Vista Ultimate Red x32 to x64

[Mike Lynch]

I have Vista Ultimate Red x32 running on an x32 Pentium-4 Hardware Platform.

I want the better performance of an x64 Hardware Platform.

Besides purchasing an x64 Hardware Platform, which Version of Ultimate do I need:

A Full Version of Ultimate x64?

An Upgrade Version of Ultimate x64?

Might the Ultimate Red Version I have contain an x64 Version?

If it could, do I need the x64 Hardware Platform to "detect" it's presence?

Best regards,

Mike Lynch

 

[l)ark_Scorpion]

If it is the disk contains the Full version of Windows, then I think there is an option to pick between 64 and 32 bit.

Are you sure that your computer can run 64 bit? Most can run both 32 and 64 bit, but if you have older hardware, it may just be 32 bit. Also, if you just have 2 gigs of ram, it wouldn't be worth the pain of switching from 32 to 64 bit, because there wouldn't be much of a performance difference. If you are running with a lot of ram, like 4 gigs or more, and multitask while running a lot of programs, then 64 bit would suite you.

 

[smarteyeball]

As petoskey mentioned, it would be prudent in determining whether your CPU actually supports the x64 architecture.

Download CPU-Z to find the exact model of your CPU:
CPUID

Armed with that information, a quick google search will reveal whether it supports x64.

Another factor to consider would be the amount of RAM the system has. If it is less than 4GB, there really won't be much advantage in going from x32 to x64.

 

[niemiro]

Hi,

If you do decide to go 64bit, and your Vista disk does NOT contain 64bit, then here is the official Microsoft website to order Vista x64 SP2 media: Windows Vista Alternate Media

As far as I know (please correct if wrong!) your product key applies to your version of Windows (ie Ultimate) and either 32 or 64bit (to be switched between whenever you like). I believe that Vista Ultimate retail contains a 64bit disk, but OEM Ultimate may not.

Richard