[mac128k-1984]

I'm missing something here and perhaps people can chime in on this.

What is the advantage of running 64bit vista. I've seen a number of posts here and in other forums for people running into problems.

So far, I've seen reports that 64bit vista has issues with playing games,
there's the ubiquitous driver problems and other compatibility problems.

At the end of the day what does 64bit vista give you over 32bit vista. I can understand some people wanting to run it because they own a macpro and want to run a 64bit os but that still doesn't answer the question on why 64bit over 32.

[Big Mac]

I think you're right, Vista 64 is more trouble than it's worth, at least on Mactels.

[screamingFit]

Here's a good write up.

Ask Dan: 32 or 64 bit Vista?

We tried rolling 64 bit Vista out to some CAD machines at work due to customer requirements and gave up. We had to make the machine dual boot with 32 bit and 64 bit with 64 bit only used for the one customer requirement because of incompatibilities.

Originally Posted by mac128k-1984 

I'm missing something here and perhaps people can chime in on this.

What is the advantage of running 64bit vista. I've seen a number of posts here and in other forums for people running into problems.

So far, I've seen reports that 64bit vista has issues with playing games,
there's the ubiquitous driver problems and other compatibility problems.

At the end of the day what does 64bit vista give you over 32bit vista. I can understand some people wanting to run it because they own a macpro and want to run a 64bit os but that still doesn't answer the question on why 64bit over 32.

[mac128k-1984]

Good article, the author makes a good case why running (or least trying to) 64bit vista isn't a great idea.

I'd still like people who opted for 64bit vista to chime in, so far the only advantage I know if the amount of ram that's available.

[mduell]

Support for >4GB RAM.

Which is pretty much all 64-bit gets you on any platform.

[sodamnregistered2]

Support for more ram.

Some 3d programs claim 10-20% faster render times.

I could see some audio/video programs claiming advantages.

Eventually games will use it to provide a more "cinematic" experience.

But, as of today, 64-bit is prolly more trouble than it's worth, especially if you don't know for a fact that you have an app that would benefit from 64-bit.

[tavin64]

Also microsoft does not offer high definition codec support for 32bit vista. If you want to play a blu-ray or hddvd disc in your machine you need either windows xp or 64bit vista.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by tavin64 

Also microsoft does not offer high definition codec support for 32bit vista. If you want to play a blu-ray or hddvd disc in your machine you need either windows xp or 64bit vista.

Wrong; 32-bit Vista fully supports HD DVD and BluRay.

[tavin64]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Wrong; 32-bit Vista fully supports HD DVD and BluRay.

All the article says is that the support will be all up to the software manufacturers to allow it to work on 32bit or not. Microsoft itself will offer no support in 32bit vista unlike it does for windows xp with microsoft supplied codecs. What i was trying to say is that if you want to watch an hddvd or bluray in windows media player you cant, as you need third party software to do so. Whereas if you have Vista ultimate 64bit installed you can watch an hddvd and bluray in windows media player as it supports it right out of the box. I am talking about right out of the box functionality.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by tavin64 

All the article says is that the support will be all up to the software manufacturers to allow it to work on 32bit or not. Microsoft itself will offer no support in 32bit vista unlike it does for windows xp with microsoft supplied codecs. What i was trying to say is that if you want to watch an hddvd or bluray in windows media player you cant, as you need third party software to do so. Whereas if you have Vista ultimate 64bit installed you can watch an hddvd and bluray in windows media player as it supports it right out of the box. I am talking about right out of the box functionality.

No version of Vista includes support for playing commercial HDDVDs or BluRay disks out of the box. While they include the VC1 and H.264 codecs, Windows Media Player cannot decode the DRM system (AACS) on those disks. If you want to play a commerical HDDVD or BluRay on Vista, you need to buy WinDVD or PowerDVD, which are available for both 32 and 64-bit environments. However you can create and burn high def movies in Windows Movie Maker/DVD Maker (included with Premium or Ultimate) in both 32 and 64-bit environments.

Sources:
Windows Vista: No Blu-ray/HD DVD support out of the box - News - Operating Systems Software
Blu-ray and HD DVD support in Vista out of Microsoft's hands
Windows Vista: Compare Editions