64bit vs 32 bit WinXP

[radodrill]

I'm in the process of building a new PC for my prof; and would like to know which version of WinXP is better (price isn't an issue since the university has site licenses). This is primarily for office applications, but will also be used for Hi-Def video editing/processing.

 

System Specs:

Intel QX6700

MSI 975X Platinum V2

4Gb (2*2Gb) G-Skill DDR2-800

EVGA 7600GT

600W OCZ Game-X-Stream

320Gb 7200RPM SATA2 WD HDD

ASUS 16x DVD +- R/RW DL DVD Burner

52-in-1 Media Card Reader

CoolerMaster Centurion 5 Case

 

If he's bothered by the fan noise of the CPU & GPU HSFs then I may even install H2O cooling

[ollietwinam]

Cor that's some beasty processing power right there lol.

64-bit has limited Driver support, and I don't think there's that big of a performance gain.

[ebdoradz]

i've already tried win xp64 be4 and all the program i use to use where running in 32bit on the 64 bit os

 

so i switch back to win xp 32bits, driver support and programs support is also limited on the 64 bit os

 

i would stick with 32bit

[BuddTX]

If it were MY OWN (Work or home, but one that I would be using) PC?

 

XP 64 bit.

 

If it were a PC that I had to SUPPORT

 

XP 32 bit SP2.

 

When the Prof tries to load his three year old Camera software, or some other piece of software that he has laying around, it is more likely that the XP 64 will have a conflict.

[Lenny_Nero]

It depends on what he is going to do with the computer.

If its working with big numbers then 64 bit would be better, same if there is not going to be any problems with drivers and the like... as said.

I run both (2003 64 and Win2000) and I still have not got round to benchmarking the stuff I run to see if there is anything faster in each, but this is an area where AMD is faster over Intel as they (AMD) have full sets of instructions to do each, where as Intel its the same set just with some loped off for the 32 bit.

 

I would check as to what it is going to be doing, if its lots of perif's and hardware, that will need lots of drivers and extra programs then 32 bit, but if the main body of work will be done with just a few things and all that is going to be used works in 64 bit, then...

The other thing is to multi boot, I would never go back to a single OS box, just makes life too hard unless you are going to stick to small cluster FAT FS so you can fix it from a DOS environment.

[radodrill]

The prof will be using the PC for office work as well as hi-def video editing/processing. Peripheral devices would include the internals as well as a 1/3 yr old Sony Hi-Def video camera, a 1/3 yr old HP 2600n Laserjet printer, a USB HDD, and a few USB flash drives; so I don't think drivers should be much of an issue.

 

One good this is that the university also has tech ppl who can offer support; I may also ask them what their opinion is.

[Angry_Games]

the only real problem I ran into on my 6 month XP-64 install was I could not print to our HP printers (one inkjet, one laserjet).

 

I don't print reams of data, but I do need to just be able to hit print and have the sucker print out, not go through the hassle of copying it off to another machine that CAN print to the HP printers and all that jazz.

 

It might sound like a little thing that wouldn't really be a problem, and it wasn't at first...but about 3 months in, it really got to be a hassle that I no longer wanted to do, and went back to 32-bit.

 

Everything else seemed to work fine, except 64 used more resources (though I never noticed any drop in performance at all, probably because the used resources were negated by the small performance boost of 64-bit OS...?)

[radodrill]

Thanks A_G; I'll be sure to check on the availability of the 64bit drivers for the HP laserjet 2600n. If all drivers are available then I'll probably install the 64bit OS.

[Lenny_Nero]

I only have one computer with my two printers connected to it, I then have them connected via my networks, so any computer, running anything can just print no matter if there are drivers or not.

 

Does mean I have to get up and walk, or push the chair back depending on where I am, but it just means if the OS can do TCP/IP...

[Angry_Games]

I only have one computer with my two printers connected to it, I then have them connected via my networks, so any computer, running anything can just print no matter if there are drivers or not.

 

Does mean I have to get up and walk, or push the chair back depending on where I am, but it just means if the OS can do TCP/IP...

 

when you connect to a network printer, you still have to install printer drivers so that your computer knows how and what to print to across the network...

[Lenny_Nero]

Oh... ok mine must be different then as I dont have any drivers on this computer for my newer printer, which would not work on the computer with it installed without the drivers, but that disk has never been near these computers... and I just called it up fine, I dont have its tools able to be used on this (or any other) computer, you just need to print from something... like text and code from TextPad or Vim, graphics from Hypersnap or PS and Firefox so on. Same with the scanner and plotters.

 

I can do the same from any computer anywhere via the interweeb.

[PolloLOCO]

I just installed XP pro 64 bit, and like everyone else the lack of driver issues. I ran into some problems during the upgrade. I installed the vid drivers before the SP2. This gave me a headache, something about a dll file from direct x 9c missing. I finally got everything squared and installed 3d max 9 and maya 8.5. This progs love the extra memory and utilize it while rendering. The sweet thing about this is that 64bit of xp is free!!! through school. After of 3 days of usage i think i prefer it for my 3d programs instead of 32bit xp. So far I like the OS and how dual boot option works like a charm.