Have there been significant advances in support for 64bit OSs? Searching the subject on google provides with with a ton of old articles from RC1 and shit to swim through.


Do any of you successfully run x64 systems at home? What kinds of problems have you had recently (if any) with games and 3rd party software?


The last decent thread on this subject was last year. As we all know, things change quickly.

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10/25/2007 1:32:40 PM

This article I came across recently would have you believe that Vista 64-bit (and Vista in general) has caught up to XP 32-bit in performance, at least as far as gaming goes.

Quote :

"If you were debating between the 32-bit and 64-bit flavors of Windows Vista, fortunately it looks like performance is similar with either version. Both AMD and NVIDIA’s drivers for both versions of Vista perform practically identical to one another. And if you were concerned about game compatibility with 64-bit Vista, one of the guidelines Microsoft has required for Games For Windows certification is that games must be compatible with Windows Vista x64. This means if the game has a Games For Windows logo on the box, it’s been tested to run with 64-bit Windows Vista. Upcoming games like Alan Wake, Crysis, Fallout 3, Gears of War PC, and Hellgate: London are all Games For Windows compliant. Considering all this, we’d recommend our readers opt for the 64-bit version of Vista if you’ve got a 64-bit CPU. It runs just as fast in games with the added advantage that it’s more secure and can address considerably more memory (4GB max in 32-bit Vista versus 128GB in 64-bit Vista Ultimate)."

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/amd_nvidia_windows_vista_driver_performance_update/page9.asp

10/25/2007 1:42:11 PM

Eh, I've still had issues with AutoCAD, Maple, SAS, and some other software in 64 bit Vista, so meh.

10/25/2007 2:20:24 PM

crashes, install errors, or what?

10/25/2007 2:39:21 PM

Just crashes, technically Maple doesn't even really support x64 windows. It does support 64 bit Linux, Solaris and OSX just fine though.

AutoCAD 64bit runs ok most of the time, but I do get crashes much more often than I ever have with the 32 bit versions.

SAS also technically doesn't support being run on Vista 64-bit- last I checked at least.

Anyways, although most of these issues come from the programs simply not being meant to be run on Vista 64-bit or even Vista at all- I still call those pretty serious issues. Basically adding either "Vista" or "64-bit" to the description of your windows version increases the chances of there being programs you can't run. Adding both has kind of a multiplicative effect.

10/25/2007 2:50:05 PM

I've had issues with 3rd party devices not working that do not have Vista x64 driver support, but that gives the old laptop with XP 32-bit some purpose still.

10/25/2007 2:59:48 PM

When did you have issues (month/year)? What devices?

10/25/2007 3:00:55 PM

currently

with my TI calculator connect software (would never work)

basically any connected device you use you better check and make sure that they have driver support for x64, because I could imagine even things like some mp3 players might not work, but my Zune does, obviously. (if Microsoft didn't support their own mp3 player on their own OS that would be totally fucked up)

[Edited on October 25, 2007 at 3:56 PM. Reason : also most 3rd party firewalls don't work with x64, you get to use Vista firewall YAY!]

10/25/2007 3:48:06 PM

My roommates and I all use Vista Ultimate 64 bit and haven't run into any issues. In fact i have a really old cyberlink remote control i got with my dell laptop in 2004, and i plugged it right in, and Vista automatically installed the driver, and the remote works with media center now. Also the logitech wireless ps2 controllers i have worked w/o installing drivers, and the 360 controller obviously worked. Also any "games for windows" games are supposed to work for 64 and 32 bit so that's a plus.

Nero 7 doesn't seem to work in Vista, which sucks. CS3 seems to work fine, as well as solid works and autocad 08.

10/25/2007 8:41:36 PM

Vista Ultimate x64 here and not a single problem in the 4 months I've been using it.

10/26/2007 12:51:49 AM

Quote :

"Nero 7 doesn't seem to work in Vista"

i believe nero 8 does

10/26/2007 1:37:43 AM