XP 32-bit or XP x64 ?

I'm hoping to get a new Core 2 Duo laptop in the near future and am considering running XP x64 (or Windows Server 2003) instead of the 32-bit edition of XP. From what I've read, there appears to be a definite performance advantage to running the 64-bit edition. XP x64 is based on the same code base as Windows Server 2003 SP1.

I know you need to have 64-bit drivers for you hardware and relevant software (eg. AV, firewall etc.), along with 64-bit shell extensions, but don't have any experience of running XP x64 myself.

I also know of some people running Windows Server 2003 SP1 on their desktops/laptops with a few tweaks.

I'd like to get people's experiences of running on XP x64 or Server 2003, so I can make a better judgement of whether to plump for it instead of XP 32-bit.

 

well as you said you have got to have all your drivers 64bit
which could be a problem.
and i dont know how much improvement you can expect to get.
or you could use windows 32bit for now which is less headache and dont havce to hunt for all those drivers and make sure your software works with 64bit.
lodore

 

I agree with lodore. From what I read here and there, finding drivers for X64 is tough. Very tough!

IMO, if you want to go 64 bit, I'd wait for Vista. It will be supported for drivers where X64 has been kinda left out in the cold...

 

But if you can get the 64-bit drivers, then I'm wondering about peoples experiences with XP x64.

I will not be going for Vista for quite a long time due to the bloat MS have introduced to implement DRM.

 

I have been enjoying my XP 64 from day one with my core2duo CPU, I have had no problems as such running my older programs like OO, Adobe etc, all the compilers run as well, also no problems with drivers, Avast runs like a dream in 64bit mode so does MS Defender x64. I would wholeheartedly recommend XP64.

 

what antivirus and firewall would you be using on x64?
and what say antispyware programs if any?
HIPS?
lodore

 

There are only few x64 AV, Avast was the first one out and works in true x64 mode, I think Nod32 as well. For AS, you only have Windows Defender x64 as the only choice for now, as for HIPS, nothing out there to my current knowledge.

Nice updated list of x64 tested software at http://www.start64.com/

 

I have also a double core, ready for winXPpro64, but I installed winXPpro32 to avoid any problems with drivers and softwares.
I was an early user of win2000pro in the past and I had nothing but problems with softwares. If I had known this in advance I would have bought win98SE, but I wasn't a member of Wilders in those days. Wilders increased my I.Q.

 

Erik,

Try dual boot and see what drivers you specifically need, most monitors, video cards, sound cards, network cards are now natively or via company supported for 64bit.

 

Hello,
Most of not all Linux distros have dedicated 64-bit versions, which run fast, smooth and will all and any application you'll ever need.
Mrk

 

I don't want to hijack this thread but i want to know how is vista 64 bit compare to xp64? Is microsoft going to neglect xp 64 bit for vista 64 bit Which of the two has better software compatiblity?

 

neither

there is very little software coded to take full advantage of 64bit
and the aps that are partially coded are generally just coded to employ more than 2GB of memory as a process or for better 64 x86 compatibility

http://www.lostcircuits.com/cpu/panorama/
http://www.workstationplanet.com/features/article.php/3294451
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=1815&p=5

almost all the aps your likely to run will simply be 32bit aps running in compatibility mode (see last link)
and their "compatibility" basically identical between the two OS's

 

Does xp64 bit has slight advantage than vista 64 in terms of resource usage, driver availablity ?
With all due respect to Ice_Czar ,Haven't things changed since the articles are two years old?
Please correct me if i am wrong.

If i had to choose between these two which shall i choose? Win xp64 or vista 64? I want to try windows based 64 bit os

 

64-bit driver and app availibility can vary, but id say XP x64 does have the upper hand.