Windows Vista Ultimate x64

Hello Windows Vista Forums,

I joined this forum for one reason and one reason alone. To learn about Vista. I currently use Windows XP Pro 32bit. The OS as treated me wonderfully and hasn't given me a hard time in any way. I expect Windows Vista to do the same (at least I hope it will.) I am looking to upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate x64. I need to know if my system specs will work on Vista. I already know to upgrade the RAM, so thats all settled. (Going to upgrade to 8GB) Here's my rig specs:

ALIENWARE AREA-51 7500-R5

OS Windows XP Pro 32bit

CPU Dual Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz

Motherboard EVGA NFORCE 680i SLI MB REV D MOTHERBOARD

Memory 2 QIMONDA 512MB DDR2 PC2-6400 JEDEC STD MEMORY

Graphics Card(s) NVIDIA GEFORCE 8600GTS 256MB PCI-E GRAPHICS PROCESSOR

Sound Card INTERGRATED HIGH-DEF AUDIO NVIDIA C55-MB SOUND CARD

Monitor(s) Displays SAMSUNG SyncMaster TFT-LCD Monitor

Screen Resolution 1680 X 1050 PIXELS

Hard Drives SEAGATE 250GB SATA 7200 RPM 16MB Cache System Drive

PSU 700 Watt OEM ATX PSU REV2 Power Supply

Case Full-Tower Black Case 2.0B Alienware P2 Chassis

Cooling AVC Pentium 4 Dual Core HSF High-Performance Liquid Cooling

Keyboard Alienware Standard Black Keyboard

Mouse Alienware Black Basic Optical Mouse

Internet Speed 54.0 MBPS

Other Info Bought from Alienware in late 2007

Hope you can assist me.

Regards,
alienware09

Any particular reason you're set on 8 gigs? I don't see a practical need above 4 gigs. I have ultimate 64 on my tower back home, and honestly installed it just so I could see what Crysis looked like on high settings (Damn DirectX). Other then that, I didn't really gain anything from upgrading. I don't have a taste for the GUI or the stuff that comes with Vista, but then again I use the classic theme on every computer I touch.

I agree with the above poster. 8 GB is overkill UNLESS you will be doing 3D rendering of some sort. Benchmarks also show that a system with 4GB outperforms a system with 8GB. Also, I don't think there is a game that will take advantage of all 8 Gigs. If you must have a lot of RAM, I would advise going for 6 Gigs, and putting the saved money towards a better Video card, or other component.

Hello truthkid and dbsantos77,

I will go for 4-6 GB! Which one would you suggest more though 4 or 6. You saved my wallet! You think my system would be good with Windows Vista Ultimate x64? I appreciate the tip!

Regards,
alienware09

I don't think you understand ram my friend. It'd be like a sports team filling it's roster with the best players and half of them being benched for a season. What do you do on your computer that requires beyond 4 gigs?

Hello truthkid,

Not much besides gaming, surfing the web, and school work.

Regards,
alienware09

I have an example. I have an HP laptop running Vista Home Premium 32-Bit with 4 GB of RAM, during 3D work and massive applications open - Photoshop, Indesign, Etc. I never see it go above 2 GB. Ever. I say you stay with 4 GB.

Hi dbsantos77,

Thanks for your reccomendation. I'll go with 4. It'll run Vista x64 succsesful right? I added to your rep!

Regards,
alienware09

Hey Truthkid helped you out too! Lol

Yes it will run Vista x64 fine. Like I said my laptop is on Home Premium 64-bit with 4 GB Ram, also on a Intel Dual-Core with a 250 GB hard drive.

dbsantos77 said:

Hey Truthkid helped you out too! Lol

Yes it will run Vista x64 fine. Like I said my laptop is on Home Premium 64-bit with 4 GB Ram, also on a Intel Dual-Core with a 250 GB hard drive.

Click to expand...

We've had an altercation in a previous life :D

Hello truthkid,

Thanks for your help! I added to your rep! Will my whole system be compatible with Vista x64 though?

Regards,
alienware09

Quote: We've had an altercation in a previous life :D

Hello truthkid,

What does that mean?

Regards,
alienware09

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/

edit: it refers to before you made a new username with 09 tacked on. Hope the link helps. Good luck

at this point, i would just wait for windows7 and, just as a reminder, you cant upgrade a 32bit system to a 64bit. you have to do a clean install. so you will have to back up your data and reinstall your programs. drivers shouldnt be too much of an issue (god willing).

Via a PM said:

Hi Brink,

Do you think my PC is ready for Windows Vista Ultimate x64? How much RAM should I upgrade to?

Click to expand...

I would say that 4GB of RAM is usually good enough for most people.

As long as you have 64-bit Vista drivers available for all of your devices, you shouldn't have any problems.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks Brink,

Very Helpful! Thanks!

Best Regards,
alienware09

You're welcome Alienware09.