Few doubts regarding OS. (Vista and 7)

[Xilo]

Windows 7 is what Windows Vista should have been. Don't bother with Vista.

[celestialspring]

Windows 7 is what Windows Vista should have been. Don't bother with Vista.

+1

[Shadrack]

Windows 7 is what Windows Vista should have been. Don't bother with Vista.

+1

I think I've seen 1 benchmark for gaming where Vista scored 1 more FPS than 7 did. The vast majority show about the exact same performance. Stability wise they are about the same too. Vista just takes longer to boot and has less features.

[treemonster]

7 is vista with some tweaks and slight optimizations. given the choice between the two 7 is better. but there is very little reason to upgrade from vista at this time.

the only reason to go x64 is if you plan to use more ram in your system. as a gamer very few of the programs i use are 64bit, and those that are are so low intensity that it really doesn't matter if they are or not.

as a recent convert to x64 i see few benefits of x64 over x86(32 bit) windows.

if anyone knows of real benefits to using x64 over x86(32 bit) please let me know. so far when i ask people can only point out the obvious and repeat the unproven idea that 32bit code gets executed faster on x64 windows. at this point whatever performance increase gained is exceptionally marginal and none of the high intensity programs i use come in x64 flavours.

and just to note it's no x32, no such thing as x32. it x86. which is the 32 bit cpu protocol owned by intel. x64 is the 64 bit cpu protocol owned by amd. they license each other's ip to each other to ensure comparability across the market.

[xendrome]

you can only use 64 bit if you have 4 or more gb ram.

http://gizmodo.com/5173392/windows-7-vs-vi...crysis-fasterer

try google maybe? No, use Biiiinnnnnnnnggggg!!!

Ok not to be mean, but... I am hereby revoking you to use the user name you have on this site. Please turn it in as you leave, thanks.

7 is vista with some tweaks and slight optimizations. given the choice between the two 7 is better. but there is very little reason to upgrade from vista at this time.

Please visit here, and learn about how much more Windows 7 is, then just "some tweaks nad slight optimizations". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_7

the only reason to go x64 is if you plan to use more ram in your system. as a gamer very few of the programs i use are 64bit, and those that are are so low intensity that it really doesn't matter if they are or not.

Also MOST Core i7 9XX systems are coming with 6GB of ram, I believe they are triple channel DDR. So 64bit is becoming very important for those systems just to get the utilization of the memory.

[J_R_G]

I would run x64. x64 Windows have security improvements over 32-bit, such as kernel patch guard, signed driver enforcement, and more extensive DEP coverage of the kernel. And x64 programs have more secure defaults (always use DEP, etc.) Other than that, probably 99% of programs/hardware work equally well in x64, certainly I haven't had any programs/hardware not work in x64 in the 3+ years I've been running it, and it will allow you to add as much memory as you like in the future, when prices come down (hopefully.) Also the performance difference will be negligible if not unmeasurable, API functions execute so much code that a simple translation from 32-bit to 64-bit will not make any difference.

[bjoswald]

Well, Vista and 7 are pretty much the same OS, bar cosmetic enhancements and some under-the-hood tweaks.

If you're happy with Vista, stick with it. Otherwise, if you need the extra hardware support from 7 or some of the

other features it offers, go ahead and upgrade. It's your PC, not Microsoft's.

By the way, with 4GB of RAM, at least a dual-core PC and a decent video card, I run Vista just fine and haven't seen

a BSoD (that wasn't my fault) in ages. As a matter of fact, the last time I had any serious trouble was when I had

a Creative Labs sound card. Go figure.

[treemonster]

Please visit here, and learn about how much more Windows 7 is, then just "some tweaks nad slight optimizations". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_7

Also MOST Core i7 9XX systems are coming with 6GB of ram, I believe they are triple channel DDR. So 64bit is becoming very important for those systems just to get the utilization of the memory.

i read your wiki link, it seems to support that 7 is just vista with mostly just tweaks and optimizations. there are a few new features, but most of them are cosmetic in nature.

yes i said BESIDES being able to use more ram. and yes i7 9xx systems use triple channel ram which means a minimum of 3gb or usually 6gb. but very few programs use that much ram. games for example tend to use no more than 2gb of system ram, in addition to vram. i'd like to find out what the other benefits of x64 are, but it remains that the only thing people can come up with is MOAR RAM LOLZ! there has to be other tangible benefits.

maybe security due to under the hood protocols and such, as well as the MAC theory that there are less malware written for this type of OS therefore it's more secure.

i'd also like to know what the advantages of using 64bit versions of programs over 32 bit versions are. if there are any. more secure perhaps? but are they also getting as much attention from their devs due to market share of x64 windows being relatively low?

[Jen Smith]

i'd also like to know what the advantages of using 64bit versions of programs over 32 bit versions are. if there are any. more secure perhaps? but are they also getting as much attention from their devs due to market share of x64 windows being relatively low?

Just my own personal observations; plenty of '32 vs 64' threads out there of course. For the most part, maximum memory aside I really didn't notice a dramatic improvement in performance, good or bad. Some things tested a little faster, some a little slower. I don't run any "high performance" applications that would really take advantage of it beyond Visual Studio, Office, gaming and the like. Most games I really didn't notice any difference at all for the most part. Some memory intense functions ran a bit better; audio/video encoding and the like I did notice a jump in performance. On the downside, memory usage is going to be higher (not double per the myth, but higher), you may run into driver issues (namely older stuff), and some legacy 32 bit apps may be a crapshoot. Security wise, in 64 bit mode you're not going to get any unsigned kernel mode drivers, so in theory, that portion is more secure. But as for running some random crapware application, zero difference.

If you're wanting to run any current Microsoft server OS, it's now 64 bit or nothing. They dropped 32 bit entirely.

[Raa]

Go x64, you'll probably upgrade later on and that makes it worth it.

As for the OS choice, it's an absolute no brainer. Windows 7, the hands down winner. I wouldn't even consider Vista.

[hanko panko]

Absolutely wrong. As long as the hardware supports x64, you can run it with however much RAM you want.

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=327145

I'd go for x64. Futureproof, and it is generally supported well at this time.

Wrong indeed, but actually more the other way around: you need x64 to use more 4GB and more...

[Billus]

You can have 512mb and still run a x64 OS. The only thing you need is hardware and driver support.

Windows 7 x64 and 2gb ram is fine. In fact, you might see a slight speed increase even with 32bit apps. And also, if you ever decide to upgrade your ram to 4gb or more, then there will be no problem with the OS recognizing all your ram.