Win 7 (64bit) OS ??

[peterlonz]

I have tried to establish whether this OS which is mine, is suitable.
Strange that this essential info is not readily available in the FAQ.

Can someone please advise.
Thanks

[LoRd_MuldeR]

I have tried to establish whether this OS which is mine, is suitable.

Suitable for what? :confused:

[Blue_MiSfit]

Windows 7 x64 is basically suitable for everything, provided you don't have old 16 bit applications, or hardware without driver support in Windows 7 x64.

Other than that, it's fantastic. Huge fan here, been running it since the betas.

Derek

[burfadel]

Actually for Windows 7, you should really only be running x64. If there is a piece of hardware that doesn't support x64 drivers, then its really a time to upgrade that hardware simply because either it is ancient or has very poor customer support.

The 32 bit Windows 7 is really just so Microsoft can make a few more dollars from those stupid enough to try and update their old Pentium 4, or for grossly underpowed new/fairly recent desktops or laptops etc that are lacking in the RAM or cpu department. In terms of really low end computers, an extra $50 spent on the CPU (most likely inbuilt graphics) and RAM can make a world of difference...

[LoRd_MuldeR]

And, if you really have some of the rare ancient 32-Bit software that you can't convince to work under 64-Bit Windows, you can still use the "WindowsXP Mode" of Win7 ;)

Had to do this with the Cisco VPN Client in order to connect to my university's network, because they didn't offer 64-Bit compatible version...

(What I really don't understand is why hardware vendors offer computers with 4 GB of ram or more, but then install 32-Bit Win7 without even the option to get 64-Bit instead)

[Przemek_Sperling]

If there is a piece of hardware that doesn't support x64 drivers, then its really a time to upgrade that hardware simply because either it is ancient or has very poor customer support.


I would say that very poor customer support rather than ancient equipment. I give an example - my Canon Lide 30 scanner which does not have any native x64 drivers. Canon in general is known for its poor x64 support. Of course there are workarounds, e.g. my scanner perfectly works with Canon Lide 60 x64 drivers.
On the other hand Windows 7 works out of the box with hardware that need separate Windows XP drivers. I have a NEC FireWire card reader and an additional USB PCI controller. Both do not need any separate drivers. Just plug and play :-)

PS BTW, my scanner works out of the box with Windows 7 x86. Canon horribly failed with x64 support.