Vista 32 or 64?

[jgrobertson]

I have a new Thinkcentre that came with Vista 32 but has a dual core processor and can run Vista 64.

I have Vista 64 on a laptop and it is more or less ok given that I can not run anything with legacy 16 bit code and that some of the laptop support is not good. Also the HP printer drivers for Vista 64, don't like laptops that can be disconnected form the network.

Before I load up this new machine, I am pondering whether or not to put Vista 64 on it.

Any thoughts?

[noetus]

Is it not possible to run 16 bit apps by using a virtual machine with VMWare? (That's how I do it at the moment with my 32-bit installation of Vista, I run all 16 bit apps using Windows 98 on a VM, since 16 bit apps often either don't run correctly or destabilize the OS, so it's just simpler to isolate them from the main OS this way.)

[rvacha]

Vista 64 is theoretically more stable, and in my limited experience it is. It also seems to be less buggy. IMHO don't do 64 unless you will stuff it with 4GB. I did that on my T61 and while apps are not faster when running, Superfetch seems to have a field day with all the memory and everything loads like it was reading your mind.

I have an HP network printer and they have all kinds of issues on the Vista 64 platform. If possible, download the version of the HP x64 driver package with no network support. Install those drivers, then use the "Add new Printer" feature in Vista. It will install the network printer for you, and this has been bulletproof for me. If you have an all-in-one you may lose some features doing this, but Vista is very happy with the network devices it adds itself.

People complain about a lack of drivers for Vista 64, but the bulk of the complaints come from people that don't have a nice enterprise-oriented computer. Lenovo support for 64 is really quite good and eliminates most of the common complaints. Then the real issues for you will be (short term):

1. Limited antivirus options. I settled on NOD32 and have been very happy with it
2. Limited software firewall options. I opted to do nothing here and instead rely on Vista's own firewall. It may not be the "best" but it never, ever wreaks havoc on my PDA/Smartphones like everything else does. 99% of the time I am behind a hardware firewall anyway.
3. No direct support for 16-bit apps like you mentioned. I found one app that doesn't work for me, but it was a POS anyway and now I have a good reason to delete it.
4. Limited malware/spyware options. I opted to use Vista's Defender which is a perfectly OK product

I ran the Windows OneCare Live 2.0 beta for a while (since it addresses most of the issues above) but I hated it and nuked it. I run it on multiple other x86 machines and it works OK, but the inflexibility of the Tune-up configuration will be the last straw once I deploy a new WHS server. WHS wants to run the backup show while OneCare wants to do it. Backup can be turned off in OneCare but it will never report "healthy" if you do so.

[pae77]

Comodo Firewall Pro v. 3.0 xxx just released the other day now offers full x64 vista support. Very powerful too and free! I'm running it with NOD 32 with no problems.

[jgrobertson]

I installed the 64 of my Thinkcentre A55 (not very powerful) and so far it is doing fine. It came with Vista 32. Not as many tools but it screams.

I can't tell if the ram is running dual channel though. I have two identical 1Gbyte sticks in there so it should. The MB only takes two. I think it will support up to 8 Gbyte but not sure.