Windows 7 64 bit

[Graham Smith]

Well, it seems that Microsoft has decided that it's time to push the 64bit version - hard. We went to BestBuy the other day to get a laptop for the office and every one they sell now comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit! No downgrades available. As a techie, this makes about as much sense as putting racing controls on a 4 cylinder 110 HP car. Most of these computers only had 2-3 GB of memory and a Celeron or low powered AMD processor, which means that the 64bit version gives them nothing extra. At first I thought it must just be BestBuy but after checking other retailers, it was the same thing. And the desktops look to be the same.

One thing is for sure, this means the death of many DOS programs since Win64 doesn't have the NTVDM kernel. And a lot of older Windows software won't run either. I just don't get the logic. Is MS trying to force the transition so they will only have a single code base? They have little else to gain as recent versions of Office will run on either version.

Edited July 29, 2010 by Graham Smith

[The_Vigilante]

Yea, from my reading one needs a minimum of 4 GB memory to use the 64 bit version of Windows 7. I have 8 GB on my Windows 7 64 Bit and it flies. Ram is cheap right now so the time is right to buy it now. Back several years ago (2007) when I bought the components for my custom-built computer I had to pay $250 for 2 GB of PC8500 DDR2 ram. Now I can buy 4GB of the same memory for right around $100.

Edited July 29, 2010 by The_Vigilante

[sperman]

Our company is about to force us to Windows 7, 64 bit. We've told them that many of our engineering programs aren't supported with this OS, but we're going anyway.

[Graham Smith]

Yea, from my reading one needs a minimum of 4 GB memory to use the 64 bit version of Windows 7.

No. It will run on as little as 2GB with a single core Celeron processor. The maximum memory the 32bit version will use is 4GB, but the 64bit version will use a terabyte (or some absurd amount like that). The only significant advantage of the 64bit version is if you have software that will really use it and a lot of memory and a quad core processor. It's also possible that MS is tired of waiting on hardware makers to provide drivers and is forcing the issue this way.

The problem with that logic is that this is exactly what was supposed to happen when Windows NT was released back in the 90's. But when that didn't work, they created Win95 and a somewhat softer version of NT labeled Win2000 (still the best version they ever did in the opinion of many).

[Merlin Orr]

I am very pleased with V7 Ultimate 64 bit. Have had zero issues other than Dragonspeak - had to get the latest version. I did not go with any early versions of my software though. New versions of Office and everything.

What is DOS?

[D.Hayden]

I think 64 bit is just getting more push now, because all most all new systems can use it. The hardware guys are going to try to standardize on one OS, not roll 1/2 with 32 bit, 1/2 with 64 bit.

[John Heiter]

I'm a big fan I have to say. Try it, you'll like it too. Win 7 x64, 4GB Ram, and a SSD make a pretty good combo.

You may also be pleasantly surprised by the number of apps. that aren't "supported" but still work anyway.

[gamingoddess]

I haven't had any problems with Windows 7 Professional x64 on my small Acer. It runs all of my main applications so far without a hitch. Any older programs are simply used in XP mode instead

[COMATZD]

I've been using it at work for about 6 months now. I love it, most of our legacy 32-bit stuff runs on x64. The Win 7 allows you to "install" a virtual XP machine, which I have done to run the two programs we have that won't work under Win7. No problems working that way.

[Graham Smith]

I've been using it at work for about 6 months now. I love it, most of our legacy 32-bit stuff runs on x64. The Win 7 allows you to "install" a virtual XP machine, which I have done to run the two programs we have that won't work under Win7. No problems working that way.

I suspect that most business users will have fewer problems than home users. The software found in most offices is new enough to run without problems and most businesses will be installing the Pro version and have access to "XP mode".

It's the home users that may face the most problems. They are more likely to have older software (such as games) that won't run and the home version doesn't have XP mode. This is why I'm so surprised by this move, why put the 64 bit version on a low end home computer?

[vluc]

W7 64 bit on two work desktops and three home pc's and laptops. No problems at all.