Windows Xp 64bit or Windows 7 32bit?

[UncleSmek]

Lets make this short. As the title says, windows 7 32bit or windows XP 64bit?

my PC specs are:

4gb ram (3gb usable and thats one of the main reasons i want to change to 64 bit XP)
ATI HD radeon 4650 512mb
AMD phenom 9550 quad-core processor 2.20 ghz

[Mathisen]

Why go x32 when you have to ability to go to x64?
Maximize the use of RAM you've got, not decrease it!

I use Windows 7 x64, works like a charm. But don't choose x32 if you will lose RAM - and what is the point with that?

Windows XP works mkay, your call
Just don't go VISTA.

[VoXiNaTiOn]

Just don't go VISTA.

Nothing wrong with Vista, but that's for another thread .



Preferably you would want Win7 x64, is that not possible to do?

[UncleSmek]

Nothing wrong with Vista, but that's for another thread .



Preferably you would want Win7 x64, is that not possible to do?

Yes its possible but doesnt XP use less ram?

[snooggums]

RAM usage is not always an issue when you have 4+ GB as some other OS specific optimizations can be more important.

I use WinXP64 myself and I've found it to be very stable, reliable and suits my needs. I have not compared it to Win7. If you already have a copy of WinXP64 available I'd say give it a try and see how it goes for you. Skip the 32bit OSes at this point.

[SnipingCoward]

i am all with snooggums

the reason to go for win7 is that the drivers for modern hardware are not available for xp and especially not xp64
all new hardware will go for xp32 and win7 drivers
i got xp64 it works ok but i do have trouble finding the right drivers

i suggest you check if there are ok drivers for xp64 for your hardware if so you can go xp64 if not - you should go with win7 64

the newer the drivers the better your chances are that they perform well (especially chipset drivers)