64bit vista

Hello,
with ram so cheap £52 for 4gb. already got 2gb.
i was thinking when i get some cash i may get 64bit vista and 4gb of ram.
plus my birthday is soon.
around £100 total.
who here is using 64bit vista?
and any issues?
i can get 64bit drivers for all my hardware.
kaspersky works on 64bit
paragon drive backup works on 64bit

will have to check apps like media monkey,admuncher,foxit reader etc

 

Hi Lodore,

I am using Vista Home Premium x64 on a new AMD Triple Core with 4 gigs ram. Running it for about a month now. No issues at all to speak of. I am quite happy with it. I have not installed a lot of software, but then again, I don't find the need for too much extra. I am using the Norton 360 trial that came with it, it's fine for me, no other security software, just router. My needs are fairly simple, but so far it's been a plus experience.. I use IE7 x32 most of the time. IE7 x64 is noticeably faster and pretty cool, but no flash for it yet, so I stick with x32 on that one. I am trying to keep it clean, so I am just installing software on an as-needed basis. I don't think you'll have any trouble with the other apps you mentioned either (MM, Foxit, etc).

 

I am using Vista 64 since a couple of weeks back. I have had no issues. I´ve found drivers for all my hardware. Just visited the hardware homepage and download.
Not many software are real 64bit yet (especially security software, but I am drifting away from the hardcore stuff anyway) but all software that I am interested in works just fine in x86 mode. I just have UAC, Windows Defender, Look´n´stop firewall and Boclean as security. Maybe I´ll add some antivirus if something lightweight realtime pure AV comes along.

Computer is much more responsive, software starts up lightning fast. Even 32bit software. Dramatic improvement in loading time for Firefox for example. No need to worry about having lots of software open, system stays as fast as if I´ve had just one program open. (Vista Ultimate with all the bling bling enabled)
I find it harder and harder to see any reason to use 32bit OS any more.
The native security built into Vista 64bit is a bonus.
I am pleased with it.
Imo 64bit is the way to go.
Now that people are starting to use Vista 64bit more and more will generate more interest for software developers to make their software/drivers 64bit.

 

I have been using HP x64 for almost three months now and I have noticed an improvement over 32bit as well. I had no problems with drivers because after the install Problem Reports and Solutions gave me links to drivers that Vista did not have--Intel ICH9 Controller, Creative X-Fi, and Motorola modem. In the Intel driver's case the link was to a direct download of the driver in a zip file. The other two just was links to the drivers section of their website (I already had X-Fi's driver as it's installer does both 32 and 64 bit).

I just recently added a Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1800 card to my desktop computer but was disappointed that Hauppauge doesn't have a 64bit version of it's WinTV2000 software (they are reportedly working on it). But Windows Media Center works fine with the card.

64 bit is really starting to come around as everyday I seem to find an article about it like this one I just read on Softpedia's news page.

 

I use 64 bit Vista, Server 2008 and now with Hyper-V no issues at all, go for it.

 

I built a computer about three months ago and agonized over what OS to install. Finally settled on Vista Home Premium x64. I have been happy with it so far. Seems to be very stable and fast. That could be because I upgraded from a ten year old Gateway PC 700 MHz with 392 megs of memory though.

I have Outpost Firewall Pro 2009 x64 and NOD32 x64 for my security software and am behind a router. I have Firefox, Proxomitron, IDA, and PDF Xchange installed plus a few others. I have used foxit reader though so it does work on Vista x64 but I find I like pdf xchange better.

All in all I would say I am satisfied with Vista x64.

 

Vista x64 is a far better option to x32 Vista and x32 XP. You don't need any security stuff for it, Vista's firewall can be set to outbound protection as well and enable Defender in Spynet mode to make it into a full blown HIPS. Add a good AV and enable DEP for all programs and run a limited account and you will have a fast running system which is secure and stable as well.

 

I´m using Ultimate64 since 09/2007 and have to say that was the best choice I did.

advantages:
# UAC
# BitLocker
# Backup & Restore the complete computer
# build-in Firewall with endpoint to endpoint security and different network-zones
# more stable as XP
# sandboxed IE (protected mode)
# DEP (it´s only suggestive if the core is supported it)
# lower right management if you use 64Bit

I did spend Windows Live OneCare as a native 64Bit-Scanner and I´m happy with this.

If you go with Vista x64 I would recommend Vista Ultimate.

 

glad to see that people like vista 64bit.
so far cheapest ive found for vista ultimate 64bit OEM is £107 with free delivery.
hopefully i cam find it a bit cheaper.
which makes total including ram around £160
how much disc space does vista ultimate with service pack 1 take?

is it easier to configre the windows firewall for inbound and outbound on vista?
or do you use a third party tool? if so which?
do you use a standard limited account in vista 64bit or do you use a third party tool to help?

@devil frank do you use oem vista 64bit ultimate?
does it have all the recovery options?
for example its no good having the completely computer backup and recovery if the windows vista 64bit oem dvd is limited and doesnt have the option to restore the complete computer backup.
you say more stable than xp what about speed?

 

Hey Peter,
now ive got my data on different partitions i dont mind reinstalling. i prefer a fresh start. an upgrade can cause issues.
has vista finaly drawn you away from xp?

 

I don't know how much the full install with sp1 takes but my vlited version of ultimate with sp1 uses around 8GB of space once i've set everything up and installed all my regular software. That doesn't include the pagefile as i have that on another drive.
The firewall is pretty easy to configure, upon installation it asks you what zone you want to use, i think its home/work/public. You simply select your desired zone and thats pretty much it. If you want some simple outbound control you can use vista firewall control which is free does a good job.
In regards to performance i'd say its on par with xp, in some areas its even quicker imo and overall i just find it much better to use.

 

First - I have a OEM (SystemBuilder) version of Ultimate with all features but without support of M$ (no assistence per phone). And yes, the recovery options are available. There are no limits of functionality. The installation is here using ~ 23 GB in the windows folder.

Second - as a 3rd party solution I use Windows Live OneCare. This solution will manage your firewall, your recovery, your updates very silent and is an antivirus application that will include Windows Defender. You can use this for 3 PC´s and manage the backups in a circle from a Main-PC - very usefull.

Third - the Windows Firewall is not easy to manage. That´s not a "set-up and forget" application.

Oh, and the speed. You will be impressed. The Prefetch is pumping the most used programms, drivers etc. into the RAM so you have a very fast access to this. If you use Office2007 you will see the difference. Start Word and it is open so fast because prefeched.

 

I have noticed that mostly all the desktop computers for sale from Circuit City, Best Buy, Staples, etc., come with Vista 64bit. It seems 32bit Vista is not even available except on the low price end.

 

that is very good. concidering how cheap ram is it makes sence.

 

is it worth getting 64bit vista if someone buys a computer with 2gb of ram now?
im just thinking that soon my sister is getting a new pc and wondering if its worth her buying 64bit vista so she can upgrade ram later?

 

I think it's easiest if you just buy the new PC with Vista x64 and 4 gigs ram up front. That should last quite a while....

 

problem is my sister has limited budget...

 

For 2GB RAM, use XP x64, will run fine and secure. Run my friend's PC with a dual core AMD 4000 and 2GB RAM and it runs fine with LUA and DEP enabled.

 

I guess it is all up to what she does with her computer.
I have 4GB RAM. My swapfile is fixed to 768MB.
I use 1GB for a ramdrive and I still have during normal use 2GB free.
When I put some load on the computer (load a lot of software)
The free memory amount drops to 1,3GB. I have never have had less free ram than that during my time with Vista 64.
I have hard time using the ram even though I try to load alot of software in the background and tray.
If I were to edit raw photos and stuff I guess more RAM would be used.

 

£107 means it is 57.357 bones U.S. http://www.x-rates.com/

That's not a lotta Quid! How many P is that?

Got link?

 

Yep, ok, well, as mentioned then 2 gigs ram is probably ok. x64 should run on that, then when she's able to add more, there is room. Fortunately desktops can be had quite reasonably nowadays if you shop around.

 

I have actually seen Vista x64 drop my free ram down below 1 gig here, with very little going on other than email, browsing and some music. I have 4 gigs here also. I think x64 attempts to cache as much stuff as possible when it's been running for a while. Linux does the same, uses as much ram as it can for cache and buffers...