Totally new to Vista x64...

I'm so new to it, I haven't even gotten it yet, but I'm going to, in the next couple days.

I recently became interested in what's known as "Folding". So much so, I bought an Intel DG33BU motherboard and an Intel Core2Quad Q6600 (G0 SLACR) CPU and RAM to Fold as fast as I dared afford! And it's FAST!

Well, then a few months ago, I kinda lost interest in Folding and my system (which I call "QuadSlacker"; I'll explain the name if you like) has been more or less collecting dust ever since.

My main reason(s) for getting Vista Home Premium (x64 or "64-bit"), period, is:

1) It's the latest Windows available, so I won't (shouldn't?) be left behind anytime too soon.
2) It's 64-bit, so it takes full advantage of my motherboard/CPU.
3) It's something DIFFERENT than what I'm already familiar with (Ubuntu 64-bit, MacOS X, and Windows XP) and encourages me to learn about a new OS.
4) It will actually make my system USEFUL again.

I've done some reasearch and found out that Intel has a, more or less, full 64-bit suite for Vista, driver-wise, for the DG33BU. So, I'm covered there. If I decide to use a PCIe video card, ATI has Vista 64-bit ready drivers. Haven't checked nVidia, but I'd imagine the same applies.

So, what I want to know is... are the "64-bit Vista woes" no longer as big of an issue? Will 32-bit games/apps run in 64-bit Vista? What is the recommended amount of RAM to use with Vista Home Premium x64 for a smooth experience? Are there 64-bit anti-virus/anti-spyware apps available?

Just trying to get a general feel of the environment before plunging headlong into the Vista abyss! But I'm sure looking forward to it!

Hi Luposian,

Welcome to Vista Forums.

Vista 64 bit has gotten a lot better since most device vendors, including nVidia, now have driver support for it. Usually most 32 bit programs will run with no problems in the 64 bit Vista. Usually the exceptions are programs that were designed specifically for the 32 bit Vista like some utility programs.

I would recommend at least 2 GB of RAM, but 4 GB will give you a smoother and faster running system.

I use the free Avast antivirus, Comodo Firewall Pro, and Spybot Search & Destroy for my 64 bit Vista. You can find these and others listed here that I have tested without any problems here:

Free Software List for Vista


Hope this helps,
Shawn

The Intel DG33BU can take up to 8Gb. I currently have two 512Mb (1Gb) in it, currently. Is Vista x64 any more "resource hungry" than Vista 32-bit? My son's laptop came with Vista and it eats up a ton of RAM, right a bootup! But, from what little I've used it, I can't say I hate it. It's kinda hard to navigate around, but that's the "charm" of a new OS. Something new to learn. And Vista is different enough from XP as to warrant that "adventure". XP was close enough to 98SE/Me, that I simply preferred goin to Classic mode, so I could navigate it easier. But Vista is so different to me, I think it's worth the adventure to figure it out...

My friend tells me "Vista [what a vacuum does]", and tells me everyone he knows says the same thing, for various reasons. I'm not going to hate an OS, just because everyone else does. In fact, one of the reasons I'm trying out Vista, is to actually experience the things everyone else says makes Vista [what a vacuum does]. I'm not afraid to pay for an OS I end up hating... but I'm gonna see/experience it, first hand, and not avoid Vista just because everyone else SAYS to.

Guess I've always been kinda a rebel (Atari ST, Amiga, Apple II, Power Macintosh, etc.). It's why I *used* to enjoy being a Mac user. But since Apple's Intel switch... I just don't have the "Apple Spirit" I used to. If it's gonna be a PC under the hood, then use an OS that was MADE for a PC, like Windows. I'm not paying Apple's prices to buy a PC that runs MacOS X. I'd sooner buy Windows Vista and run it on a Core2Quad system I built myself... oh, wait... that's what I'm GONNA be doing! :-p

Luposian

x64 is no more "resource hungry" than 32bit. As for the RAM usage, that would be Super Fetch doing its thing and using more RAM is a good thing. Many people find it hard to wrap their heads around that fact. But think of it this way, you have this super fast memory in your computer not being used, when you want to run a program it first has to load it from your hard drive, which by comparion is extremely slow next to RAM. What Super Fetch does is learn you computing habits and attempts to anticipate what you use most and load it into RAM ahead of time, that way when you go to launch your favourite application its already in memory and loads much much faster. Im completely over simplifying Super Fetch here, but you get the point. Unused RAM = Wasted RAM.

Luposian,

Vista was designed to take advantage of the newer more powerful hardware these days, so it is best to run Vista on a newer system and not a old one for the best experience and performance. Unfortunately, that's what a lot of people with older systems found out.

Vista 64 bit and 32 bit use about the same amount of resources. It's just that the 64 bit Vista will allow you to use more than 3GB of RAM, and runs more efficiently when using 64 bit programs with it instead of 32 bit ones.

Shawn

Hi Luposian,
I also just installed Windows Vista Home Premium x64 with SP1 a few days ago on my Intel DP35DP board and I couldn't be happier. My experience with Windows 2000 (which I still have on an old Dell 866mhz) and Windows XP on a Dell laptop is that Visa just fits in fine
I have a few 32bit programs installed on the OS and they run great. AVG free, Diskeeper Pro, and a few others but I'm amazed as to the stability of this 64 bit system.
My system is a everyday email, photo editing, internet machine. I run a Intel E8400, 4GB Kingston ValueRam @ 1.8v, Seagate ES.2 250gb HD, a 256mb "cheap-o" video card that gives me a 4.5 windows experience index, and a nice Antec Solo quiet case. I'm not a gamer so no need for a heavy duty graphics card or OC'd ram. Can't do that with some Intel boards.
So hope you have a happy install. BTW for information, help, or whatever, here is where you will find it
Barnabas