I am about to order the AMD AM2 Athlon 64 4600+, Dual Core 2.4GHz, 2x 512KB Cache. Here is a link: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=401103 Im gona get a new OS for my new rig but I just dnt get whether this is a 64 bit or a 32 bit processor. It says: 'AMD 64 technology provides full-speed support for x86 code base for uncompromising 32-bit performance, ready for 64-bit applications.' Does this mean I can install a 64-bit OS?
yep, it sure does. side note. 64bit os use 64bit extensions which require more (double the) ram to atain the same performance as a 32bit os.
Thanks, I was planning on installing 1GB of high performance RAM. Would you say thats enough? Also what are the benefits of the 64x OS over the standard 86x OS and are there lots of compatibility issues with programs and drivers etc with the 64x version. Thanks in Adv.
For Vista I would want 2 Gigs, but there are those who are running with one gig. And yes there are tons of issues being experienced with the Vista 64. Many people are holding off getting Vista until at least Service Pack 1 is released. My advice is stay with XP until the issues are resolved.
Thanks, I was already planing on installing XP Pro. Would you recommend me installing the 64 bit edition or not then?
Personally, keep to the 32 bit version because even XP 64 can give issues (though I do know people who are running it fine). There very few software applications written for 64 bit operation and the overwhelming majority of hardware and software drivers are for 32 bit processors. Plus, I think it would be a waste of your money because when you are ready for a 64 bit application Vista 64 should have all the bugs out -- or at least a significant number and that is at least a year to two years away.
