Got Vista 64bit running?

[poindextermatic]

Was just considering making the move to Vista, but thought I may as well wait and go 64bit...

Is Vista 64 still buggy and incompatible with everything?

Anyone got it working how they want with all their drivers/progs on?

Should I give it another 12months till the inevitable SP1 comes out?

[kungpo]

My wifes rig has Vista x64 and it runs fine. She doesn't do anything particularly clever, but it has Office 2007 installed, The Sims 2, and runs sweet. Not seen any compatibility problems yet, but then the machine doesn't do that much.

[Nox]

Was just considering making the move to Vista, but thought I may as well wait and go 64bit...

Is Vista 64 still buggy and incompatible with everything?

Anyone got it working how they want with all their drivers/progs on?

Should I give it another 12months till the inevitable SP1 comes out?

I got vista x64 back in feb i think it was, don't know why everyone says its incompatible and buggy - its no worse than any other microsoft OS. oh, hang on, thats probably why then...

Nox

[fat jez]

The only complaint I have is that some companies never produced 64-bit drivers for their older hardware, but they never produced them for the 64-bit version of XP either. Canon, I'm looking at you...

Cheers,
Stephen

[poindextermatic]

Well what hardware/software are you guys running? Playing games OK? Experiancing a massive performance boost? Using 8MB RAM?
In other words 'was it worth it???'

[fat jez]

Intel Q6600 CPU@3.42GHz, 2 Gig of RAM. Was it worth it? Dunno, it's an OS, it works.

Cheers,
Stephen

[redlight]

In six months or so the sheep will follow.
Go on install it you will not regret it.
Go on you know you want to.
Go on

[DataMatrix]

When Vista was first released I hated it, it was very buggy. But now it works like a charm.

I used to have to reformat every month with XP since things would get messy. But with Vista everything has been staying fast and smooth. I haven't reformatted for around 6 months and I won't be doing so for the forseeable future.

[0iD]

I'ev had vista x64 for a while now. The only thing i never got to work was my webcam. I like it over XP nowardays.

Go for it.

[merdat]

One thing is for sure, unless going to linux ,we will all have to get it sooner or later.

[Paul Adams]

"Is Vista 64 still buggy and incompatible with everything?"
It's the same source for 32-bit and 64-bit, they RTM'd together (unlike XP and XP x64 Edition, where the latter is actually using the kernel from the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003 SP1).

Feature-wise, the unique things 64-bit brings to the table are:
- kernel patch protection
- forced driver signing
- hardware DEP (through the 64-bit processors running natively)


I can only speak from personal experience, but I have installed the x64 version on 2 different home-built machines and a store-bought one which originally shipped with XP Home - predictably the store-bought one had a couple of "unknown devices" in Device Manager and the manufacturer's website would rather point you to where you can buy a "Vista Ready" machine from them than produce 64-bit drivers.

Teething problems during the beta with RAID drivers for the onboard nVidia chipsets were there, but by RTM these were ironed out.
Systems had a mixture of ATI & nVidia cards, all Aero-capable and I didn't encounter any issues there.

I typically use my machine for gaming, browsing, debugging and programming - games installed right now that I play without a problem:
World of Warcraft, Bioshock, Neverwinter Nights 2, Civilization 4 + expansions

I also played Half Life 2 Episode 2 to completion, and Oblivion a while ago (in fact I may have still been on the beta version of Vista at that time).

I bought S.T.A.L.K.E.R. as soon as it came out, but it had stability problems - I suspect the product more than Vista though as many people reported similar issues.

System is an AM2 4600+ with 4GB RAM on an Abit Fatal1ty AN32-SLI mobo, onboard sound and an nVidia 7950GTX PCI-E graphics card.
Mouse is a Microsoft Razer with its utility software installed (detected through Windows Update as there were no 64-bit drivers in the box itself).
AV is Kaspersky.
I use FRAPS for recording footage in games (typically WoW).


The printer I had for a while didn't have any 64-bit drivers, though I found some "compatible" ones supplied with Windows that allowed most features to work (in the end I saw how insanely cheap even photo-quality printers have become and just bought a new one).

Admittedly I don't bother with PCI-based sound cards and stick to the onboard Realtek chipset as I only use stereo speakers/headset anyway, and this may reduce my potential for driver problems.

And I don't use webcams, which is another potential issue avoided.


It isn't often a question of "compatibility", but actual driver support from the manufacturers that is the main issue.
One thing to remember is that there is no direct upgrade/downgrade path between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows - only a clean install is supported.

[poindextermatic]

Thank's for replies guys, Vista 64 Ulimate is becoming a real temptation now! Especially after seeing the low prices on eBay - can be snaped up for around £60! bargain!
As far as I can see most of my hardware should be OK...? But I do have a lot of software that I need to run that is 32-bit... so unless I get a laptop to run the other software, I'll have to wait....

[kungpo]

Don't panic - try it and see! A lot of 32 bit software will run without grief on Vista x64.

[Andy3536]

Had vista 64 home premium since march.
Mostly use it as a gaming PC.
So far, the pro evo 7 demo doesn't detect my hardware and i'm forced to play it at the lowest possible settings, which is rather strange when PES 6 works fine.
ArmA gives me a strange one to, the programs not incompatible as such as it normally gives you an error message as soon as it trys to run.
It loads up but what appears to be the main menu only appears very poorly so that you see no writing and blocky accross the bottom?

Some of the products you buy will not have working drivers for vista 64 in the box, all though i've found on the manufactures web site. (use Epson DX6000, wireless 360 controller adapter & did try someone elses R440 racing wheel, it worked fine but had an operater problem with it)

Genrally i've been impressed and pleased with vista 64.

[fuddam]

FWIW, running vista 64 business for a month now on self-install for laptop. generally business use - no games yet - but only had few probs with touch pad driver, now sorted, and office 2003 needing reinstall.
After Effects, photoshop, illustrator, celtx, Sony Vegas, accounting software etc.
all video-related stuff is stable, which is main use of laptop.

[Rishi]

Vista 64bit Business installed about 2 months back - no problems to report, installed it, recognised EVERY single driver, even my WiFi card which I was impressed with as I thought that would be the b*tch!

Runs well, very nippy, not ran any games on it but everything else has been smooth as, my vista score is low as I dont have a Graphics Card currently, but it still runs fine Everything else is high 5's. Your system setup is similar to mine, so should be ok.

My advice; dual boot and make up your own mind