Performance in 2009 with Vista 32-bit vs. Vista 64-bit... worth it?

[Clade]

Hello everyone,

As 90% of the articles regarding this question out there date to 2005, I figured I'd ask you guys for some up-to-date information.

I have a sweet dual core machine with 8GB of ram, and SLIed graphic cards. I have noticed a HUMONGOUS increase when going from 4GB to 8GB in Fallout3 awhile back; although Vista recognizes the machine has 8GB, I am aware it should only be using 3GB ram/1GB video ram. Regardless, I did get a sweet performance increase. The only problem I ever had was PhysX in Mirror's edge-- and let's face it, that's a bit of moot point considering it's PhysX (I haven't checked since Feb to see if this changed).

With that said, would the performance increase in 64-bit vista be totally worth it? Or, is it really negligible at this point?

Thank you for your time, guys.

 

[halt]

Hello everyone,

As 90% of the articles regarding this question out there date to 2005, I figured I'd ask you guys for some up-to-date information.

I have a sweet dual core machine with 8GB of ram, and SLIed graphic cards. I have noticed a HUMONGOUS increase when going from 4GB to 8GB in Fallout3 awhile back; although Vista recognizes the machine has 8GB, I am aware it should only be using 3GB ram/1GB video ram. Regardless, I did get a sweet performance increase. The only problem I ever had was PhysX in Mirror's edge-- and let's face it, that's a bit of moot point considering it's PhysX (I haven't checked since Feb to see if this changed).

With that said, would the performance increase in 64-bit vista be totally worth it? Or, is it really negligible at this point?

Thank you for your time, guys.

Can I add a question to this thread as well please? I am building a new dual core E8500 GTX260 gaming system.

Should I choose XP 32 or Vista 32/64? My plan is to upgrade to Windows 7 with SP1.

I found these two articles and as I read them.. and still confused. I also have read that the real issue is DX10, therefore wondering how that should factor.

Your 64-Bit Check List: Potential Issues You Might See
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/64-bit-vista-install,2301.html
Gaming In 64-Bit: Tom's Tests, Microsoft Weighs In
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/64-bit-vista-gaming,2250.html



Thank you

 

[Clade]

Thanks for that link, Halt. I'll check out that 3GB flag and see if there is something I can do with that and check for performance increase.

Looks like 64bit is still meh.

 

[bildo123]

Very recently there was an article/news bit on 64-bit vs 32-bit here on Toms, as far as performance goes I got the overall impression that going to 64bit isn't so much the performance (as of yet) but preparing for whats to come that may bring you something real like more FPS. I would switch over for the RAM and to just jump in to the future a bit.