Discussion
I would wait until 64 bit versions of apps. start to appear. I have done a bit of testing with it against the 32 bit version and while it is slightly faster it's not a massive difference. Gaming appears to be an area were it would probably be of benefit as the video performance is very good.
In addition you will need to get hold of 64 bit versions of AV software, I found that the Symantec's 64 bit offering wouldn't run with my build, the same applies to some sort of personal firewall if you are going to be hooked up to the web.
If you do take the plunge just be aware that there may be a few wrinkles to sort before all is hunky dory.
HTH
In addition you will need to get hold of 64 bit versions of AV software, I found that the Symantec's 64 bit offering wouldn't run with my build, the same applies to some sort of personal firewall if you are going to be hooked up to the web.
If you do take the plunge just be aware that there may be a few wrinkles to sort before all is hunky dory.
HTH
Last month I built 4 top end games machines (FX57 based) for myself and my friends for our LAN sessions, based on the x64 platform. Personaly I wouldn't bother with it just yet.
1) The drivers are mostly Beta.
2) The antivirus packages available are thin on the ground, either Avast or Symantec Corporate, which is costly and crap also (uses tons of system resources and loads of processes running in the back ground.
3) A lot of 'so-called' 64bit apps run in 32bit mode (look in the task manager/processes and it tells you which ones are 32bit).
4) The service packs only go to SP1, there is no SP2 available yet, and although SP2 in a contravesial subject, I personally have had no probelems with it.
5) The OEM version is about the same as 32bit OEM Professional, so buy that instead.
6) FARCRY 64 is bloody marvelous and notably prettier to play than x32 BUT there are nasty issues when used in SLi mode (two graphics cards) and if you were stupid enough (ahem, read all of us) to part with the best part of £700 for a pair of high end graphic cards, you EXPECT them to be stable running a 64bit game - and they're not. We have constantly been updating everything from (mobo bios's including beta's), to system drivers and graphics card bios's which were 'supposed' to offer a solution to the various bugs that were inherent with x64. None of these provided a stable solution, but they were an improvement which led us to beleive there is a lot of work yet to be done.
7) Microsoft Anti Spyware is not supported by 64bit. (Although they did say they would release a 64bit version). But when?? Usual story.
8) Sinbins' GTR is NOT SUPPORTED AND WILL NOT EVEN RUN. I spoke with a programmer (another company) and they confirmed they had no plans to release a patch for it.
9) BF2 says on install "This game has not been tested with WinX64".. and then procedes to kick you to the desktop. We have had it running but it is not stable.
On the flipside, we all believe that 64bit boots noticiably quicker to the desktop than 32bit (odd watching it, goes from dos to black startup Windows 64bit Edition screen then straight into the desktop!) but it is our agreed opinion that its just not ready for the mainstream yet and should be viewed as a Beta release - but we bloody paid for it
I have two unregistered copies if anyone wants to buy them!
1) The drivers are mostly Beta.
2) The antivirus packages available are thin on the ground, either Avast or Symantec Corporate, which is costly and crap also (uses tons of system resources and loads of processes running in the back ground.
3) A lot of 'so-called' 64bit apps run in 32bit mode (look in the task manager/processes and it tells you which ones are 32bit).
4) The service packs only go to SP1, there is no SP2 available yet, and although SP2 in a contravesial subject, I personally have had no probelems with it.
5) The OEM version is about the same as 32bit OEM Professional, so buy that instead.
6) FARCRY 64 is bloody marvelous and notably prettier to play than x32 BUT there are nasty issues when used in SLi mode (two graphics cards) and if you were stupid enough (ahem, read all of us) to part with the best part of £700 for a pair of high end graphic cards, you EXPECT them to be stable running a 64bit game - and they're not. We have constantly been updating everything from (mobo bios's including beta's), to system drivers and graphics card bios's which were 'supposed' to offer a solution to the various bugs that were inherent with x64. None of these provided a stable solution, but they were an improvement which led us to beleive there is a lot of work yet to be done.
7) Microsoft Anti Spyware is not supported by 64bit. (Although they did say they would release a 64bit version). But when?? Usual story.
8) Sinbins' GTR is NOT SUPPORTED AND WILL NOT EVEN RUN. I spoke with a programmer (another company) and they confirmed they had no plans to release a patch for it.
9) BF2 says on install "This game has not been tested with WinX64".. and then procedes to kick you to the desktop. We have had it running but it is not stable.
On the flipside, we all believe that 64bit boots noticiably quicker to the desktop than 32bit (odd watching it, goes from dos to black startup Windows 64bit Edition screen then straight into the desktop!) but it is our agreed opinion that its just not ready for the mainstream yet and should be viewed as a Beta release - but we bloody paid for it
I have two unregistered copies if anyone wants to buy them!
I agree with everything UltimaSimon said. Coincidentally, I am in the process of building a heavily-overclocked FX-57/7800GTX SLI system for gaming and bought the OEM version of Win XP Pro x64 when I went shopping for some of the bits.
Whilst he is right that there are some advantages to x64, I agree that there are currently too many issues with immature drivers and applications not working correctly or at all. This includes important stuff - for instance, Norton Ghost 9 won't work at all (no ETA on a patch), there are relatively few anti-virus applications that work correctly, and there is literally only one independent (ie non-MS or nVidia) software firewall, and no others on the horizon.
Also, whilst there are drivers for basic kit like chipsets and VGA, many older preipherals and even some recent hardware (including, incredibly, the new SoundBlaster X-Fi range) don't have x64 drivers. Also, anything that inserts context menu entries into Explorer/desktop/other applications won't work in x64 unless the application has been properly ported - so things like archivers and media viewers may not work correctly either. There have also been problems reported with games protected by StarForce copy protection (eg GTR and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory), but I don't know if these have been resolved yet by individual patches. Basically, anything at all that requires a system driver of *any* sort will not work unless that driver has been specifically ported to AMD64.
I would say give it until next year at least. AFAIK, there are relatively few x64 games/applications at the moment, so a jump to x64 right now is not going to enhance performance in most situations. For gaming, it has been shown that there is no speed improvement in XP Pro x64 over XP Pro x86 unless the game has been ported to 64-bit, like Far Cry has. Even then, the increase is not as large as you might expect. However, for all the 32-bit programs/games, it's remarkable that despite running on what is effectively an emulation engine (WOW64), performance doesn't appear to be affected.
I am living with x64 whilst doing some initial tests and RAM overclocks on my system, but I haven't even activated my copy yet - I'll likely stash it on the shelf for now, install XP Pro x86 initially then install and activate my x64 copy perhaps some time next year, when hopefully support and take-up have improved.
You may also find this forum helpful...
www.planetamd64.com
Hope that helps!
[k]
Whilst he is right that there are some advantages to x64, I agree that there are currently too many issues with immature drivers and applications not working correctly or at all. This includes important stuff - for instance, Norton Ghost 9 won't work at all (no ETA on a patch), there are relatively few anti-virus applications that work correctly, and there is literally only one independent (ie non-MS or nVidia) software firewall, and no others on the horizon.
Also, whilst there are drivers for basic kit like chipsets and VGA, many older preipherals and even some recent hardware (including, incredibly, the new SoundBlaster X-Fi range) don't have x64 drivers. Also, anything that inserts context menu entries into Explorer/desktop/other applications won't work in x64 unless the application has been properly ported - so things like archivers and media viewers may not work correctly either. There have also been problems reported with games protected by StarForce copy protection (eg GTR and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory), but I don't know if these have been resolved yet by individual patches. Basically, anything at all that requires a system driver of *any* sort will not work unless that driver has been specifically ported to AMD64.
I would say give it until next year at least. AFAIK, there are relatively few x64 games/applications at the moment, so a jump to x64 right now is not going to enhance performance in most situations. For gaming, it has been shown that there is no speed improvement in XP Pro x64 over XP Pro x86 unless the game has been ported to 64-bit, like Far Cry has. Even then, the increase is not as large as you might expect. However, for all the 32-bit programs/games, it's remarkable that despite running on what is effectively an emulation engine (WOW64), performance doesn't appear to be affected.
I am living with x64 whilst doing some initial tests and RAM overclocks on my system, but I haven't even activated my copy yet - I'll likely stash it on the shelf for now, install XP Pro x86 initially then install and activate my x64 copy perhaps some time next year, when hopefully support and take-up have improved.
You may also find this forum helpful...
www.planetamd64.com
Hope that helps!
[k]
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