Thinkpads Forum

Just recently (December) I got my T60 with C2D 7200. I have been reading about the Vista upgrades, but there seems to be some confusing information. Some people say that you cannot go to Vista x64 from a 32-bit version of Windows. I checked out Paul Thurrott's windows website, as well as Microsoft's, and they both seem to confirm this (check Microsoft's info.)

Now, the reason this throws me off is that when I went to order the Vista upgrade from the moduslink website, it offered me Vista business 32-bit or 64-bit. Needless to say that I didn't order anything, I backtracked and thought I would get some advice first.

Now, what are the advantages or disadvantages of getting the 64-bit version for an average joe (like me) who is somewhat of a computer aficionado, but not an engineer or anything close to a geek (in the benign sense of the word )? According to this link., the 32-bit version seems to be more compatible with current software, at least for the time being.

I know my way around computers enough to work out potential problems myself, but I am also very cautious - I like to be sure before I make a move that could potentially turn into a disaster or a time-consuming rescue and restore operation. Would I be better off just getting the 32-version, just to be on the safe side? What does everyone think about this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

My take is that if you don't know whether you need 64-bit, then you don't need 64-bit, at least not in the short term.

The 64-bit version certainly has a driver shortage still, and can potentially have application compatibility issues (though the WOW layer should handle those). But given that the big gain is in being able to use >4 GB of memory, and your T60 only supports 3 GB, I would suggest that you stay with the 32-bit version.

That is actually where I was heading. I realize that my needs are certainly not those of engineers or other science-oriented people, who might indeed benefit from cutting edge technology.

That being said, I just wanted to get everyone's take on it. Thanks for your feedback.

Robert

I've read in other threads that none of the ThinkVantage apps will run in conjunction with XP64. I'm sure that his will be rectified when Vista 64 is available as a config option on new T'Pads.

As was stated here, the big benefit is the addressable memory boost. Since the T'Pad can't support it the point might be moot.

Actually there is a speed benefit as well if using double precision floating point as programs such as Matlab and some computer graphics programs do. Also, since 64-bit has a better register set than 32-bit everything compiled for 64-bit should run faster than for 32-bit.

We should be able to get an upgrade for both 32-bit and 64-bit at same time and select as is the case with retail editions.

You won't be able to perform a 64-bit upgrade on a 32-bit Win XP. You'll have to install it fresh and reinstall software and copy your data.