[exoticracerx]

I am thinking about purchasing a 64 bit computer.
My first question is, are there any noticeable differences?
And my second one is, can i transfer everything from the 32 bit xp to a 64 bit vista using this: http://www.compusa.c...h...4&CatId=445

Thanks

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There is no visible difference between 32-bit and 64-bit. The changes are under the hood. Bit like saying I've got a Ford car and I want to buy a Fiat. End of the day they do exactly the same job.
However you may find some programs you use don't work under 64-bit Vista. Like buying a diesel car then trying to make it run on unleaded petrol.

Re: the cable, you can probably use it to take your documents, pictures etc but not your programs. You'd have to reinstall them from the CDs again afterwards.

Edited by Neil Jones, 14 August 2008 - 01:38 PM.

[Neil Jones]

There is no visible difference between 32-bit and 64-bit. The changes are under the hood. Bit like saying I've got a Ford car and I want to buy a Fiat. End of the day they do exactly the same job.
However you may find some programs you use don't work under 64-bit Vista. Like buying a diesel car then trying to make it run on unleaded petrol.

Re: the cable, you can probably use it to take your documents, pictures etc but not your programs. You'd have to reinstall them from the CDs again afterwards.

Edited by Neil Jones, 14 August 2008 - 01:38 PM.

[exoticracerx]

that helps, but could you explain 64 bit like the technical part of it.

[Neil Jones]

64-bit Vista is essentially a different way of talking to the hardware as well as being future-proof, as everything is moving towards a 64-bit environment. When Windows 95 came out we moved from 16-bit software to a 32-bit environment. In theory 64-bit means things move faster however if the drivers are not available for the hardware it wouldn't be of any benefit anyway.

[123Runner]

To better answer your question as to how 64 bit is better than 32 bit is that 32 bit operating system has support for up to 4 GB of RAM, and 64 bit operating system has support up to 128 GB of RAM, as long as your motherboard supports it. 64 bit also has the ability to address larger number, and do more complex operations meaning that graphic artists, or game developers are able to handle larger operations. 64 bit has been our long enough that most manufacturers have drivers for the hardware, as long as you dont try to use hard that is more than 3 to 4 years old or older. I would, and have gone to 64 bit as it allows me to be able to adapt to where computing is going in the future without having to buy another new computer further down the road.

[statictech]

About your cable... it will work, and it is decently fast, but there is a much cheaper option available. Look up Ethernet Crossover cables. They can be as cheap as 5 bucks depending on the length. They connect through the ethernet ports in the back or side of your pc. Window's network wizards requires a little figuring out but once I was able to do that all I had to do was move my files to be transferred into the public access folders and from there I could retrieve them with the new computer and place them into that pc's public folders. Which brings me to the other advantage of crossovers, you can choose which files you want to send. With an easy transfer, it may be faster but as far as I've read, EVERYTHING is transferred, all your files and all your users, preferences and settings. Its nice if you're getting a new family computer but I'm just a family member branching out from my fam's desktop, so all I wanted to transfer was my music and pictures really.

I was going to buy an easy transfer cable but I did a little more homework and found out about crossovers, and it turned out that the cable we use to connect our desktop to our comcast modem is a crossover, so I was able to use that for free haha.

Thanks comcast.

Edited by statictech, 19 August 2008 - 01:02 PM.