Tue 26 Sep 2006
Update: I wrote a comprehensive article comparing the 32 bit edition to the 64 bit edition of Window Vista.
Flexbeta has an interesting comparison between Vista 32-bit and Vista 64-bit edition. They tested installation time, integer processing, 2D graphics, memory speed, disk speed, 3D graphics and measured the PassMark rating. Their conclusion: Vista 64-bit does not bring any real advantage with respect to performance over Vista 32-bit.
Almost half of our PCs have a 64 bit CPU already. We only have typical office applications running, thus performance is never an issue. The only hardware related performance concern for us is memory. Since one can get 32 bit desktop systems up to 4 GB RAM, I don’t believe that we’ll need 64 bit in the near future.
It is quite probable that there will be many compatibility problems with Vista in general. For that reason I wouldn’t risk deploying the Vista 64-bit edition, thereby introducing another problematic compatibility factor. Performance advantages of Vista 64-bit can only be expected when applications will be optimized for 64-bit. In my view, however, it will take a quite a while until 64 bit will dominate the desktop.
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[...] Windows Vista 32-bit versus Vista 64-bit [...]
>We only have typical Office applications running, thus performance is never an issue.
A few days ago I talked to Chris Capossela. He said that there are no plans for a 64 Bit version of Office 2007. So even if you needed more power for calculations (e.g. in Excel), Vista 64 Bit would not help you.
Hi Wolfgang! You’re right; there are cases where one needs performance for Office tools, too. It is interesting that Microsoft doesn’t plan offering a 64-bit version of Office 2007 since they encourage customers and partners to switch to 64-bit systems. I suppose this shows that CPU power is relatively seldom an issue for Office users.
they amde this tests with rc1, it is clear to me that a lot of futures are not yet implemented… i’d like to see this tests again with the final version
If any of you remember when we went from 286 cpus to 386 cpus (16 bit to 32 bit), you will know that the software and driver issues between 32 bit and 64 bit are going to be far greater than Microsoft wants you to believe.
32 bit MS Office 2007 will run on 64 bit Vista but, I’ll bet you that older versions of MS Office won’t run on Vista 64. The point is that you can expect significant problems with your current applications. Anyone care to bet how well you will do if you buy a shareware application from the web?
Seems like the thing to do is this:
1. Use 32 bit Vista on your 64 bit machine.
2. Make sure that new machines can handle at least 4 Gig RAM. (Amazingly, I have seen 64 bit processors on motherboards that only support 2G Ram.)
3. Buy 64 bit OS (Vista or later) when you have a requirement to run a 64 bit application - which will eventually happen. And, when you do, expect that the machine might need to be dedicated to your 64 bit app because your 32 bit stuff doesn’t run properly on it. (This is probably not a problem because the kinds of applications that will require 64 bit OS and gobs of memory will be cad/cam, video editing, or something else that is typically run on a dedicated workstation anyway.)
When we went from 16bit to 32bit, it took a good 5 years for compatibility problems to straighten out. Let’s hope it take that long this time. The good news is that the 32 bit apps currently available work well and so there will not be the desperation to upgrade to 64 bit that there was when we went to 32bit (because 16 bit application capabilities were quite limited.)
Geoff, if it really takes 5 years, then you probably wouldn’t use Vista 64 because Windows Vienna will certainly be available by then
Emigre desde win xp profesional y adquiri un nuevo nootebook olidata de 1 gb con windows vista version starter. De mi pc anterior tengo una web cam nueva a4tech.com la model pk335 de 350 kpxs, he bajado los controladores y no funciona bajo ningun punto de vista, agradecere me envien via mail la solucion para poder utilizarla, creo que hay garantia pues el equipo no tiene un mes todavia y no puedo tener video conferencia con mis clientes y con mi familia fuera de chile. Gracias por su ayuda.
Mmmm.. I agree