Windows XP: 64bit professional or 32bit sp2?

Unixlord · September 11th, 2006, 02:20 PM

I'm building my first 64bit pc but I can't decide which version of windows xp to use. My primary concern is gaming but compatibility also worries me. What do you suggest?

**Regeneration** · September 11th, 2006, 02:36 PM

My vote goes to XP SP2 x86.

gen.Rage1991hrv · September 11th, 2006, 07:47 PM

same answare like rege

Kage · September 11th, 2006, 08:52 PM

Give XP x86-64 a try. You can get a free 6 month trial of XP x64 from MS. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/6...cts/trial.mspx

There isn't much for software that isn't compatible with it. 32 bit apps running in compatibility mode on XP 64 bit are actually slightly faster than on 32-bit XP.

Drivers are a little hard to come by for certain hardware though...

xiaomhome · September 11th, 2006, 09:45 PM

Its not a good idea. I use Windows XP Pro x64 daily and i use for programming pruposes only. There is no much performance diference between 32 bit and 64 bit unless if the application / game is written to work on that architecture, compatibility is extremely poor.

zme-ul · September 11th, 2006, 09:51 PM

xp 32bit all the way
xp64 has lack of hardware drivers and special 64bit software

Kage · September 11th, 2006, 10:29 PM

I have been using XP x64 for the last few months:

I have not found a single game that won't play on XP x64.

The major hardware manufacturers make drivers for it... Though, as always, Creative's drivers suck ass.

There is NO reduction in performance (with AMD CPU's). In fact... Using an Athlon64, 32 bit FPU intensive apps running in compatibility mode will recieve a slight performance increase. However, Pentium 4's with EMT64 in this situation will actually lose performance.

Its FREE to try for 6 months.

[....]

If you do use it:

Say goodbye to NGO optimized drivers.

Say goodbye to your game port.

No software or drivers to connect TI calcs.

Creative's 64-bit drivers suck more than their 32-bit versions.

Can't install MOHAA on drive C: and many other small quirks with some older 32-bit games.

[....]

If you're going to buy a new copy of XP, then give XP x64 a try (trial linky). If you already have a copy of XP that you can use, then don't bother.

zme-ul · September 11th, 2006, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kage

However, Pentium 4's with EMT64 in this situation will actually lose performance

that's not true

Kage · September 11th, 2006, 11:17 PM

I have seen numerous reports with that exact result. There was a very small decrease in performance - 2-3% or so. There was a 1-2% gain for the A64. Which is why I used the word slight.

If I had a bunch of Pentium 4's and some DDR2 I'd check it myself. But I don't so I can only go by what review sites publish.

If you have a P4 with EMT64, post some test results for me.

Unixlord · September 11th, 2006, 11:43 PM

Went with XP SP2 x86 to start with. I'm going to duel boot at see the difference for myself. After that I'll try Linux x64 but I can't really compare that with windows.

Quote:

However, Pentium 4's with EMT64 in this situation will actually lose performance

I've seen a few benchmarks to support this claim but I suspect a lot of them are rigged either directly or in rather subtle ways.

Quote:

Say goodbye to NGO optimized drivers.

That's going to have to change! Are there any future plans for a 64bit NGO driver?