Something that one of my friends brought to my attention is that I need to run a 64 bit processor since I have 8 gb of ram installed. Is this true and what operating system do you suggest? I currently have xp sp2 and vista home(originals)
If I were to guess I need to get vista ultimate x64
You will need a 64-bit OS to use 8GB, but personally, I see no point. You will never use more than 3GB for a long long time, and 64-bit OSes are not quite as good as 32-bit ones go for driver compatibilities etc.
So would it be in my best interest to yank 4 gb of ram out of my computer? I'm just so confused these days and probably need a nice vacation to Atlantis Casino in the Bahamas :)
and 8GB ram will be superb, as it boots the speed of vista.
as the 8GB can hold so much info, there needs to be less comunicating between the CPU and the slowest part of the computer the HDD.
lemmie pull up an article/review
Originally posted by toms: Conclusion - 8 GB Improves Efficiency And Comfort
Our testing brought us to a clear conclusion: if you often use several memory hungry applications simultaneously, then there's really no way around upgrading your system to 8 GB. Working with applications, and especially switching between them, is much more efficient than with a typical 2 GB configuration. Also, it would even be feasible to run a modern 3D game that already takes up more than 1 GB of memory by itself while having another application with a large memory footprint running in the background. Thus, load times in Windows are a thing of the past, as is the constant swapping of Windows components to the hard drive. The best part is that such an upgrade is not even expensive, as 8 GB of memory is already available for as little as $198
Experienced users can give their systems another little performance boost by deactivating the paging file. However, you should always keep an eye on the system's status, as you may otherwise suddenly find yourself confronted with a system crash.
Large memory sizes are especially worthwhile when virtual machines are used, such as those provided by VMware and Microsoft Virtual PC. With enough RAM at their disposal, users no longer have to stop the individual VMs, but can simply switch between them instead.
Nonetheless, even veteran users should expect to encounter a few setbacks when using 8 GB of RAM. Be prepared to encounter driver problems, and not just on exotic hardware. Some system tools may also spring a nasty surprise on you. On the other hand, falling memory prices should allow 64 bit systems to spread fairly quickly, which in turn should mean that driver issues will be sorted out fairly quickly.
Those who don't own a 64 bit version of Windows but have a 32 bit full retail version can order a 64 bit version directly from Microsoft, and will only have to pay shipping and handling fees. Users with an OEM version of Vista aren't quite so lucky. Here, it depends on the goodwill of the PC vendor, as Microsoft does not offer direct upgrade support for such versions. In the worst case, the user will be forced to spend more money to buy another license.
All that means is that windows takes ages to boot up, rather than taking ages to load your games. As far as I'm concerned, I'd sooner wait for applications to open when I need them, not when I boot my PC up.
It took some deciding but i went with a 32 bit operating system (vista ult)and yanked out 4 gb of ram for now. My new computer is awesome and I thank everyone for there input.
