Vista - 64-bit suggestions

Hi, I'm new here and joined up as I am about to chop in my old xp Laptop for a new 'un with Vista. I would not consider myself an os/IT expert by any means but I have some experience with hardware and os's. I "upgraded" pc's that I built up myself from DOS to Windows (releated to my question here!) in the early nineties and even installed and configured Novell Netware 3.x around the same time for a company I worked for. I have been a CAD user from the early eighties and am now a CAD manager so I have an awareness of IT issues relating to filesharing and project collaboration. I am well convinced that my CAD applications (Revit, Bentley, Autodesk etc) will utilise x64 architecture and the use of more memory and storage is welcome too. I also manipulate laser survey "point cloud" files which currently range up to 15GB for a single file (why I chose a laptop with 1TB storage) I also need to be mobile managing a number of offices CAD systems and presenting CAD technology.

Here is my question I am about to but an Asus M70VN-7T003G laptop and the Asustek reseller will only preinstall it with Vista Ultimate 32bit, what is the best route to make the os x64? Help please!

Peter

Judging from the response I see I would be on my own choosing a Microsoft OS when it comes to support. Its enough "encouragement" to wipe Vista off my new laptop and go for one of the more superior OSs out there.

Yeah, you can get a Mac if you’re afraid of stuff like this and don’t really need to use anything in Windows or 3rd party peripherals that aren’t supported by Macs. It will cost you more money but you do get access to the Genius Bar where ppl get personal help on things like “It said it put my camera pictures into the laptop but I can’t find them!”. The support for Windows isn’t that great because they concentrate most real support to businesses and higher knowledge people (who are independent anyway) so in that sense Macs are “superior” for computer phobes. As far as capabilities go, Windows is “superior” however since it has the widest range of applications support (both software and hardware) and that’s why most of the world uses it. There is a lot of 64-bit articles out there, but most of the good ones are written by tech writers and bloggers. The MS ones are “unreadable” as are most of their descriptions. MS articles fall in 2 categories: basic simplistic overview (useless); Ph.D. level jargon treatment (unreadable).