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Vista 32 vs. Vista 64 vs. WIndows 7

nobodycoolnobodycool Member UncommonPosts: 82

So............ I am rebuilding my computer and I have the ability to slap in 6 gb of memory. I understand the memory limits of 32 bit and 64 bit operating systems. If I go with a 32 bit OS I can only squeek out about 3.3 of 4gb installed. On the other hand I can get the full 6 from 64 bit. I have also done some research on Windows 7 32 bit and 64 bit and it seems to be a much more stable and compatible OS, at least from what I have read thus far.

My question is, to those people who people who are running 64 bit or have run 64 bit, as well as those who are maybe trying out Windows 7, do you lose the ability to play a lot of games because of compatibility issues? Is this sacrifice worth the improved speed? Should I simply stick with the 32 bit OS instead and just use the 4gb for now?

All I am looking for are peoples experiences with these OS's with any games they have tried to play, MMORPG's or not. Any comments would really help me out to make a more educated decesion about which way to go. Thanks in advance.

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Comments

  • UsedManateeUsedManatee Member Posts: 161

     I'm running Vista 64 bit and have since September.  The ONLY thing I've had trouble running are ancient (and I mean ancient) 16-bit programs that used to run in an emulated mode on the 32-bit systems.  64 bit OS won't run the 16 bit things, though if you really wanted to you could probably get one of the dosbox emulators and run a virtual 16bit prog.

     

    Games played frequently: GW, WoW, LOTRO, EVE, TF2 (and other HL2 engine games)... TItan Quest: IT

    Played a little bit: RoM, Saga of Ryzom, Oblivion with all the mods one could imagine, Vendetta Online, Savage 2.

    Games tested that worked fine: EQ, EQ2, Vanguard, PotBS

     

    And many others I'm not even mentioning... anything in particular you need to know?  I may have tried it.

    --

     

    Add to that my entire collection of (yes legally licensed) pro-audio applications.

     

    I'm behind recommending using V64.  I've really had a good experience with it.

    How dare you present him with logic! Don't you understand? He fights epic fights, in epic games, with epic toons....eats epic food and takes epic dumps! He has more e..pic..icity...ness in his little finger than you have in your whole unepic body! - ChicagoCub

  • lornjlornj Member Posts: 334

    im running xp64 and havent had any issues. i would like to try windows 7 64bit. ive heard great things about it so far.

  • nobodycoolnobodycool Member UncommonPosts: 82

    I play a lot of MMORPG's, as well as a lot of strategy titles, single player rpg's and that kinf of thing. I do some programming in Java and VB as well as some web development.

    I guess I am just a little leary to make the switch from XP. I have used Vista on other machines and I don't have most of the troubles that other people seem to have but I have heard a shit load of horror stories. I really want to get the most from my machine and I am leaning towards 64.

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  • nobodycoolnobodycool Member UncommonPosts: 82
    Originally posted by lornj


    im running xp64 and havent had any issues. i would like to try windows 7 64bit. ive heard great things about it so far.

     

    That is actually what I am looking at giving a shot in place of Vista 64. I have read a lot of great things as well. Including stability, compatibility, ease of use and a general performance improvement.

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  • VochreVochre Member Posts: 16

    I'm running Windows 7 64 bit and I'll never go back :)

    Love it, gaming is better on it, stability is awesome. Funny how Windows 7 is the beta and it seems more like Vista was the beta for 7.

    Only caveat, this recent beta will stop working Aug 1st. I'm sure there will be ways around by then, but it is something to think about.

     

  • CrazyIvorCrazyIvor Member Posts: 50
    Originally posted by Vochre


    I'm running Windows 7 64 bit and I'll never go back :)
    Love it, gaming is better on it, stability is awesome. Funny how Windows 7 is the beta and it seems more like Vista was the beta for 7.
    Only caveat, this recent beta will stop working Aug 1st. I'm sure there will be ways around by then, but it is something to think about.

     

     

    /agree

    Playing: Nothing
    Retired: Runescape, DAoC, SWG, Planetside, Guild Wars, WoW, EVE, Battleground Europe, LOTRO, AoC, WAR.
    Tried: Pretty much everything!

  • nobodycoolnobodycool Member UncommonPosts: 82
    Originally posted by CrazyIvor

    Originally posted by Vochre


    I'm running Windows 7 64 bit and I'll never go back :)
    Love it, gaming is better on it, stability is awesome. Funny how Windows 7 is the beta and it seems more like Vista was the beta for 7.
    Only caveat, this recent beta will stop working Aug 1st. I'm sure there will be ways around by then, but it is something to think about.

     

     

    /agree

    Well that is hopeful. I am aware the beta runs out on Aug 1st and that does not bother me. I am really excited to hear the good things about Windows 7 as that was the direction I wanted to go the whole time. Did either of you have any driver issues? Or has anyone had any drivers issues with Vista 64 or windows 7 64?

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  • MidnitteMidnitte Member Posts: 510

    Windows Vista 64 is actually quite stable and I've only had minor problems with it, but once windows 7 comes out I plan to switch to some distro of linux (most likely ubuntu, but fedora is pretty awesome), I'm sick of having new versions of DX coming out along with problematic updates and exploits.

    I'd usually be overzealous to give the next version a try (as I did with vista) but really I'm just sick of microsoft in general, to me they are now my soda. I'm sick of it, when I used it I couldn't get enough of it and it was probably the worse then for me.

    Either way, major props to microsoft for actually advancing their 64 bit line, we've had 64bit processors since the 1960s and a majority still use a 32 bit OS or program only 32 bit programs.

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  • ZaelklasZaelklas Member Posts: 25

     Windows Vista x64 is what I currently use for my games, It runs nice, smooth, and fine. Enabled Administrator account so no damn UAC. Everything runs fine. Beta tested Windows 7, interface was nice, but my networking controller was not supported and several games did not run correctly or didn't work at all -_-. 

    Heres exactly what microsoft is doing, More than likely vista will be the next XP and 7 will be the next Vista.

    We all remember how crappy vista was before right? No games supported, so many compatibility issues, and now look, Vista runs almost any game fine now, has barely any software issues now. 

    While Windows 7 is going to have almost the same exact thing, new OS, new look, but compatibility issues, driver issues, and others.

     

    All I can say is, stick/go with vista for now, and don't bother to buy 7 until it gets alot more applications supported, along with hardware. 

  • teknicianteknician Member UncommonPosts: 270
    Originally posted by Vochre


    Love it, gaming is better on it, stability is awesome. Funny how Windows 7 is the beta and it seems more like Vista was the beta for 7.

     

    Or Windows 7 is what Vista should have been.

  • nobodycoolnobodycool Member UncommonPosts: 82
    Originally posted by Zaelklas


     Windows Vista x64 is what I currently use for my games, It runs nice, smooth, and fine. Enabled Administrator account so no damn UAC. Everything runs fine. Beta tested Windows 7, interface was nice, but my networking controller was not supported and several games did not run correctly or didn't work at all -_-. 
    Heres exactly what microsoft is doing, More than likely vista will be the next XP and 7 will be the next Vista.
    We all remember how crappy vista was before right? No games supported, so many compatibility issues, and now look, Vista runs almost any game fine now, has barely any software issues now. 
    While Windows 7 is going to have almost the same exact thing, new OS, new look, but compatibility issues, driver issues, and others.
     
    All I can say is, stick/go with vista for now, and don't bother to buy 7 until it gets alot more applications supported, along with hardware. 

     

     

    That is some good advice Zaelklas. I do not want to be slighted on everyday average programs I run as well just for a slight increase in gaming. I should just slap on some Linux and be done with it.

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  • ZaelklasZaelklas Member Posts: 25
    Originally posted by nobodycool

    Originally posted by Zaelklas


     Windows Vista x64 is what I currently use for my games, It runs nice, smooth, and fine. Enabled Administrator account so no damn UAC. Everything runs fine. Beta tested Windows 7, interface was nice, but my networking controller was not supported and several games did not run correctly or didn't work at all -_-. 
    Heres exactly what microsoft is doing, More than likely vista will be the next XP and 7 will be the next Vista.
    We all remember how crappy vista was before right? No games supported, so many compatibility issues, and now look, Vista runs almost any game fine now, has barely any software issues now. 
    While Windows 7 is going to have almost the same exact thing, new OS, new look, but compatibility issues, driver issues, and others.
     
    All I can say is, stick/go with vista for now, and don't bother to buy 7 until it gets alot more applications supported, along with hardware. 

     

     

    That is some good advice Zaelklas. I do not want to be slighted on everyday average programs I run as well just for a slight increase in gaming. I should just slap on some Linux and be done with it.

     

    This would be a very wise choice, but you only have one problem - Not all games run in linux on Wine or Cedega. Something you should realize about linux is that its very stable, supports your basic needs such as internet, instant messaging, listening to music, and many others. But what it lacks is games. Sure we have a windows emulators and several of them, but do they run every game? Nope, seems though most of the popular titles do, but the new ones you see coming out probably won't. Which you'll then only realize that if a new game that comes out is only for windows, and is not able to run on Wine then you have no way of trying it/being able to play it.

    But there are many, many open source games out there for linux nowadays.

    So just remember that not everything runs in linux, like it does on windows.

  • haggus71haggus71 Member Posts: 254

    Negative on the driver issues with Windows 7.  It recognized everything on my laptop, and any drivers that work on Vista will work on 7.  Antivirus? no problem.  Guild Wars, WAR, and Lineage 2?  No issues.  In fact, they seem to run better than on Vista OR XP.  I'll actually be heart-broken when the beta expires and I have to roll for the RC or wait for the final.

    Anyone who's really used it can see that 7 is NOT to Vista what Vista was to XP.  I could never run the RC1 of Vista securely, forget the beta.  7, on the other hand, acts like it's ready for prime time in its beta form.  XP never had that.  The last MS OS I used that ran this good was W2K, and I used that thing till they stopped updates. 

    Vista in any form holds no water compared to 7.  It actually has me thinking MS can still make good software(did I just say that?).

  • patrikd23patrikd23 Member UncommonPosts: 1,155

    I installed a dual boot on my computer so I dont have to worry. Got both 64 and 32bit Vista on the HDD.

  • VarkingVarking Member UncommonPosts: 542

    Performance is up on AoC, WAR, and LotRO when using Windows7 instead of Vista64

  • skeaserskeaser Member RarePosts: 4,205

    I have Vista x64 and 7 x64 dual booted on this machine.

    7 feels to be head and shoulders above Vista at everything. Think of 7 as the stability of XP meets the niftyness of Vista.

    For gaming, I have limited experience as I can't get 7 to let me stay in a game for more than 5-10 minutes without a crash (using Windows provided drivers or the most current NVidia makes no difference). However, for the time I can get a game to run I see a 10-15 FPS improvement and the game controls feel more responsive. I have tested LoTRO and EQ2 out so far, but am not going to try any more gaming until I can find some stable drivers.

    If you are in a hurry to get a 64 bit OS, I would highly recommend trying to find a copy of XP pro 64 and then hold out for 7. I would only put Vista on a machine as a last resort.

    Sig so that badges don't eat my posts.


  • miagisanmiagisan Member Posts: 5,156

    just so you know...windows 7 has almost no driver issues for me atm, i have it on 2 desktops and a laptop, only issue i had was with a very old logitech webcam

    image

  • tvalentinetvalentine Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 4,216

    use windows 7 since its free. If i built a new computer i would go with windows 7 until it released.

    image

    Playing: EVE Online
    Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
    Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
    KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -

  • Bigbear2006Bigbear2006 Member Posts: 14
    Originally posted by teknician

    Originally posted by Vochre


    Love it, gaming is better on it, stability is awesome. Funny how Windows 7 is the beta and it seems more like Vista was the beta for 7.

     

    Or Windows 7 is what Vista should have been.

     

    This statement made me giggle a little bit. Windows 7 is what Vista was should have been. Early in development of Project Blackcomb they began to run into numerous bugs that would take weeks to fix, Marketing was not happy about this and suggested they make a smaller less refined version to sell to the masses so they have something to produce for their years of work. Thus Vista was born.

  • majinantmajinant Member UncommonPosts: 418

    I am running Vista 64bit and have had absolutely no problems with it. Runs all my games/programs.

    Only thing tho, if you gonna get a 3rd party defragger make it Auslogics. A lot of other so called 64bit defraggers steal hard drive space each time you use them which you can't get back until you format. Examples of these are: Perfect Disk, Diskepper and O&O Defrag.



  • skeaserskeaser Member RarePosts: 4,205
    Originally posted by miagisan


    just so you know...windows 7 has almost no driver issues for me atm, i have it on 2 desktops and a laptop, only issue i had was with a very old logitech webcam

     

    I have a desktop with a 6 series NVidia card running 32 bit 7. The display adapter quits responding and recovers once every 10 minutes or so.

    This one is dual 8800 GTS and runs great until I get into a game, then the system will lock (sounds looping and all). I downloaded a lot of drivers from Nvidia to try and the newest ones from MS but none of them worked, I think part of the problem is 7 keeps forcing driver changes that I don't want. If I uninstall the drivers, when I reboot, 7 automatically re-installs them, if I install the new drivers without a restart things get messy.

    Overall it's in decent shape for a beta though, I think.

    Sig so that badges don't eat my posts.


  • skeaserskeaser Member RarePosts: 4,205
    Originally posted by tvalentine


    use windows 7 since its free. If i built a new computer i would go with windows 7 until it released.

     

    That would work, but MS is shutting down the beta in August and may not release until end of year. This could end up sticking you with no OS for a while.

    Besides, I wouldn't want to try using a beta OS as my main OS.

    Sig so that badges don't eat my posts.


  • miagisanmiagisan Member Posts: 5,156
    Originally posted by skeaser

    Originally posted by miagisan


    just so you know...windows 7 has almost no driver issues for me atm, i have it on 2 desktops and a laptop, only issue i had was with a very old logitech webcam

     

    I have a desktop with a 6 series NVidia card running 32 bit 7. The display adapter quits responding and recovers once every 10 minutes or so.

    This one is dual 8800 GTS and runs great until I get into a game, then the system will lock (sounds looping and all). I downloaded a lot of drivers from Nvidia to try and the newest ones from MS but none of them worked, I think part of the problem is 7 keeps forcing driver changes that I don't want. If I uninstall the drivers, when I reboot, 7 automatically re-installs them, if I install the new drivers without a restart things get messy.

    Overall it's in decent shape for a beta though, I think.

    i have a 8800gt EVGA 512meg nvidia card, so its the same drivers as you have, i have no issues whatsover. I been playing LOTRO and EVE on it on max settings, dx10 (lotro) and all shadows, runs flawlessly.

    image

  • skeaserskeaser Member RarePosts: 4,205
    Originally posted by miagisan

    Originally posted by skeaser

    Originally posted by miagisan


    just so you know...windows 7 has almost no driver issues for me atm, i have it on 2 desktops and a laptop, only issue i had was with a very old logitech webcam

     

    I have a desktop with a 6 series NVidia card running 32 bit 7. The display adapter quits responding and recovers once every 10 minutes or so.

    This one is dual 8800 GTS and runs great until I get into a game, then the system will lock (sounds looping and all). I downloaded a lot of drivers from Nvidia to try and the newest ones from MS but none of them worked, I think part of the problem is 7 keeps forcing driver changes that I don't want. If I uninstall the drivers, when I reboot, 7 automatically re-installs them, if I install the new drivers without a restart things get messy.

    Overall it's in decent shape for a beta though, I think.

    i have a 8800gt EVGA 512meg nvidia card, so its the same drivers as you have, i have no issues whatsover. I been playing LOTRO and EVE on it on max settings, dx10 (lotro) and all shadows, runs flawlessly.

     

    Weird. I've even tried with no SLi and no PhysX, still same problem. I'll have to dig deeper.

    Sig so that badges don't eat my posts.


  • miagisanmiagisan Member Posts: 5,156
    Originally posted by skeaser

    Originally posted by miagisan

    Originally posted by skeaser

    Originally posted by miagisan


    just so you know...windows 7 has almost no driver issues for me atm, i have it on 2 desktops and a laptop, only issue i had was with a very old logitech webcam

     

    I have a desktop with a 6 series NVidia card running 32 bit 7. The display adapter quits responding and recovers once every 10 minutes or so.

    This one is dual 8800 GTS and runs great until I get into a game, then the system will lock (sounds looping and all). I downloaded a lot of drivers from Nvidia to try and the newest ones from MS but none of them worked, I think part of the problem is 7 keeps forcing driver changes that I don't want. If I uninstall the drivers, when I reboot, 7 automatically re-installs them, if I install the new drivers without a restart things get messy.

    Overall it's in decent shape for a beta though, I think.

    i have a 8800gt EVGA 512meg nvidia card, so its the same drivers as you have, i have no issues whatsover. I been playing LOTRO and EVE on it on max settings, dx10 (lotro) and all shadows, runs flawlessly.

     

    Weird. I've even tried with no SLi and no PhysX, still same problem. I'll have to dig deeper.

     

    no worries. good luck!

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