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i currently run winXP (with SP3), i want to upgrade to win7. now how would i know if my current pc can run win7 64bit, or must it be 32bit (will be upgrading my pc in 2-3months but until then)
2nd question, do i just buy a retail version of win7 and install it like i would any other piece of software
Better buy and go 64x since you want to be able to actually use 4 gig and more ram. The os install is pretty easy, and yes it's like windows xp. You might find that some old apps just doesn't want to work in win64x, but those cases are few.
cool, but how would i know my that my current pc can run 64bit...is this mobo dependent, or what? what would requirements be so to speak?
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizdumb
well my amd sledgehammer was 64x... if you really don't know you cpu/mb then get something like cpuid and look it up :)Quote:
If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here's what it takes:
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
as per the intel site :e6550
does mean i can run 64bit?Quote:
Instruction Set 64-bit
Yes
......
IF you plan on buying, I would hold off till we have an ETA on Windows 8.
But 64bit is def the way forward, especially with games like BF 3 using around 2GB of ram, you would need at least 6-8GB and 32bit does not recognize more than 3GB of ram.
As well as when you want to start playing with VMs which I tend to do more and more these days, more ram the merrier.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Joker
Absolutely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pr⊕phet
Ram prices are quite cheap at the moment, so might be a good idea to invest in a good 8GB kit, Future proofing yourself and cashing in on the current ram prices. Although I am referring to DDR3. DDR2 prices are insane.
have 4gb ram on m current rig, however i will be upgrading soon *touch wood*
however, it seems that i need win7 to run bf3 - never paid attention to that system requirement for the game thus my reason for upgrading from xp to 7
Will upgrading to 64bit with 4 gigs ram improve fps in games or won't there be a difference between 32 and 64 bit.
64 bit does use more resources, however if you have the 4 gigs of ram already then it will help quite a bit as Windows will be able to recognise the other 750 odd megs of ram that 32 bit can't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ichigo
Oh ok thanksQuote:
Originally Posted by simon
Yes my windows 7 became choppy so I reinstalled Windows xp, now my 4gig RAM only shows as 3.3gig, but it's not really a hassle atm but i will upgrade again later when i have more stable version or when Windows 8 comes and it looks decent, not like that vista crap, but ye only problem atm is i can't play BF3, but Skyrim will take all the blues away. :D
I haven't seen any noticeable difference in performance between the two.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ichigo
It's nice to have more available ram though and you won't have to get a new OS if you want more at some point.
Windows 7 is plenty stable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerick
I heard somewhere that even thought windows will only see 3.5/4gb of ram applications can still use the other 512mb of ram? How true is this?
Not true.
Applications can only use memory that Windows can assign to them. If Windows cant see it, neither can they. The other portion of your memory is not being used at all, not by anything.
The reason for this concerns memory mapped IO and whats called an address space. An address space refers to all memory that the computer can access. It normally means main memory, except when memory mapped IO is involved (and it always is on modern computers). One quick note, programs have their own address space which is distinct to the windows address space. A program's address space is also smaller than the windows address space, since it must be able to fit into the windows address space. The biggest unsigned number that a 32 bit computer address is around 4 billion, which is why a 32 bit computer can access 4GB of memory, at maximum. However, this is not what Windows sees, and memory mapped IO is the reason. Memory mapped IO assigns a portion of that address space - which normally points to main memory - to your other devices, such as your sound card and your graphics card. This is convenient for programmers because it means we only have one address space to work with, but it means our 4GB address space has to be shared with both main memory and all devices. Obviously, since we need devices, main memory must shrink. This is why main memory becomes reduced in size.
These days, there is no reason to use 32 bit at all. You should never use it, even if only have 2GB of RAM right now. You'll just run into headaches when you eventually expand your memory. I've been using 64 bit windows since the Vista days, back in 2007, and never had any problems with it.
64Bit with at least 4GB ram memory
There isn't really much reason to not install 64 bit. Most all systems built in the last 7 years or so support it, and eventually you will need it.
so it there seems no reason not to buy it...
...first waiting for my BF3 to arrive, then to check if it does work with winXP - if not i'l buy it now, and not wait until i upgrade my system
It needs directx 10 or higher... so no XP.Quote:
Originally Posted by wizdumb
Win 7 is excellent, and even vista was better than XP. So you are 2 generations behind.
x64 or 32bit...There is a tradeoff in that x64 uses more ram but also you can expand the ram by quite a lot.
There are hacks to get more ram in 32bit using PAE but it just isn't worth the effort considering there are so few downsides to x64
Thanks for the detailed response mate :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ancalagon
yea, id stick to 32bit, 64bit just seems to give problems
Problems? What are these problems you speak of? :wtf:Quote:
Originally Posted by Rain Moodly
I haven't had a single problem caused by having a 64-bit OS whatsoever.
I had to rebuild my PC in 64bit mode, as Adobe Premiere in CS5 only supports 64bit. Also, the other apps are also 64 bit.
I have had no problems with this build...
Go Windows 7 64x, will last you longer and give you more RAM space(if there is something like that)
64bit all the way! Got 12gb of RAM to prove it :P
You need to remember that the 64bit does not ONLY give you the ability to have more memory, but it also has a higher amount of registers to do , well, everything else. Exactly double, to be honest. So running 64bit software on 64bit os will perform better than it's 32 bit os and software on systems with the same amount of memory.
Think of it like 2 exactly similar GPUs, but having a 128bit vs 256bit memory architecture, we all know the 256 will have performance advantages.
well ordering my win7 64bit tomorrow...can't have my bf3 just sitting on my pc stand and gathering dust
I've only had issues with vampire bloodlines and cthulhu dark corners of the earth, unless of course it was real legacy ap that is 16bit*.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rain Moodly
What problems are you talking about ?
:edit
*besides for that there is dosbox :)
Only legacy app I know is windows xp :cool:
Go 64 bit, its future proof
windows 7 64bit is perfect, the only downside is 32bit apps with 16 bit installers wont install eg. nfs III & IV etc.
I seem to remember even Baldurs Gate I installed on my Vista 64 machine. I play Missionforce: Cyberstorm in a WinXP VM though.
Why go 32 bit when people are going towards 64 bit, unless you run a company and software needs 32bit to run stable.
Go for 64 bit
Well I prefer 32 bit atm to play my very old games which may have 16 bit installer like DOHC stated. Is there anyway to make 16 bit installers work on 64 bit?Quote:
Originally Posted by name_less
I use dosbox/dfend reloaded for those.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ichigo
oh ok thanks will try those programs when I get new laptop with 64 bitQuote:
Originally Posted by Pr⊕phet
Okay so lets say you have less than 4gb of ram, is 64bit worth it then?