Hey all, wondering if you can help me out here. Just finished getting the bits together for my 1st self built PC, only really left with the OS to get. I cant decide whether to get the 32 or 64 bit version of Vista. Is there a real difference at the moment, or will we only see the benefit of 64bit a few years from now? I'm torn because from what ive read/heard there seems to be a lot more compatibility issues with the 64bit than the 32 bit, and since they are the same price(100euros) i need some advice on which to get. So what would you reccomend i do? So long, and thanks for all the fish! Douglas Adams. Processor=P4 3GHzHT Motherboard=ASUS P4SD-LA with Intel 848P chipset ATI 9600XT 128meg. 160g HDdont know which kind

See Response Number 20

64bit is the future and the next version of Windows after Vista scheduled to be out anywhere from 2009-2011 seems to be apparent that MS is only going to come out with a 64bit version only. But even with that said it will take another year or two after that until you see everything support 64bit natively. At least for the next few years the bulk of products being produce will favor 32bit more so than 64bit and that's mainly due to the fact that the vast majority of pc users are still on 32bit systems. So you're not going to see a lot of native support for 64bit programs for a while to come due to that reason. With that said, most 32bit programs will run on a 64bit OS, with little or no problem at all. So if you are looking at it in terms native support for 64bit programs, then you are going to be waiting for a while longer. Right now 64bit is more of a novelty at this point then anything you need. At least until a lot more programs provide native 64bit support for it.

Cheers for the quick response lads. Sabertoth, does the 2 versions on the same disc apply to the OEM versions as well, or just the Retail version? I ask because I can buy the OEM version of Vista Home premium for 100E compared to nearly 300E for the retail version, and as far as i've been led to believe, they're exactly the same OS. So long, and thanks for all the fish! Douglas Adams. Processor=Core2Duo E6700 Motherboard=ABIT Fatal1ty FP-IN9 SLI,nForce-650i SLI GPU= 8800GTS320MB HDD= Seagate Baracudda 7200.10 320

Retail Vista's come with both 64 and 32 bit versions (except home basic) on the same disc. OEM Vista's are diff, 64 and 32 bit are on seperate disc.

Cobra_R is correct. Quoted from one of George Ou's blogs: With the release of Vista, M$ simultaneously launched the 32 bit x86 and the 64 bit x64 editions. The retail editions contain both the x86 and x64 editions, while the OEM versions contain one or the other and you have to decide before you order. Now one of the most common questions people ask is whether to run 32 or 64 bit Vista. The first thing you must do is to make sure your particular CPU supports x64. i_XpUser

Thanks lads, still edging towards the 64 bit version, just because i feel i should, but is there any real difference? I mean are there more features on the 64 bit? So long, and thanks for all the fish! Douglas Adams. Processor=P4 3GHzHT Motherboard=ASUS P4SD-LA with Intel 848P chipset ATI 9600XT 128meg. 160g HDdont know which kind