The fears people have about switching to 64 bit software

First I believe it’s best to make a short list of things people say about 64 bit software, things that more often are not true and put the stoppers on 64 bit mass adoption. Some of those fears crossed through my mind of course before deciding what version to install.

• drivers are immature or don’t exist at all, so you’ll have problem with your PC components, especially exotic models
• there are a lot of application compatibilities and for sure some of your favorite software will not work
• games run slower and require more memory

Those I think are the most important stoppers for those who have to choose between 32 bit and a 64 bit OS.

My experience with Windows 7 64 bit version

Let’s take it from beginning and presenting a little bit my hardware configuration. I own a desktop with components which are about an year and something old, so pretty new hardware: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, Gigabyte motherboard with P45 chipset, 4 GB DDR 2 SDRAM, 1000 GB Seagate hard drive and nVidia GeForce GTX 275.

Installation went without any problems, the only hardware not recognized, therefore not working, was my integrated Realtek sound card but installing the pack from Gigabyte’s website (or Realtek’s) solved this little problem. So no problems with drivers, but that was my case. Always check if the components you put into your computer have 64 bit drivers before switching to a 64 bit OS.

System properties says I'm running a 64 bit OS

From performance point of view I’ve played the first days the same games I did on the 32 bit installation of Windows 7 RC1: Modern Warfare 2 (a beautiful game) and NFS Shift. Both games ran smoothly without any issues of compatibility. I didn’t felt any difference from 32 bit to 64 bit, but if it were it would be measurable, not distinguishable.

Now let’s get to application compatibility. I didn’t had any problems with my own favorite apps, but I found some small issues with my Gainward utility app (for the VGA card) which seemed not to remember settings I made, and I did recall it worked in the other install, but this is one minor annoyance.

About memory consumption, it’s nice to boot and see there’s 3 Gigs of free RAM, as a 64 Windows 7 (Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate) can work with a maximum of 192 GB, while Windows 7 32 bit is limited to 3.25 GB so before this last install I’ve always lost 750 MB RAM (and imagine my first computer had 4 MB RAM). So I didn’t feel any difference in used memory.

In general I don’t feel any performance difference between 32 bit and 64 bit Windows 7, plus stability is great, and that’s important for me as I’m running an overclocked system.

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Ninite doesn’t even install itself: it runs in the background and installs all the applications you’ve checked on the first step, saying No to features like toolbars, ads or MP3 player  of the day, if you know what I mean. There’s only one downside: not all applications are included in the list, but for a typical user there’s more than enough programs to install.

I’ve tried it on Windows 7 and it works perfectly. Check Ninite out and tell me what you think. Below there’s a screenshot of the list of programs that you can choose from:

Ninite first step: selecting programs to be installed

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I'm a PC guy

Mac OS X from a Windows user point of view

There’s a saying, ‘old habits die hard’, that applies perfectly in this situation. Once you’ve used Windows for 10 or more years, there’s hard to switch to something completely different. You’re used to the problems Windows has, and you already know how to solve them. Once you get on an issue with Mac OS X, like the Radeon 4850 video card not working (or working only in safe mode) you don’t know how to solve it and the few guides on forums that address your problem don’t help much.

I’m sure Mac OS X works flawlessly on Apple hardware (or at least 99%, as there are problems on dedicated hardware too), but using it on a PC which doesn’t have the same configuration as a Mac is a mistake, as OS X isn’t that supported by manufacturers from drivers point of view and you won’t get it to work as it was meant to. Let’s face it: Mac OS X isn’t too flexible when it comes to hardware configurations, that’s the truth. Here’s where Microsoft shines.

Why I love Windows more than other OSes?

1. I’m used to it and I accept its flows
2. I know how to do things fast in Windows, which greatly helps productivity (but I admit you can get used to any OS after a period of time)
3. It’s flexible enough to accept any new hardware you throw at it
4. Want to do something? There’s an app for that (and is probably free or has free alternatives)
5. Windows it’s free in my country (or at least that’s implied in a country where home user piracy is over 90%)
6. Hardware is cheaper and there’s tons of components to choose from, more of them way too powerful compared to Apple hardware
7. Games are great on a PC, not so much on a Mac
8. A lot of guides on Internet help you when something goes wrong or doesn’t work from the first time

Those are the things that will make me stick to Windows for a long time. If none of them changes on the long term I don’t believe I’ll switch to Mac OS X, but you never know. So, how about you, what’s your take on this matter?

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Let’s start with the beginning: I knew some infos about Windows 7 since last year, but that was what Microsoft had released to general public, nothing more. When the first beta build came in January, first on some torrent sites then officially from Microsoft I had a few friends installing and recommend it to me.

Windows 7 Ultimate retail box on Amazon

I was a little bit skeptical at first, but as I love new stuff related to IT it is no surprise that I’ve installed it on my desktop first, to see how it handles on a beefed up configuration.

After a few days of running the beta version of Windows 7 I concluded that it was a pretty solid build and did installed it on my laptop with Intel integrated graphics. It ran there very satisfactory, with all eye candy on. Drivers were fine and general feel on both systems was that Windows 7 runs smoother than Windows Vista using the same programs.

Even better than my expectations was the fact that after Windows 7 RC1 appeared, I did an upgrade that worked like a charm on both systems.

Now, after 6 months my general feel is that both installations perform like in the first day, even after upgrades, new drivers and a lot of software installs. I expect it to get worse on some point in time, as Microsoft hasn’t ditched the whole registry thing, but for now it’s more than ok.

So, let’s break it down in bullets: why should you get Windows 7 in Autumn?

• It’s way faster than Vista on old and actual hardware
• There are no compatibility issues with software and drivers, or at least nothing major
• It increases functionality, especially in the task bar area
• It’s easier for new computer users, while experienced users will get a hold on it quickly
• It’s cheaper than Vista if you buy a new system
• Old OSes will not be supported long time after Winsows 7 hits the shelves, plus we all know support for old software is crappy
• It’s safer than XP and possibly than Vista. I haven’t got any malware and viruses problems in past months, but I don’t browse stupid/porn/untrusted websites

Info about where to buy Windows 7 and version pricing can be found here

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Upgrade versions

• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade – 119,99$
• Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Upgrade – 199,99$
• Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade – 219,99$

And fully featured versions

• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium – 199,99$
  
• Microsoft Windows 7 Professional – 219,99$
  
• Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate – 319,99$

Windows 7 Product Box

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