Operating System Question

[Ama]

Already got alot of help with my previous post and now I have one last question for everyone. 

Right now i'm looking at Windows XP 64 bit Professional or Vista Business.  Are there any known problems with these OSs and EQ2? Can a 64bit operating system handle a 32 bit program or will there be problems?

[Cyberlink]

As from my experience running x86 programs on a x64 system doesn't cause any problems...the real problem are the missing drivers for those systems.As for example I have a Vista x64 installation on a second partition and still have driver problems, especially with my SATA Raid controller and the Creative X-Fi Soundcard.And you should never forget one thing. Having a x64 system will allow you to have 128GB of RAM but as soon as you are going to start a x86 application you will be limited again to 4GB for this application as it is going to use the WOW64 subsystem....but of course Windows will still be able to use the other GBs.The following article may be interesting for you.=> Exploring WinXP x64

[Cassea]

Been using Vista 64 and EQ2 for awhile now. Run all sorts of games without issue. There are Creative Labs Drivers for Vista 64 as well as all other major hardware. What is lacking in regard to Creative Labs (Soundblaster sound cards) is that "some" Games run sound in software mode because Vista only supports OpenAL sound upon which XP supports OpenAL and the older Directsound.Games that use Directsound (EQ2 is one of them) default back to software mode. Sounds the same but takes a small portion of your CPU to run. Not a big deal with EQ2 because EQ2 only uses a single core of your CPU and the other core goes unused anyway (with EQ2) so having the second unused core using 1 or 2% of it's time doing sound is no big deal.Creative Labs has "horrible" driver support and even though I am using one I have to admit that they would rather try and force you into buying a new sound card rather than release an updated driver. This is their MO... drag their feet with driver support while dangling a carrot in front of you (their latest sound card) to try and force you to buy a new card that you do not need. In the age in which most people are happy with free motherboard sound (not the best but good enough for most people) they are driving their company to the ground with this policy. They recently got caught disabling features in their Live and Audigy cards under Vista. The dirty little secret with Creative Labs is that they use universal drivers for all their cards and actually turn off support for certain features unless you are running their latest card. Someone figured out how to turn on the flag and thus enable full driver support for Vista under the Live and Audigy cards and Creative Labs threatened to sue them saying they it was a business decision to not allow their customers to have full support!Just an example of the games "some" companies play with driver blackmail and Vista.IMHO most of the people who knock Vista either have never used it or tried it in the first few months after release. A problem driver will cause headaches under any OS and Vista is not exception but right now Vista is very stable and solid... even Vista 64.Yes someone will come back and post a reply here about how they tried it and it sucked but they will seldom if ever tell you "exactly" what the issue was that they had. Clearly EQ2, as a 5+ year old game, runs better under XP and if all you care about is how EQ2 runs then XP should be your pick but I look toward the future and I do run other things besides EQ2. EQ2 runs like a dream under my Vista 64 (Used both Home and Ultimate editions) with both 2gig and now 4gig of memory. I would not run games with only 1gig of memory and Vista but with 4gig of memory costing in the neighborhood of $65 these days why would anyone put less than 4gig on a new system unless they are not going to use a 64-bit edition.-JB

[Wingrider01]

Cyberlink wrote:

As from my experience running x86 programs on a x64 system doesn't cause any problems...the real problem are the missing drivers for those systems.As for example I have a Vista x64 installation on a second partition and still have driver problems, especially with my SATA Raid controller and the Creative X-Fi Soundcard.And you should never forget one thing. Having a x64 system will allow you to have 128GB of RAM but as soon as you are going to start a x86 application you will be limited again to 4GB for this application as it is going to use the WOW64 subsystem....but of course Windows will still be able to use the other GBs.The following article may be interesting for you.=> Exploring WinXP x64

I am not a big supporter of XP-64, driver support was very poor for the OS. Vista 64 has a lot better driver support - if you are running fairly current technology hardware. The major exception here is creative Labs products - the driver support is the pits.

Had the same issue with a raid controller as Cyberlink did - but it was a older card. Updated to a new addin card that had Vista support and that resolved the issue. Driver certification in the 32 bit world of Vista are not as stringent as it is in the 64 bit versions, you can (at your own risk) turn off the cerification testing for the drivers, but again, this is not recommended.

Unless you have a recuired need for the business version of Vista, would look at Home Premium, or Vista Ultimate. For Vista Busines, take Vista Home Premium, remove Media Center, and add remote desktop, scheduled backup, and fax capabilities, and you pretty much have Business. In short, they have taken the multimedia stuff OUT of Vista, included stuff they thought would be useful to a business, and released it as a Vista flavor.  Vista Ulitmate is a combo of Home Premium and Business.

[Ama]

Thanks for the replies all i'm a bit discouraged though by this comment:

"

How to obtain Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is only available from Microsoft manufacturer partners-such as Dell, HP, and IBM-as part of a new computer. There isn't a stand-alone retail version. System builders will offer the new version of the OS with new systems or, for customers who build their own computers, with a qualifying hardware purchase. An MSDN version is available to developers.

If you've already bought x64-capable hardware that you're using to run 32-bit Windows XP Professional, you'll have the option to trade in that copy of Windows XP Professional for a copy of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Check the Technology Advancement Program to find more information about this program.

Whatever version of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition you use, however, it will only be available as a fresh install. There is no provision for an upgrade from Windows XP Professional. If you're running Windows XP Home Edition and have x64 hardware, you can move to Windows XP Professional x64 Edition when it's available. But you'll need to upgrade from Windows XP Home Edition to Windows XP Professional Edition first.

"

The primary reason i'm hoping to run 8 gigs of ram possibly 16gigs is i'm seeing very quickly how resource hog heavy these modeling programs are.  XSI is designed to run on a multi-core processor and can probably take advantage of the 8-16gigs of ram.  As for maya PLE i'm unsure about that, but hopefully it will work with it. 

Anyway I look at it I need a 64bit OS to fully do what i'm wanting to do.

[Wingrider01]

Amana wrote:

Thanks for the replies all i'm a bit discouraged though by this comment:

"

How to obtain Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is only available from Microsoft manufacturer partners-such as Dell, HP, and IBM-as part of a new computer. There isn't a stand-alone retail version. System builders will offer the new version of the OS with new systems or, for customers who build their own computers, with a qualifying hardware purchase. An MSDN version is available to developers.

If you've already bought x64-capable hardware that you're using to run 32-bit Windows XP Professional, you'll have the option to trade in that copy of Windows XP Professional for a copy of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Check the Technology Advancement Program to find more information about this program.

Whatever version of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition you use, however, it will only be available as a fresh install. There is no provision for an upgrade from Windows XP Professional. If you're running Windows XP Home Edition and have x64 hardware, you can move to Windows XP Professional x64 Edition when it's available. But you'll need to upgrade from Windows XP Home Edition to Windows XP Professional Edition first.

"

The primary reason i'm hoping to run 8 gigs of ram possibly 16gigs is i'm seeing very quickly how resource hog heavy these modeling programs are.  XSI is designed to run on a multi-core processor and can probably take advantage of the 8-16gigs of ram.  As for maya PLE i'm unsure about that, but hopefully it will work with it. 

Anyway I look at it I need a 64bit OS to fully do what i'm wanting to do.

XP-64 is still available for OEM purchase if you can find it. It officially goes End of Life to OEM and retail outlets on 06/30/2008. The system builder license goes end of life on 01/31/2009. If you are set on that particular OS, would suggest you start canvasing local retail builder shops or places like New Egg, Tiger Direct, etc.

Still think you are heading for a issue with XP-64, especially if you have current technology hardware in the box, I would suggest checking with the hardwave manufacturers of what you have in tghe system for XP-64 drivers before you do anything concerning a cash outlay for ther OS. Worse comes to worse, if you are sold on it, get a OEM version of XP-32 Pro and use the technology upgrade. Again none of the versions of XP-64 available will do anything but a full install, so make sure you have backups available and install disks.