use windows xp 32-bit or 64-bit?

[punkrockml13]

Which version of xp should I install with my new Core 2 Duo? I currently own 32-bit sp2 xp from the dell that I have now, or I can download and use the trial of x64 from microsoft.com. If the x64 version isn't any different from the performance and usage of the 32-bit version then I'd rather just stick with that. I'm not using massive amounts of memory that would be taken advantage of in x64 or anything like that.

Also, should I decide to tread down the linux path as well, I'm assuming that all linux applications come in native 64-bit versions as well as the 32-bit versions. Would an all 64-bit linux system perform better than a complete 32-bit system, or does the linux 64-bit world run the same course as the windows 64-bit world?

 

[The_Other_One]

32bit, no questions asked... I've used 64bit. There's not a very noticeable difference in the performance, and the compatibility is horrible.

 

[PC eye]

The market is literally flooded with 32bit applications and games. The practicality of running a 64bit version of Windows even Vista at this time isn't even there. It will take at least several years for any full conversion over to running it as a default OS.

The 64bit Linux distros are still few and far behind with that only being recently seen. With the limited exceptions the bulk of Linux programs available are 24 and 32bit. The main difference between Windows and Linux to note here is that is an "open source" type of OS while Windows is primarily bound by it's versions.