WINDOWS VISTA 32BIT VS 64BIT...

[mkohman]

Hello Guys,

I recently purchased a Brand New Monitor Dell 30" 3008WFP and a fantastic computer Dell 630 XPS to go along with it..

Here are my specs:

Intel Quad Core 2.66 GHZ
4GB 800mhz RAM
1.5 TB HDD
Nvidia Geforce 9800 GX2 Graphics Card 1GB etc...

My question is this.. When I purchased the PC it came pre installed with Vista Home Edition 32 BIT. I have the original Vista 32Bit and 64Bit Ultimate Edition and I format and I am using the 32Bit edition now..

I was wondering if I should re format and use the Vista Ultimat 64BIT edition? What wil be the pros and cons.. How many of you guys are actually using the 64BIT version..

Please advise.. Many Thanks ;)

[js09]

You have 4 gigs of ram so in order to utilize it you need to install windows 64bit.

There are other reasons why 64 is bit is better, but for the sake of JUST being able to use all 4 gigs, i'd format.

[mkohman]

Hmmm thanks for the advise.. I will definitly do that but how do I know if my computer will support 64 BIT? I mean I am guessing it does but how can I be sure ? I mean my CPU is Intel Quad Core 2.66 GHZ.. so will it support 64bit? thanks

[tomd]

You have 4 gigs of ram so in order to utilize it you need to install windows 64bit.

There are other reasons why 64 is bit is better, but for the sake of JUST being able to use all 4 gigs, i'd format.

I agree with this.
( I have a 64 bit Vista machine)

[mkohman]

Thank you guys , I think I will format and install the 64Bit Vista Ultimate.. but will my computer support it?

[Rob F1UK]

Yes, your quad core processor will support it BUT, what do you intend to use your PC mostly for? What other hardware do you have in the machine? Have you looked on the Dell site and checked that their are 64-bit drivers available for the hardware you have, or have you checked the hardware manufacturer websites to check this?

STILL there are many apps/hardware that don't properly support a 64-bit OS, due to the comparitive lack of driver support still...

[equetefue]

I build computers as a hobby and sell them to friends and such.

I've been using Vista x64 for a long time and I have to say that is that much better than XP x64.

If you plan to stay with 4gb of ram or less go with x32, more than that x64. It's very very stable and good.

I currently have 8gb of ram and a E6600 overclock with water from 2.4 to 3.7ghz

[mkohman]

I build computers as a hobby and sell them to friends and such.

I've been using Vista x64 for a long time and I have to say that is that much better than XP x64.

If you plan to stay with 4gb of ram or less go with x32, more than that x64. It's very very stable and good.

I currently have 8gb of ram and a E6600 overclock with water from 2.4 to 3.7ghz

What motherboard do you have? Also how much TB HDD can your motherboard take? thanks

[equetefue]

My motherboard is Asus Maximus Formula

[mkohman]

My motherboard is Asus Maximus Formula

I would like to go to 8gb Ram but not sure if my mother board will support.. I dont realy want to buy a new motherboard as the computer is Brand New and would just be a waste of money buying a new mother board and re building ( I also build pc's ) but the thing is how would I know if this mother board will support upto 8GB and which RAM do you use? thanks ..

[OdiN1701]

Go with x64.

Your board should support 8GB if it can run a Quad Core.

www.crucial.com

Put in your PC's make and model and it should show supported memory. Don't have to buy from them but they'll guarantee the memory to work.

[mkohman]

Go with x64.

Your board should support 8GB if it can run a Quad Core.

www.crucial.com (http://www.crucial.com)

Put in your PC's make and model and it should show supported memory. Don't have to buy from them but they'll guarantee the memory to work.

Fantastic .. thanks for your help .. Are you using 64Bit Vista? also do you have 8GB Ram or are you cool with 4GB? I was also wondering If I upgrade the RAM from 4GB to 8GB I will sell the 4GB Ram on Ebay or something but will I need to do any tweaking in the Bios for this?

Many Thanks.. :)

[OdiN1701]

I run Vista Ultimate 64-Bit.

I have 8GB RAM.

You don't necessarily have to sell your current RAM, you may be able to add another pair of sticks to get 8GB - it depends on how many slots are available in your system and what Dell did to get that 4GB in the first place.

No BIOS tweaking necessary.

[mkohman]

I run Vista Ultimate 64-Bit.

I have 8GB RAM.

You don't necessarily have to sell your current RAM, you may be able to add another pair of sticks to get 8GB - it depends on how many slots are available in your system and what Dell did to get that 4GB in the first place.

No BIOS tweaking necessary.

thanks Andrew, unfortunately there are no slots available so I guess dell used all 4 slots with 1gb Ram each.. However I will be looking into getting more Ram .. which one do you reccomend? My FBS is 1333MHZ Thanks :)

[OdiN1701]

Your FSB is actually 333MHz...but that gets confusing so I won't go into that :p. The RAM will run at twice that clock - or 667MHz.

DDR2-800 is sufficient unless you plan on overclocking.

[mkohman]

Your FSB is actually 333MHz...but that gets confusing so I won't go into that :p. The RAM will run at twice that clock - or 667MHz.

DDR2-800 is sufficient unless you plan on overclocking.

I am not planing of overclocking but was looking at the OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 1066 MHz Reaper x 8GB what do you think? will this work? will I need to overclock for this speed?

[OdiN1701]

It will work but it won't run at 1066MHz by default.

[mkohman]

It will work but it won't run at 1066MHz by default.

Hmm I see.. I may just actually keep my 4GB Ram as I believe this will be more than enough for me.. and just install the x64Bit Vista Ultimate. In future If I upgrade the motherboard in a couple of years then I will obviousley upgrade the RAM I think this may be a wiser option.. as I am not a gamer and 4GB at 800mhz should be enough for the time being..

1 more question I was going to ask you .. what specifies how much TB you can install in your PC? I mean does this change according what motherboard you have or can you put for example 4 TB hdd (4x1TB) if you have 4 slots on the motherboard?

Thanks :)

[OdiN1701]

You can install as many hard drives as you have ports available - and you can install external, etc.

There is no limit. There used to be a limit to the per-drive size and per-partition size in older versions of Windows (2K XP were limited to 137GB, but an update fixed that for XP, as well as proper controller drivers). But these days the limit is something ridiculous based on the ATA standard - 144 Petabytes.

But 32-bit software is limited to 2.2 Terabytes, even Vista 64 is limited to this apparently because of some legacy 32-bit code in place. I imagine there would be an update once drives go beyond that size, which could happen relatively soon.

[mkohman]

You can install as many hard drives as you have ports available - and you can install external, etc.

There is no limit. There used to be a limit to the per-drive size and per-partition size in older versions of Windows (2K XP were limited to 137GB, but an update fixed that for XP, as well as proper controller drivers). But these days the limit is something ridiculous based on the ATA standard - 144 Petabytes.

But 32-bit software is limited to 2.2 Terabytes, even Vista 64 is limited to this apparently because of some legacy 32-bit code in place. I imagine there would be an update once drives go beyond that size, which could happen relatively soon.

thank you for explaining Andrew.. do you mean 2.2 TB for the whole system or 2.2 TB per HDD?

[OdiN1701]

Per hard drive - actually it's probably per partition. You could probably create two 2.2TB partitions if you had a 4.4TB drive and they would probably work - but not positive.

You could have 50 2TB drives in your system if you have the ports for them :)

[mkohman]

Oh that's cool because I have 1 x 1TB seagate HDD (I installed last week) and 1x 650 GB Samsung HDD (which came with the pc) .. ontop of this I purchased another 1 x 1TB seagate HDD which I will receive sometime next week and I was hoping to install that but I was not sure if there was a maximum limit of HDD you could install ... Thanks for all your help ;)

[Motley]

Definitely go with 8GB of RAM and Vista 64. There are some G.Skill mems on sale that are perfect for your setup.

I'm using the same set, and I overclock them, so you should be good with your quad processor.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145

[mkohman]

Definitely go with 8GB of RAM and Vista 64. There are some G.Skill mems on sale that are perfect for your setup.

I'm using the same set, and I overclock them, so you should be good with your quad processor.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145

Hmm thanks for the info.. I just may go with the 8GB Ram :) its very tempting now .. but I have been advised that I may need to tweak the bios a little overclocking to get the 1066mhz speed? and I have no idea about over clocking..

[OdiN1701]

Just get DDR2-800 - you do not need 1066. Even if you have 1066 or whatever, you don't have to adjust anything - your board will be fine at default.

[mkohman]

Just get DDR2-800 - you do not need 1066. Even if you have 1066 or whatever, you don't have to adjust anything - your board will be fine at default.

Ok thanks Andrew, which make do you suggest.. what do you have? thanks

[OdiN1701]

I suggest the Corsair brand.

Kingston is good, so is Crucial. I had used OCZ in the past, but had some issues with them. They are likely fine I just moved to Corsair after that.

[mkohman]

I suggest the Corsair brand.

Kingston is good, so is Crucial. I had used OCZ in the past, but had some issues with them. They are likely fine I just moved to Corsair after that.

cool thanks Andrew.. are you running at 800mhz too? why do you have 8GIGs if you dont mind me asking? do you play games ? or is it just smoother than 4GB?

[mkohman]

Andrew , what do you think of these please? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130429 8gbs of these RAMS?

[OdiN1701]

Those should be fine - I know nothing of the dealer but I'll assume you know them to be reputable.

I have 800MHz DDR2, yes.

I have 8GB because I typically have a lot of stuff open - Photoshop, Lightroom, Internet stuff, etc.

I also do some video editing from time to time.

I do have a few games that I may play from time to time, but nothing all that advanced.

[mkohman]

Those should be fine - I know nothing of the dealer but I'll assume you know them to be reputable.

I have 800MHz DDR2, yes.

I have 8GB because I typically have a lot of stuff open - Photoshop, Lightroom, Internet stuff, etc.

I also do some video editing from time to time.

I do have a few games that I may play from time to time, but nothing all that advanced.

Andrew, Ebuyer are very well known in the UK and if you think that RAM is good than I will go for it.. I mean the price is pretty decent anyway.. £40.00 for 2 x 2GB RAM so I will buy 2 of those and spend £80.00 for 8GB of RAM which works our to be £10 a GIG of RAM ;) not bad eh?

[Trique Daddi]

I just ordered a new compuer with a 64 bit system and 2 of the G.Skill 4gig kits. You can check the compatibility of the ram with your motherboard on the manufacturers site but most will probably work. It will be simpler to have the same manufacturer with the ram anyway though.

The other thing to consider is if your photo editing software will run on the 64bit version. I called Adobe to see if Elements 7 would run. Technically it isn't suported but I was told it ran very well on the 64bit version. Sure hope so or I am in trouble! Anyone else running Adobe Elements 7?

Happy shopping!

Trique Daddi

[mkohman]

I just ordered a new compuer with a 64 bit system and 2 of the G.Skill 4gig kits. You can check the compatibility of the ram with your motherboard on the manufacturers site but most will probably work. It will be simpler to have the same manufacturer with the ram anyway though.

The other thing to consider is if your photo editing software will run on the 64bit version. I called Adobe to see if Elements 7 would run. Technically it isn't suported but I was told it ran very well on the 64bit version. Sure hope so or I am in trouble! Anyone else running Adobe Elements 7?

Happy shopping!

Trique Daddi

Thanks Daddi, yeah I am definitely going to order 8GB of Ram but haven't decided which one yet .. good luck with your new pc .. hope all goes well ;)

[Faolan]

You can install as many hard drives as you have ports available - and you can install external, etc.

There is no limit.

Also dependant on the PSU start up/power load and if you're using staggered start or you start to induce wierd and wonderful faults... Trust me I've had them ;)

PSU is very important and if you're starting to use more than 4 drives get a proper controller with staggered start.

[ThomGascoigne]

Vista = Ew!

[shimmishim]

The only issue I've had with Vista 64 was after getting my mark ii n recently.

The camera has personal function settings you can change but can only do through windows (not through camera menu).

I had to get onto a windows xp install to go into the personal settings to change the settings. It was a pain.

I believe the 1D series cameras are not supported on Vista 64. You can do file transfers via USB but cannot change personal setting via 1394 (firewire). Just be warned in case you ever decide to upgrade your camera.

another option is to create a dual boot XP/Vista 64 drive.

I run 6 gigs (2x1 and 2x2) and find it more than enough for LR 2 + CS 3 and multitasking. The quadcore should help out a lot as well. I run a lowly dual core E8600 @ 4.4ghz...

[mkohman]

I have just purchased 8GB of corsair Ram please see link:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130429

The question I wanted to ask is indeed you need to be running on a 64Bit operating system in order to get 8GB Ram which I am but is there anything I need to do (i.e: Bios or change anything) before or after I install the RAM?

Please can you advise me.. also what is 5-5-5-18 values at 800MHz whats the " 5-5-5-18" and do I need to change or do something to get this or do I need to change the voltage in bios before or after installing etc.. or do I just plug and play

Many Thanks..

[shimmishim]

I have just purchased 8GB of corsair Ram please see link:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130429

The question I wanted to ask is indeed you need to be running on a 64Bit operating system in order to get 8GB Ram which I am but is there anything I need to do (i.e: Bios or change anything) before or after I install the RAM?

Please can you advise me.. also what is 5-5-5-18 values at 800MHz whats the " 5-5-5-18" and do I need to change or do something to get this or do I need to change the voltage in bios before or after installing etc.. or do I just plug and play

Many Thanks..

If you leave everything on default in the bios, you do not need to mess with the memory timings (the 5-5-5-18). You shouldn't need to change your vdimm voltage assuming it's on auto as well. Usually the mem modules are programmed to set voltages and timings (assuming everything is on auto or default in the bios).

[mkohman]

If you leave everything on default in the bios, you do not need to mess with the memory timings (the 5-5-5-18). You shouldn't need to change your vdimm voltage assuming it's on auto as well. Usually the mem modules are programmed to set voltages and timings (assuming everything is on auto or default in the bios).

Thank you Shimm,

can't wait to go home and put these in my new machine.. I want to see if the system runs any different or smoother than 4GB of Ram ;)

[shimmishim]

Thank you Shimm,

can't wait to go home and put these in my new machine.. I want to see if the system runs any different or smoother than 4GB of Ram ;)

I don't think you'll notice a huge difference between 4 and 8.

I keep firefox open (which has memory leak problems), LR 2, and CS 3 open and don't even max out 6GBs.

[mkohman]

I don't think you'll notice a huge difference between 4 and 8.

I keep firefox open (which has memory leak problems), LR 2, and CS 3 open and don't even max out 6GBs.

Hmm so 8GB will really be all I need .. Thanks for the help.. much appreciated ;)