GB of RAM with the 32-bit OS.

But I dont think it is anywhere near +ROI to buy and install an 64-bit OS for the extra RAM that you will never use anyway.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

just did a little googling and found this faq, no idea how reliable/accurate it is:

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/1426/...ion_x64_vs_x86

Going to hunt a bit more.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

Unless you know you need a 64-bit OS, just go with a 32-bit OS. You will likely have many fewer headaches.

You may need a 64-bit OS if you have software that is 64-bit (if you don't know, it's probably not).

You may need a 64-bit OS if you are going to address more than 4GB of RAM for the OS, or 2GB of ram for a single process. In actuality, you'll usually only get 3GB & change addressed by a 32-bit windows OS.

I would almost bet money that you don't need a 64-bit OS. I consider myself a power-user and only have XP-64 on one of my systems. I have x64 on that one system because I do virtualization with it and need full 4GB of RAM, plus the ability to have 2-3GB dedicated to a single process. Running x64 has been a HUGE pain in the ass as far as drivers for older devices go (new ones have been ok).
32-bit is fine for all the rest of my systems.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

Okay after sifting through a couple other articles, I've decided to stick with what I've got. I'm only putting 3gb of RAM in my system, and I can't imagine needing more than 4 in the next 2 years. Also, it seems the performance benefits from the x64 architecture wont mature for another year or two since all the developers / software / drivers etc need to come up to speed.

Whew, now I don't have to send my computer back and spend another $100, sweet.

Surf

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

64bit is not revolutionary like 32bit processing was, therefore it will take much longer for the home computing market to transition to it (low demand) and there will be support for 32bit processors for at least a few decades to come.

For cool points you might consider it but if you don't know why you would need a 64bit system then you don't need one.

4GB of ram is a lot, even if you can't tap in to all of it and want to make it available the chances you actually use it are slim.

Gaming is maybe the only thing that could benefit, if you like to watch DVD movies and edit vector images while you encode DIVX movies and serve and FTP while playing Bioshock online.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

[ QUOTE ]

4GB of ram is a lot, even if you can't tap in to all of it and want to make it available the chances you actually use it are slim.


[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, I'm feeling content with my decision, good to hear.

[ QUOTE ]

Gaming is maybe the only thing that could benefit, if you like to watch DVD movies and edit vector images while you encode DIVX movies and serve and FTP while playing Bioshock online.

[/ QUOTE ]

This actually made me lol. I'm such a nerd!

Surf

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

I would save the money and just go with 2GB. the 3rd is pretty much wasted money.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

Even if you did get 64bit, you'd be running > 70% of your [censored] in 32bit mode anyhow. What you have is fine.

64-bit is better for servers, meh for desktops. It's even sometimes (depending on os/situation) a hinderance.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

[ QUOTE ]
64-bit is better for servers, meh for desktops. It's even sometimes (depending on os/situation) a hinderance.

[/ QUOTE ]

You'd be very, very hard pressed to find situations where it's a hindrance. The cost (in computing resources) of switching back and forth is very, very small, much smaller than anything that would make a noticable difference to an interactive user.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

I confess it has been a little while since I dabbled in 64bit land, but getting certain things running in Linux (Flash, etc) used to be a tad bit trickier than 32.

Re: so i just found out my vista is 32-bit, my options are?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I confess it has been a little while since I dabbled in 64bit land, but getting certain things running in Linux (Flash, etc) used to be a tad bit trickier than 32.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's because there's no 64-bit flash plugin for 64-bit firefox. If you run the 32-bit firefox, flash works just fine. Everything on my opteron is 64-bit except firefox.