Opinion XP 64 faster than XP Pro

[mn072065]

Ok my dilemma. Is Windows 64 Operating system faster than XP Pro. I have too many incompatibilities with it and I want to go back to XP Pro. But before I do that, I wanted to know is the actual operating system faster. Thanks for any help.

[mn072065]

Forgot to mention can 4GB memory work on XP Pro or will I need XP64

[ROF]

32 bit OSs only recognize 2GB of RAM. You may see a false report in Win XP 32 bit of up to 2.7GB but only 2GB is available. Neither is faster, although Win XP64 appears faster it's just an illusion because you want it to be faster. Use a stopwatch or second hand of a clock to time it from power on to complete boot and you will see the time is darn near equal. Alot of programs also fail to install or fail to function properly in winXP64, so in my opinion winXP64 is nice in the sense that Linux is nice, but if you want 100% compatibility with todays software WinXP Pro 32 bit is still fine.

[mn072065]

If I have a dual processor, XP Pro will still work? Thanks again for the help.

[ROF]

Yep! But again most of your software(I dare say all of it) won't take advantage of the dual processing cores.

[mn072065]

But it will take advantage dual cores with XP64? It's so hard to make a decision, I really like the fact that I have a new OS, but I'm gonna have to go backwards. I really like the speed now compare to my 1.8 Mgz 1 GB memory Pentium 4 system

[thevoelk]

Go with x64. Most companies have or are planning to soon release either patches or upgrades to resolve the compatibility issues with x64. In time, the issues will be a distant memory, similar to the issues a lot of people had when going from Windows 2000 to Windows XP.
If you don't mind doing so, list some of the issues you're having. I've been using it at work since the beta came out, and I and my co-workers have managed to resolve most of the issues we've come across; I may know some workarounds depending on the app.

[bugster]

Use a stopwatch or second hand of a clock to time it from power on to complete boot and you will see the time is darn near equal.

Boot time is a poor way to measure a systems performance. It is spending most of the boot accessing the Hard disk, the slowest component in the system. If you really must compare the speed of two systems, either use one of the poular benchmarking programs for a general idea, or use a few of your most commonly used apps to see how it affects how you use your system. Obviously if the apps you use most are highly disk intensive, the OS (XP pro Vs XP64) is unlikley to have much noticeable impact on performance.

[mn072065]

thanks for the updates. Right now my HP Scanner drivers do not work. I have the HP Scanjet 7490c. Anyone have a resolution for that. Also I miss the Daemon tool where I can create a virtual drive. I really miss that. Again thanks to all for the help.

[thevoelk]

Give HP time. I believe I read that they are working their way backwards in support, i.e. newest models get the x64 support, then the slightly older, then the oldest. Knowing HP, they'll use it as an excuse to sell you a new scanner. As for Daemon tools, we can't use that at work, so I can't help you. I will admit, drivers are the probably the biggest headache, but it does give you a good excuse to upgrade.

[mn072065]

thanks I will leave my HP scanner on the previous computer I gave to the kids. As per daemon I found FathomDVD. it works. its great. An it supports XP64.

[mn072065]

Found FantomDVD here http://www.planetamd64.com/index.php?showtopic=10193

[redwudz]

I don't really have any problems with X64. I'm still using beta drivers on my motherboard. Haven't tried Daemon, but most X32 programs just run in that mode with no problems.

There are getting to be a few more programs that are X64 native and they should show some improvements in speed. Here is one listing of compatible programs: http://www.3dvelocity.com/articles/win64compatibility/win64softlist.htm

[mn072065]

Yes I have checked this site, pretty cool. I believe I will have to buy anther scanner becasue i'm impatient. Any of you guys know a scanner that is XP64 compatible?

[redwudz]

Another X64 place to explore: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/communities/x64.mspx

For scanners, you may have to go the the major scanner manufacturers websites and ask there about X64 drivers and compatible scanners.

[rallynavvie]

Almost all the software you're gonna find isn't 64-bit native so you're not going to see a lick of difference between XP64 and XP Pro. Now if you were running a Linux distro you might be taking advantage of that hardware a lot more. And although there are more and more drivers available for XP64 they have nowhere near the support that the latest 32-bit drivers have just because they've been around longer and have had more time to refine them.

I'm putting off 64-bit OSs until there is a completely 64-bit native version of Adobe CS and Video Suite. I use those programs 90% of the time on my main workstation so it doesn't pay for me to upgrade since the programs I use don't really work any better with XP64.