# 32-bit or 64-bit? How to decide which edition of vista to pick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 23, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/32-bit-or-64-bit-how-to-decide-which-edition-of-vista-to-pick/389082 "2007-01-23T13:34:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/32-bit-or-64-bit-how-to-decide-which-edition-of-vista-to-pick/389082/1 "2007-01-23T13:34:26Z")
The topic says it all. I have a dual-core AMD64 and I can’t decide. On the one hand, 64-bit holds the promise for _potential_ performance improvements and, I suppose, better support for large quantities of ram (\>4 gb). On the other hand, I am worried about incompatibility issues with older software and drivers for semi-obscure devices. It’s been a little while since AMD and Intel processors have supported 64-bits so this must be a question many people will ask themselves when/if they decide to upgrade. Some expert opinions would be welcome. Thank you for your time, Gozu ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/32-bit-or-64-bit-how-to-decide-which-edition-of-vista-to-pick/389082/2 "2007-01-24T03:50:08Z")
I still have faith. ---
**Author:** ![seenidog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@seenidog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seenidog)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/32-bit-or-64-bit-how-to-decide-which-edition-of-vista-to-pick/389082/3 "2007-01-24T04:13:38Z")
Don’t even worry about it, wait for service pack 2 to come out, by then a lot of others will have been doing most of the bleeding and there will be much more information available so you can make an informed choice. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/32-bit-or-64-bit-how-to-decide-which-edition-of-vista-to-pick/389082/4 "2007-01-24T06:29:09Z")
You’ve pretty much hit the issues. On the plus side, you’ll be able to support more memory, and you’ll get a minor speed improvement from 64-bit apps. There’s a better security model, too, but I’m not sure how big a deal that is, since even the 32-bit side is considerably improved. On the minus side, you’ll wait longer for drivers (it’s harder to port to 64-bit than 32), CANNOT use an unsigned driver (which means a lot of free/open source projects will never support it, because they can’t affort the signing/testing), and frankly for a while there aren’t going to BE any 64-bit apps to speak of. Some older (16-bit) applications won’t work, because 64-bit Vista doesn’t support them. The decision was easy for me; I need more memory. For most folks, I think it’s going to be a lot harder. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/32-bit-or-64-bit-how-to-decide-which-edition-of-vista-to-pick/389082/5 "2007-01-24T12:35:03Z")
the question is: how many obscure drivers do YOU actually need/use? Take a look at your own suite of peripherals and apps and see which are ready for 64. If something that you just must have is still not ready, then wait.