Windows Vista How relevant/advantageous is 64-bit really??

Alright, so I've been running Vista Ultimate 64-bit for over 18 months now, and with Windows 7 on the horizon, I'd like to revisit the issue of how beneficial it really is, to run an x64 system?

Most every single one of my applications are 32-bit in nature. Even Microsoft Office 2007 is 32-bit. Where are all the supposedly great 64-bit solutions?

What do you guys think? Yes, I can run Windows 7 x64 again, and run all of my 32-bit apps on my 64-bit machine. But again, I'm seriously considering installing Windows 7 32-bit, unless I can find some compelling arguments to stay with 64-bit in order to root out the occasional program that is not 64-bit compatible. And they are there! Few and far between, granted, and certainly not problematic, but still...

So what do you guys think? Go 32-bit with Windows 7, or stay with 64-bit?

Thanks, folks!

 

Thanks for the responses!

Steve..Well, I definitely need 2 1/2 GB of RAM, so I guess I'd be good to go either way still. However, I just read an article about Windows 7, and Microsoft almost scrapped the idea of shipping Win 7 in anything other than 64-bit. At the last minute, they apparently changed their minds and Ballmer said it would be the final version of Windows that ships in 32-bit, besides 64-bit, of course.

Arie, just FYI, your My System details says 32-bit. ..Just wanted to let you know.

Pete: Yea, I'm sure there are several x64 titles out there, but I don't seem to be running any. I certainly don't use anything that has to do with graphics. And we still don't have Flash in 64-bit???

I have this question to wrap this up. Being that I run a LOT of apps, and virtually all of them are 32-bit, would I be better off reinstalling Vista in 32-bit, and subsequently installing Windows 7 in 32-bit, for now at least, as after 18 months(!), again, virtually NONE of the programs I run are simply only available in 32-bit at this time, which hasn't really hurt me a whole lot, as Vista x64 runs 'em just fine.

Having said that, sometimes I did have to wait for 64-bit "compatible" software to become available, as well as a driver or two to come out in x64. The biggest joke is AVM, the German company that makes my beloved FritzBox WiFi N routers, promised me a 64-bit driver for my N stick over a YEAR ago lol...When I called them on it, they came up w/ lame excuses and said "give us another six(!) months, and they did so twice, so there are 12 months right there. After another email, they just chose to ignore it. Again, I lucked out and got the internal mini-PCIe Atheros card, which works better than the USB stick anyway.

Please don't get me wrong. I am known to always have the latest beta OS for this, upgrading my hardware to "future-proof" it, and for the sake of my beloved IPS screen, so I'm not someone who likes to take steps "back in time ", so to speak.

I just want to know if it's true what several of my IT friends, whose opinion I respect, have said, which is that given my situation with all x86 apps, no need for more than 3GB, etc., I may actually GAIN(!???) speed here and there.

So what should I do? Stick with what I campaigned for 1 1/2 years ago when everyone told me not to bother with 64-bit, or try 32-bit for now, until my apps and all drivers are there for what I'd like to run without waiting around for some vendor decides to write an x64 driver for a hardware piece that I'd like to run NOW, vs. whenever they're ready. lol...

Dorry for the long post. Thanks for the advice!!

 

Thanks Arie. Great reads!

By the way, it is true, isn't it, that 64-bit machines run considerably hotter than their 32-bit counterparts? I want to say I remember that when I switched from 32-bit to 64-bit, I saw a quite noticeable increase in CPU and GPU temp's...

Also, what is an "acceptable" CPU temperature? My system runs on Power Saver (1GHz lol) most of the time, as it will overheat every time if I have it set to anything other than that. I find it amazing that my T7600 is still alive considering it has caused the OS and computer to crash by way of overheating many times, with temps going upwards of 95C!! That's over 200F!

When in Power Save mode, it hovers around 65-70C's. Still quite hot IMHO.

I've been too lazy to get some more thermal paste and open this baby up in order to fix clean off the old layer, and apply fresh silver paste.

However, besides cleaning, and re-applying thermal paste, what else should I do, so I don't have to go in more than once. The fan runs, "sorta kinda ", but being that my machine is on literally 24/7, there must be dust that has accumulated over all this time.

Thanks Arie, and thanks to anyone else for any advice.