Choosing between 64-bit and 32-bit systems
As computing has evolved, the size of the basic unit of information has gotten longer. Both Windows and CPUs now have 64-bit as well as 32-bit versions. Home PC users may wonder if they need to look ahead and consider the 64-bit version of Vista when buying a new computer. Although future home computing will likely be 64-bit, I do not personally believe that enough software and hardware drivers are available at this time to make the 64-bit version of Vista appropriate for most home users. However, if you want to learn more about the choice between 32-bit and 64-bit, George Ou has an article with some useful details. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes also comments on this issue. Among other things, he says:
Nope, while the 64-bit road is open to all that have the right hardware (and compatible drivers), but there’s little in the way of incentive to take it. While all your existing hardware might be compatible, you never know when you’re going to pick up a scanner or printer that’s not compatible, and then you have some serious headaches.
But (there’s always a but), even if you’re not planning on making the jump to 64-bit right now, it’s time to start planning for the future. There’s already a good chance that the next version of Windows (Vienna, Windows 7, whatever you want to call it) will ship as 64-bit only so slowly eliminating hardware that doesn’t have 64-bit drivers might be a good idea (although if take-up of 64-bit Vista remains low, and hardware manufacturers continue to ignore x64, Vienna might also come in 32- and 64-bit flavors after all).
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