Vista, DirectX 10, and the 32/64 bit conundrum

Well I just rebuilt my rig and am currently still using Win XP (Home) As anyone in the know about OS' there is a bottle neck with the ammount of RAM a 32 bit OS can handle. That being 2.75 gigs. I bought 4 gigs, mainly because the price was unbeatable, but unfortunately, win xp home is a 32 bit os and cant support the full 4, but Vista x64 can. To top it off, despite rumors (direct x9.0L), directx 10 is not comming for XP. Considering future games like Crysis will be optimal in DX10, and I want a 64 bit OS sometime in the near future, do you think Vista is worth it?

I know its got some serious annoyances, but they can at least be dissabled...

Thoughts?

According to MicroSoft 32 bit XP can handle 4 gigs of ram. 64 bit handles something like terabytes.

32-bit computing platforms such as Intel x86-based computers treat physical memory addresses as 32-bit integers. Hence, a byte-addressable 32-bit computer can address 232 = 4,294,967,296 bytes of memory, or 4 gigabytes of RAM directly.

A 64-bit computer such as an AMD Opteron-based server or an Intel EM64T-based server can theoretically address 264 bytes (16 exabytes) of RAM. As of today, this means the memory addressability is essentially unlimited on 64-bit hardware - - - Source

Edit: forgot to insert the quote close tag.

[edit on 19-11-2007 by WorldShadow]

reply to post by WorldShadow


Thanks for your reply. The issue im having is even though my BIOS recognizes the 4 gigs currently installed, windows will only show 2.75 gigs. Ive used the /3GB boot.ini swtich and it does nothing (i think thats more likely because im using xp home)

If anyone knows a trick to getting full access to the 4 gigs, please do share, Itll save me the hassle of having to upgrade sooner...

I can only respond regarding the memory, as I have No intention of switching to Vista anytime soon. Actually, they'll have to drag me kicking and screaming, since XP Pro does everything I need with few if any hiccups.

I currently have 4 X 1Gb sticks of PC3200 RAM, and while the bios registers all 4, XP Pro only recognize 3.5Gb once booted and running. Add to that a dedicated page-file drive and it makes for a smooth running and rather fast system.

Best of luck if/when you decide to go Vista.

 

reply to post by 12m8keall2c


Thanks for the reply.

And thats the issue, for xp Home you get even less recognized RAM. I have some wicked OCZ RAM that I got a very good price, but there's no point in using it if i cant get windows to find it.

Im not to keen on switching to Vista, it looks terrible, handles terrible, and seem too much trouble (my gf's dad has a laptop with it) But frankly, if i have to get a 64 bit OS just so all of my available ram can be adressed, it doesnt make sense to me to get xp pro x64, when Vista x64 also has DX10... Mind you the sticker price for Vista x64 isnt all that inviting either...

I just bought a new Laptop with Vista Home Premium installed...

Seriously thought about "downgrading" to XP Pro, but wanted to hang in there and see what developed...

It's been a couple of weeks now and I must admit, I am getting to like it...

I immediately upgraded to 2 gigs of Ram the Laptop came with 1...

Visually it is stunning, of course it is a nice laptop, and that helps...

A few quirks to get used to, having to click twice when on XP it only took one, stuff like that...

Had some trouble finding all my drivers for the programs I like, but after some searching, I am all "drivered" up now...

Over all, I am happy to be running Vista on the Laptop but I'm keeping my XP Pro on my desktop...

Semper

I have a problem going to 64bit. I have winXP 64bit OS but i find a LOT of my software has issues. Especially my video editing software. So i guess i will hold off till there is enough support for 32bit software in XP64.

Sad really cos i would have expected a huge jump in video processing performance. I also see XP32 only supports 3Gb properly. Anything more is wasted.

Apparently, the problem with the 4 GByte limit is that some of the memory is used for special purposes like graphics cards and other devices. When no one was expecting "common" systems with 4 GBytes or more the possibility of addressing 4G was used for other devices.

Some motherboards let you get hold of all the memory, but it does not work as it should on a 32 bit OS.

The problem with 64 bit Windows is the lack of drivers and software support, most hardware and software vendors ignore the 64 bit market.

As an aside, I may say that I have been using Vista for almost 18 months without any problem.

reply to post by shearder


Ya, Ive read elsewhere that 64bit OS' tend to have a lot less support and the drivers tend to suck or need serious updates.

I decided yesterday not to bother going 64bit, its going to be too much of a hassle.

I may get Vista, but not for a little while.

Semper, thanks for your appraisle of Vista, Ive only had limited exposure to it and find it difficult to navigate (simply because Im not used to it) But i appreciate your input.

reply to post by ArMaP


Your absolutly right. From what Ive read over the last couple of days, even if your mobo will support the 4 gigs (mine supports up to 8 in dual channel) many of the addresses are used for hardware such as high end graphics cards with lots of onboard memory (which I have, 8800 GTS 640 meg)

Im not completely sure, but some of what I read suggested that even though windows cant see the 4 gigs, the extra ram is used by some of the hardware on your PC.

Also, Ive read a few mixed reports that Vista can support a full 4 gigs using PAE, but im not sure.

Originally posted by InSpiteOf
Ya, Ive read elsewhere that 64bit OS' tend to have a lot less support and the drivers tend to suck or need serious updates.

Yeah so right. I couldn't even get my HSDPA/3G modem to work. Vista didn't recognize it but XP64 didn't have any drivers available. So in 2 days i installed an OS (different ones) 4 times. And the last time was back to XP pro.
Perhaps when their NEXT OS comes out there will be support for Vista and or Vista 64bit LOL