XP-32 vs. XP-64 vs. Win7-64? Help me choose.

If I get windows 7 64 bit, would you recommend me upgrading my 4gb ram to 8gb? I have the q9550.. and it's still stock speeds, however with 8gb ram will I be able to do some slight overclock?

BTW doesn't the more ram you the slower and more errors you will get? Like isn't that what ECC technology is for? So is it best for me to stay with 4gb ram since I can't support ECC technology? Or is it only for ram that's a lot? How much GBs of ram may a lot be? Thanks.

 

Sam is probably doing the same thing as me...using Windows Licences from old, broken computers that have been given to him. I have not purchased Windows for myself since Windows 95...I can usualy get a couple of OEM licenses for a windows release from broken computers long before the initial bugs are worked out. Windows 7 is a bit different, as most of the bugs were worked out before RC1...so the RTM is like any other windows 5 years after release. Windows 7 (actualy, technet plus) will be the first time I have paid for windows since it was based on DOS...but I have always had legal, full versions of the best versions of windows.

 

Gera: You can still overclock with 8GB of RAM, though not as well, but frankly, I think you're unlikely to need 8GB with Windows 7 - there aren't that many things that actually break the 4GB barrier.

 

In the vast vast majority of cases 4 GB is more then enough.

 

Is it worth upgrading to windows 7 ultimate from windows XP Pro? Or is it only better for those Vista users? Thanks.

 

First, let me warn you what I don't know the definitive answer to your question. However, I am responsible for ten home computers and with one exception (my wife's laptop which came with Vista installed), they are all happily running XP. (I even purposely kept one with Windows 2000 until I learned how to enable AppleTalk in XP.)

In spite of all that warm fuzzy togetherness, I just bought a copy of Win 7 Pro that I will begin testing on my latest build in a few weeks. The reason I know all of my systems can't stay with XP forever is that Microsoft has already stopped producing Service Packs for XP (SP3 was the last) and in time it will fall further and further behind.

Vista was a mess, but Win 7 looks like it will be a viable solution for the near--and perhaps even the far--future. For the sake of maintainability, I think Win 7 is the way to go.

Dick

 

Depends really. Windows 7 is a worthy successor to XP, but you don't always need to upgrade to it.

 

Windows 7's main advantages over XP are with things that have come out since XP was released. For example, Microsoft never updated the XP or Vista media centers, so neither will work correctly with OTA HD TV stations that broadcast more than one feed (most do this; I have more than twice as many feeds as I have channels). XP also can't adress more that 4GB total memory...a serious drawback if you have a 1GB graphics card. And then there are all the parts that do not have XP drivers, as well as some newer software that will not run on XP.

As for overclocking with 8GB, this should not be an issue unless you are overclocking to the point of instability anyway. If your chipset, memory, or memory controler are overclocked too far, then they may have issues adressing the memory correctly...otherwise, you should not have any problems. The fact is that 2GB sticks are available in faster speeds than 1GB sticks, so a system with 4 good 2GB sticks should overclock better than the same system with 4 good 1GB sticks...or at least the memory itself will overclock more. The main limitation here are if the CPU or chipset is overclocked so far that the slower parts of it start to have errors. It may also have something to do with the mini-coolers that most companies use on chipsets...these barely cool the chipset at idle, and cannot keep up with the heat generated when being run with 8GB memory and an overclock.

 

Strictly speaking, only XP 32-bit is limited to 4GB of RAM, but 64-bit XP is pretty diabolical really, primarily due to the lack of drivers.
Agreed on 4x2GB sticks being better than 4x1GB sticks, but really, 2x2GB sticks is far superior to either.