32-bit or 64-bit vista?

[DawnOfDoom]

32 Bit runs on 64 Bit chips just fine. There is coding differences but none that affects it so much that you can not run 32 bit ona 64 Bit chip.

I mean like program wise?

 

[KSoD]

Yes there are certainly applications that are specifically coded for 64 Bit just like there are drivers that are specifically coded for 64 Bit. Some 32 Bit applications are still using a 16 Bit installer which wouldnt load on 64 Bit at all.

This is all for Windows Vista. The coding between the 2 is very small. But for XP and XP X64 there is a major difference. There is a lot of code done differently between those 2.

This is all relative. Yes 32 Bit is older but that doesnt mean that all 32 bIt apps work on 64 BIt. I gave 1 example above how anything with a 16 Bit installer wont work. Another thing is anything that is 16 Bit. It can run on 32 Bit cause 32 Bit can still do 16 Bit while 64 Bit can not.

So you would have to be more specific as to which applications you wanted to know about. As it varies from application to application.

 

[DawnOfDoom]

ahh makes sense.

 

[GuitarFreak1857]

how will a 32-bit OS run games with 4GB of ram? good?

I'm thinking of upgrading to this:

Newegg.com - ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

I'm unsure whether i should do 2gb or 4gb if i'm going to run a 32-bit vista/xp

 

[KSoD]

32 Bit can not utilize 4GB of RAM. It will use 3 to 3.5GB of RAM.

 

[GuitarFreak1857]

32 Bit can not utilize 4GB of RAM. It will use 3 to 3.5GB of RAM.

I know. my question is would it run better with 2GB because i heard that it's not good to put 4GB on an xp system.

 

[KSoD]

Go for 3GB. You will be fine then. You asked how it would run with 4GB. I just answered that.

 

[Niverive]

I think he means would it make his system work with 4GB of ram on the board vs. just having 2GB, but its not a problem, it will only read 3-3.5GB because it will use the resources for other components, if you put any PCI cards in after having 4GB on the board your ram will decrease further because it only has enough resources for so much.

 

[KSoD]

That is not true. I have had several occasions on which just having 4GB in the mobo has caused a install of the OS to fail. EricB just had one recently. So it would be advised not to use 4GB at all with 32 Bit OS's as you might not even get your OS installed.

http://www.techist.com/forums/f9/phenom-9500-compatible-32-bit-windows-167001/

That thread there. The last post. EricB solved his issue by removing 2GB of his RAM.