windows x64 or home?

Geoff

VIP Member
I am debating between 2 operating systems, Windows XP Home for $90 or Windows XP Pro x64 edition for $150. Now i wouldnt be getting this anytime soon since i have a sempron now, but when i get the a64, should i buy that os or just stick with home? Would there be compatability issues with some games/programs on the x64 os?
 
if you read the windows pro x64 decription, it says that you should stick with the 32bit version of windows unless you're pushing the limit of 4gigs of memory, which according to your sig you're not. So i'd stick with the xp home, mainly cause if you get the x64 you'll need to find alot of 64bit drivers and stuff.
 
ok, thanks, didnt even think about that stuff. But wouldnt the os itself run better and faster since it would be 64bit instead of 32?
 
I'm thinking yes and no. It will run 64 bit apps since thats the only os that can handle them, and i'm not truthfully sure about 32bit apps. I think that just having the 64 bit processor is a big improvement in my opinion. They have like super fast fsb's on them, like around a gig. Most other of the amd's have like 400 mhz fsb's on them. If you didnt already know, the bus of the processor [is used to determine] how fast the rest of the motherboard can talk with each other. I know this may sound like a processor talk, but the other thing that may change how fast your pc is the cache, but i'm pretty sure like all of the amd's have almost similar cache sizes. Correct me if i'm wrong. I, myself, will just be getting an athlon64 sometime soon, and just leave regular 32 bit windows. My friend has winxp64osbeta and he said it takes him super long to find a driver for his hardware, if its even available.
 
Hmm

Well there is minute performance difference between the two. I have had the chance to use both on one machine (A64 3000+, 1GB of RAM). I saw no difference whatsoever. The 32bit was identical to the 64bit in terms of bootup times and so on. 32bit applications that I tried worked fine on 64bit Windows XP but I could not notice a difference. I would not suggest it as there are problems with drivers and so on.

JAN :D
 
In my opinion go with XP Home or Pro. At this point in time x64 OS and apps are still in their infancy and I doubt you would be able to notice any true performance difference. XP x64 is mainly for those that want to tweak and play with an OS but for regular use is probaly not a viable option. As mentioned before a 64 bit processor regardless of OS will perform better due to better bus speed and newer architecture.
 
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