AboutAshit Gajwani Expertise I will try my best to answer questions on Windows 2000 (x86/x64), Windows XP (x86/x64), Windows Vista (x86/x64). I will probably be able to answer questions involving hardware and device drivers. I've had experience with multi boot environments (2 or more OS on a single pc), recovering from crashes, managing virtual memory. Just drop me a line and chances are I'll be able to help you or direct you to some one who can.
Experience
Education/Credentials MSc Information Technology, University of York
Question I'm building a computer and am on the fence between XP Pro 32-bit or XP pro 64-bit. The price is no big deal since I get it free from the school (including Vista Business). So, I was thinking of installing both on different partitions. On one hand, I heard that 64-bit runs faster and can handle more RAM (I have 4 Gigs of RAM). But on the other hand, the 32-bit is compatible with more software. I will mainly be using the computer for Computer Aided Design (CAD) Software and gaming (Call of Duty 4, Crysis, Bioshock, etc..).
My system specifications are:
- D-LINK DWA-542 802.11N Draft Wireless PCI Adapter Rangebooster Network Card
- Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1600 PCI TV Tuner for Vista MCE NTSC ATSC QAM Retail Box W/ Remote & IR Receiver
- Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3200 Laser Keyboard & Mouse Black USB Antimicrobial Surface
- nGear Flash Card Reader 3.5IN Internal USB Black CF/SM/SD/MMC/MS/XD 18IN Cable Seperated Connectors
- ASUS 16X DVD-ROM Drive SATA Retail Box W/ Black & Beige Faceplates
- Samsung 203S TruDirect 20X SATA DVD Writer Lightscribe Black OEM W/ Software
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 3.5IN 500GB SATA2 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive
- Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW 22IN Widescreen LCD Monitor Black 1680X1050 8000:1 DVI VGA
- Antec Sonata III Black ATX 16IN Mid Tower Quiet Case 3X5.25 2X3.5 4X3.5IN 500W 120MM Fan
- NVIDIA 8800GT OEM 600MHZ 512MB GDDR3 1.8GHZ PCI-E Dual DVI-I *1YR NCIX Warranty*
- Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN Memory Kit
- Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L ATX LGA775 P35 1333FSB 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN Motherboard
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box
My question is, would it be a good idea to dual boot XP Pro 32-bit and XP Pro 64-bit or should I just stick with 32-bit? If I decide on an operating system later on, is it possible to remove the partition?
Answer Hi Donn,
I must say you've done your research well and know what you're talking about. I personally use XP x64 Pro and Vista X64 Business N on my notebook. In my experience XP x64 is better than XP x32 because the XP x64 platform is based on the Windows 2003 architecture and I find it to be far more stable than its x32 counterpart. Having said that both X64 and X32 will be able to access the four gig of ram you've got. X32 can access upto 4 gig of ram. If you're intending to upgrade your ram I recommend going for x64. So long as your ram is below 4 gig both versions should be fine.
Further with x64 its harder to find compatible device drivers. It was only after 19 months of using x64 that they released compatible drivers for my video card I was using an alternative version earlier. So if you're good at mixing and matching drivers and getting hold of hard to find drivers, by all means, go for x64.
Finally using X64 does not guarantee faster performance, in fact x64 can be a slower than x32 in certain situations. In order to achieve optimum speed from a x64 operating system you need to run x64 compatible programs. Most programs are designed to run on a x32 platform. When such programs are run on a x64 platform the operating system has to provide a virtual x32 interface, which involves converting/tunnelling x32 to x64 - processing information in x64 - and then back from x64 to x32 from where the output from the kernel goes to the application in x32 which its capable of accepting. This adds a lot of overhead which actually slows down the processing time of the system. So if performance is a concern x32 is a good choice for running x32 programs.
I now leave the choice of x32 or x64 to you. But no matter what operating system you choose you can always install a second operating system (same flavour different platform; x32/x64). Just make sure you have create a spare partition for later.
If for some reason should you decide to go back and uninstall the second operating system, its very well possible to do so but is not recommended. I would clean the entire disk and go for a fresh single install.
Good luck with your system, and do not hesitate to write back should you still have any questions.
