Another upgrade question

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I have:

AMD Athlon64 4000+ Single Core
Asus A8n32 SLI Deluxe
Nvidia 7900GT
2G PC3200 - don't recall the brand
Windows XP Home - I have SP2 installed and updated but the disc I have is
for SP1
I use this machine for gaming

Q1 - will I benefit from buying the 64bit version of Vista?

Q2 - Every other year or so I upgrade my pc or I experience some sort of
crash that requires a full install of windows. If this happens to avoid
re-installing XP and then Vista I assume I should by the full version of
Vista and not the upgrade correct?

Q3 - Although Vista has only been out now for hours does it seem stable?
Would I be better off waiting a few months for Nvidia to release new drivers
and Microsoft to release a few updates?

Thanks,
Keith
 
Keith C said:
I have:

AMD Athlon64 4000+ Single Core
Asus A8n32 SLI Deluxe
Nvidia 7900GT
2G PC3200 - don't recall the brand
Windows XP Home - I have SP2 installed and updated but the disc I
have is
for SP1
I use this machine for gaming

Q1 - will I benefit from buying the 64bit version of Vista?
Click to expand...

No - you do not have more then 4Gb, and are probably not using apps
that would benefit from you buying he x64 versions of them.
Q2 - Every other year or so I upgrade my pc or I experience some
sort of
crash that requires a full install of windows. If this happens to
avoid
re-installing XP and then Vista I assume I should by the full
version of
Vista and not the upgrade correct?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily - just make a full system backup after you upgrade as
you can bare metal restore from this using the tools on the bootable
upgrade DVD.
Q3 - Although Vista has only been out now for hours does it seem
stable?
Would I be better off waiting a few months for Nvidia to release new
drivers
and Microsoft to release a few updates?
Click to expand...

It has been out since last November last year and is deployed on tens
of thousands of desktops and has been for months now. There are
already new nVidia drivers for Vista and a few updates from
Microsoft - so no need to wait.
 
I have:

AMD Athlon64 4000+ Single Core
Asus A8n32 SLI Deluxe
Nvidia 7900GT
2G PC3200 - don't recall the brand
Windows XP Home - I have SP2 installed and updated but the disc I have is
for SP1
I use this machine for gaming

Q1 - will I benefit from buying the 64bit version of Vista?
Click to expand...

Only if you have a bunch of 64-bit apps, or are planning on upgrading to
64 bit apps soon. Look to the future and see how the apps (and the cost)
fits in. If you plan on going full 64 bit soon, by all means, go 64.
Q2 - Every other year or so I upgrade my pc or I experience some sort of
crash that requires a full install of windows. If this happens to avoid
re-installing XP and then Vista I assume I should by the full version of
Vista and not the upgrade correct?
Click to expand...


Hmmm...interesting question! Previous versions of Windows, including XP,
only require that you actually have a licensed copy of a former Windows
OS, NOT that it be installed. So, for example, with a new machine, I boot
the XP install disk, and at a certain point it says something to the
effect of "Cannot find previously installed version of Windows. Please
insert your CD in the CD ROM drive and click next". It them goes out,
looks at my previous install disk and then says OK and continues with the
install. That has been the way it has worked in the past.

Q3 - Although Vista has only been out now for hours does it seem stable?
Would I be better off waiting a few months for Nvidia to release new
drivers and Microsoft to release a few updates?
Click to expand...

Some people have had trouble with NVidia, some have not. What type of card
is that? AGP or PCI; is it part of the MOBO or a separate card? Most
people seem to be having trouble with NVidia on the MOBO; separate cards
seem to fare OK.

NVidia has Vista drivers on there web site; since you know the model you
should have no problem.

My 'answer' has probably raised more questions than you originally asked!
Sorry about that, but at $359 for the Retail box, you need to think these
things through!
 
Q1 - doubtful
Q2 - I'd recommend to buy the full version
Q3 - Adequate drivers for your Nvidia card will be in the box.
 
Vash The Stampede said:
On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:10:00 -0800, Keith C wrote:



Hmmm...interesting question! Previous versions of Windows, including
XP,
only require that you actually have a licensed copy of a former
Windows
OS, NOT that it be installed. So, for example, with a new machine, I
boot
the XP install disk, and at a certain point it says something to the
effect of "Cannot find previously installed version of Windows.
Please
insert your CD in the CD ROM drive and click next". It them goes
out,
looks at my previous install disk and then says OK and continues
with the
install. That has been the way it has worked in the past.
Click to expand...

The point being that the method you discuss above is no longer
supported as having a CD was never a good enough check of you actually
owning a genuine copy of the qualifying product.
Upgrades must now be started from within a Genuine and Activated copy
of the qualifying OS.

This is already discussed to death on this newsgroup about all the ins
and outs of this method.
 
Thanks for the quick reply Mike.

What if games such as Far Cry and others offer 64 bit patches? Do I need a
64 bit OS?

You mentioned I don't have 4G. Are you referring to system memory or
processor speed? Sorry in advance if it's a dumb question...

Vista has been in beta testing for a year? That's great! After all the
testing and updates does it seem stable?

Thanks again
 
Keith C said:
Thanks for the quick reply Mike.

What if games such as Far Cry and others offer 64 bit patches? Do I
need a
64 bit OS?
Click to expand...

Yes - you will need a x64 OS for these.
You mentioned I don't have 4G. Are you referring to system memory
or
processor speed? Sorry in advance if it's a dumb question...
Click to expand...

x64 can address more than 4GB of RAM (system memory) so a 2GB system
is not a great candidate unless you have other drivers such as a x64
app like the games you mention).

Vista has been in beta testing for a year? That's great! After all
the
testing and updates does it seem stable?
Click to expand...

Vista has been in development for over 5 years and beta releases have
been external to Microsoft for over 3 years so it is well tested.

Yes Vista is very stable
 
Thanks again Mike,

My motherboard can take up to 4G of memory. Would you advise buying 2 more
G's to run the 64bit version of Vista in all it's glory?

Aside from the games I play do you see 64 bit apps as the wave of the
future?

Any compatability issues running the 64bit version of Vista and 32 bit apps?

Promise this will be my last set of questions. Thanks for your help. Are
you a Miscrosoft employee or just a very helpful citizen of these forums?
 
The 64bit versions run in all their glory on 2GB. However, I follow Mark
Minasi's rule about adding ram: "If you turn on the computer and the room
lights don't dim, add more ram." In other words there are few downsides to
more ram. However, if you have a new mobo make sure that it will work
correctly. Mine does not. x86 operating systems will use 4GB OK but x64
operating systems blue screen with 4GB on board. It is a BIOS bug that I
hope a future BIOS update will fix. Worth checking out the forum on your
mobo manufacturer's website. Especially if you have a new Asus mobo.
 
Keith C said:
Thanks again Mike,

My motherboard can take up to 4G of memory. Would you advise buying
2 more
G's to run the 64bit version of Vista in all it's glory?
Click to expand...

Your x64 apps will run fine in 2GB - it is just if they are very
memory huingry such as audio visual editting software or CAD then they
can address more then 4GB if your motherbard can take it .
So 2Gb is fine unless you are feeling the pinch from your apps.

Aside from the games I play do you see 64 bit apps as the wave of
the
future?
Click to expand...

Yes absolutely server apps are already becoming x64 only for example
Microsoft Exchange desktop apps are getting there to - slowly but
surely just as we do not use 16-bit today we will not be using many
32-bit apps by the end of the decade.
Any compatability issues running the 64bit version of Vista and 32
bit apps?
Click to expand...

Not too many - certainly little things like IE on x64, most plug-ins
are x86 hence the reason you get both a 64-bit and a 32-bit browser on
the x64 platforms.
If the app is entirely self contained as 32-bit it should be OK on the
x64 products. But is always worth checking with the app vendor as to
there support policy for running the app on x86 or x64.
Promise this will be my last set of questions. Thanks for your
help. Are
you a Miscrosoft employee or just a very helpful citizen of these
forums?
Click to expand...

One helps where one can.
 
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