Upgrade Possible from Home Premium to 64 Bit?

[Guest Adam]

Hi,

 

I currently have an Intel Core2 CPU E6600 @ 2.40 GHz, running Vista Home

Premium (32 Bit). I use this computer mainly for gaming and recently picked a

new game up which was bogging my system down a bit. I purchased 2 GB more of

RAM, but recently found out that a 32 bit OS won't utilize more then the @ GB

I had before. (I'd like to use all of the 4 GB I have installed now). So I

suppose my question is three part. Is my Processor capable of running a 64

bit OS? Which edition should I look at purchasing? And will it be an upgrade

or a complete clean installation?

 

Thank you for any help.

[Guest S.SubZero]

Re: Upgrade Possible from Home Premium to 64 Bit?

 

- 32-bit OS's can "recognize" up to 4GB, but the system takes some of

the top end, so the actual available amount ends up being around

3.5GB, give or take a couple hundred megs.

 

- The E6600 is a 64-bit capable processor.

 

- You must do a clean install to go to 64-bit. There is no upgrade.

[Guest Colin Barnhorst]

Re: Upgrade Possible from Home Premium to 64 Bit?

 

If you had 2GB and added 2GB you should be seeing 4GB on the System

Properties page and in the range of 3GB available for user programs (type

"winver" in Start/Search). You need to investigate if you are not seeing

these amounts.

 

The portion of 4GB not available for user programs is reserved by the BIOS

for memory-mapped IO for your devices and is something that is set by the

mobo manufaturer. This is normal.

 

All Core 2 cpus are 64bit. You can migrate from x86 to x64 but it requires

a custom installation. An upgrade installation is not possible when

migrating between platforms. You can use the Windows Easy Transfer wizard

to move your files and settings but you will have to reinstall your apps.

You will need to download drivers and utilities for x64 so make sure Vista

x64 drivers are available for your computer and your peripherals before

proceeding any further.

 

 

 

"Adam" <Adam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:100AF842-F7A5-4E2B-9972-1CFAF7C670C5@microsoft.com...

> Hi,

>

> I currently have an Intel Core2 CPU E6600 @ 2.40 GHz, running Vista Home

> Premium (32 Bit). I use this computer mainly for gaming and recently

> picked a

> new game up which was bogging my system down a bit. I purchased 2 GB more

> of

> RAM, but recently found out that a 32 bit OS won't utilize more then the @

> GB

> I had before. (I'd like to use all of the 4 GB I have installed now). So I

> suppose my question is three part. Is my Processor capable of running a 64

> bit OS? Which edition should I look at purchasing? And will it be an

> upgrade

> or a complete clean installation?

>

> Thank you for any help.

[Guest Adam]

Re: Upgrade Possible from Home Premium to 64 Bit?

 

Thanks for the help so far. Which Vista versions are 64 bit? The only version

above the Home Premium seems to be the Ultimate, but I am not seeing any

actual info in the specs saying that they are 64 bit. Or are all the newest

versions of Vista in 64 Bit?

 

When typing "Winver" I get a little over 3 GB available for programs. Will I

actually see a performance increase by upgrading to the 64 Bit OS? Or will I

just be spending money I could use elsewhere to try and gain some performance?

 

"Colin Barnhorst" wrote:

> If you had 2GB and added 2GB you should be seeing 4GB on the System

> Properties page and in the range of 3GB available for user programs (type

> "winver" in Start/Search). You need to investigate if you are not seeing

> these amounts.

>

> The portion of 4GB not available for user programs is reserved by the BIOS

> for memory-mapped IO for your devices and is something that is set by the

> mobo manufaturer. This is normal.

>

> All Core 2 cpus are 64bit. You can migrate from x86 to x64 but it requires

> a custom installation. An upgrade installation is not possible when

> migrating between platforms. You can use the Windows Easy Transfer wizard

> to move your files and settings but you will have to reinstall your apps.

> You will need to download drivers and utilities for x64 so make sure Vista

> x64 drivers are available for your computer and your peripherals before

> proceeding any further.

>

>

>

> "Adam" <Adam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:100AF842-F7A5-4E2B-9972-1CFAF7C670C5@microsoft.com...

> > Hi,

> >

> > I currently have an Intel Core2 CPU E6600 @ 2.40 GHz, running Vista Home

> > Premium (32 Bit). I use this computer mainly for gaming and recently

> > picked a

> > new game up which was bogging my system down a bit. I purchased 2 GB more

> > of

> > RAM, but recently found out that a 32 bit OS won't utilize more then the @

> > GB

> > I had before. (I'd like to use all of the 4 GB I have installed now). So I

> > suppose my question is three part. Is my Processor capable of running a 64

> > bit OS? Which edition should I look at purchasing? And will it be an

> > upgrade

> > or a complete clean installation?

> >

> > Thank you for any help.

>

[Guest Colin Barnhorst]

Re: Upgrade Possible from Home Premium to 64 Bit?

 

All five editions of Vista are available as both x86 and x64. You only need

an x64 dvd to install any of the four retail editions (VHB, VHP, Business,

and Ultimate). Enterprise is also available as x64 but is not a retail

edition.

 

If your hardware is pretty good you should see faster performance for

programs that can leverage 64bits over their 32bit counterparts. The memory

is not where the performance improvement would come. It is the 64bit

extensions in the instruction set.

 

If you are using SP1 (should be by now) you should see 4GB on the system

properties page. However, this change in SP1 is only a change in what is

reported there (installed memory rather than user-available memory) and not

a change in memory usage. That was done based on user feedback.

Personally, I don't find it a useful change.

 

 

"Adam" <Adam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:142AA026-D157-4E52-9A88-F54E1322AFFF@microsoft.com...

> Thanks for the help so far. Which Vista versions are 64 bit? The only

> version

> above the Home Premium seems to be the Ultimate, but I am not seeing any

> actual info in the specs saying that they are 64 bit. Or are all the

> newest

> versions of Vista in 64 Bit?

>

> When typing "Winver" I get a little over 3 GB available for programs. Will

> I

> actually see a performance increase by upgrading to the 64 Bit OS? Or will

> I

> just be spending money I could use elsewhere to try and gain some

> performance?

>

> "Colin Barnhorst" wrote:

>

>> If you had 2GB and added 2GB you should be seeing 4GB on the System

>> Properties page and in the range of 3GB available for user programs (type

>> "winver" in Start/Search). You need to investigate if you are not seeing

>> these amounts.

>>

>> The portion of 4GB not available for user programs is reserved by the

>> BIOS

>> for memory-mapped IO for your devices and is something that is set by the

>> mobo manufaturer. This is normal.

>>

>> All Core 2 cpus are 64bit. You can migrate from x86 to x64 but it

>> requires

>> a custom installation. An upgrade installation is not possible when

>> migrating between platforms. You can use the Windows Easy Transfer

>> wizard

>> to move your files and settings but you will have to reinstall your apps.

>> You will need to download drivers and utilities for x64 so make sure

>> Vista

>> x64 drivers are available for your computer and your peripherals before

>> proceeding any further.

>>

>>

>>

>> "Adam" <Adam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

>> news:100AF842-F7A5-4E2B-9972-1CFAF7C670C5@microsoft.com...

>> > Hi,

>> >

>> > I currently have an Intel Core2 CPU E6600 @ 2.40 GHz, running Vista

>> > Home

>> > Premium (32 Bit). I use this computer mainly for gaming and recently

>> > picked a

>> > new game up which was bogging my system down a bit. I purchased 2 GB

>> > more

>> > of

>> > RAM, but recently found out that a 32 bit OS won't utilize more then

>> > the @

>> > GB

>> > I had before. (I'd like to use all of the 4 GB I have installed now).

>> > So I

>> > suppose my question is three part. Is my Processor capable of running a

>> > 64

>> > bit OS? Which edition should I look at purchasing? And will it be an

>> > upgrade

>> > or a complete clean installation?

>> >

>> > Thank you for any help.

>>

[Guest S.SubZero]

Re: Upgrade Possible from Home Premium to 64 Bit?

 

On May 22, 8:40 am, Adam <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> When typing "Winver" I get a little over 3 GB available for programs. Will I

> actually see a performance increase by upgrading to the 64 Bit OS? Or will I

> just be spending money I could use elsewhere to try and gain some performance?

 

The 64-bit OS by itself does nothing special. It's not "faster" in

the respect that the OS itself is quicker in some noticeable fashion.

The benefit comes from the use of 64-bit apps, and not just any 64-bit

apps but apps designed to get the best benefit from going to 64-bit.

I've seen good results using the 64-bit version of 7zip and also my

binary newsreader is 64-bit which does handle heavy threading a bit

better. Your typical 64-bit port of Firefox isn't going to go faster

simply because it's 64-bit.

 

The memory aspect is one big plus for 64-bit. The max RAM you'll ever

be able to see with a 32-bit Windows workstation OS is 4GB, and you

don't even get all of it. Today, tomorrow, next month, next year,

etc. You will get 4GB and that is all you will get. With 64-bit

Windows the current workstation limit is 128GB. It's *slightly* more

buffer for the day when 32GB DIMMS are going for $99 on newegg.com.

 

Unless you have some ball & chain legacy application or hardware that

absolutely CANNOT be used in 64-bit Windows, now is a great time to

get the growing pains out of the way. It's better to do it now while

4GB is still considered "a lot" rather than later when RAM is suddenly

selling for a fraction of what it is now, but you've accumulated

hundreds of gigs of stuff on your hard drive which would have to be

moved and migrated.

 

I've been off 32-bit Windows for well over a year. It's unlikely I'll

ever install it on anything but a virtual machine ever again.

[Guest Stefan Pendl]

Re: Upgrade Possible from Home Premium to 64 Bit?

 

On Wed, 21 May 2008 19:41:28 -0700, Adam

<Adam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Hi,

>

>I currently have an Intel Core2 CPU E6600 @ 2.40 GHz, running Vista Home

>Premium (32 Bit). I use this computer mainly for gaming and recently picked a

>new game up which was bogging my system down a bit

 

Is your game available as 64-bit edition ???

You will only spend money for nothing, if it is not and I do not think

that any company has released a 64-bit game by now.

 

You now have 4GB of RAM, which is the maximum for 32-bit Windows.

I would spend the money on a better graphics adapter or CPU.

 

---

Stefan Pendl

 

Windows XP Pro SP 2

Celeron M 1.3 GHz

752 MB DDR RAM

[Guest Adam]

Re: Upgrade Possible from Home Premium to 64 Bit?

 

Someone had mentioned on another forum that it was possible to call microsoft

and get a version of the 64 bit Vista in the same version that you had

previously purchased. Is this possible? Or is my only option to go out and

purchase a new version of 64-Bit Vista?

 

"Stefan Pendl" wrote:

> On Wed, 21 May 2008 19:41:28 -0700, Adam

> <Adam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>

> >Hi,

> >

> >I currently have an Intel Core2 CPU E6600 @ 2.40 GHz, running Vista Home

> >Premium (32 Bit). I use this computer mainly for gaming and recently picked a

> >new game up which was bogging my system down a bit

>

> Is your game available as 64-bit edition ???

> You will only spend money for nothing, if it is not and I do not think

> that any company has released a 64-bit game by now.

>

> You now have 4GB of RAM, which is the maximum for 32-bit Windows.

> I would spend the money on a better graphics adapter or CPU.

>

> ---

> Stefan Pendl

>

> Windows XP Pro SP 2

> Celeron M 1.3 GHz

> 752 MB DDR RAM

>

[Guest Colin Barnhorst]

Re: Upgrade Possible from Home Premium to 64 Bit?

 

If your Vista is x86 OEM (preinstalled by the computer manufacturer) then

you are not entitled to the x64 dvd and your product key will not work with

anything but your preinstalled x86 copy. Calling MS will not help. MS will

refer you to the manufacturer of your computer.

 

If your Vista x86 is retail (you purchased a boxed edition) then you are

entitled to an x64 dvd and your product key will work with it. If your copy

is retail you may order the x64 media from

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia/default.mspx.

 

"Adam" <Adam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:09982888-9CBB-4620-BF40-E6DCF202A241@microsoft.com...

> Someone had mentioned on another forum that it was possible to call

> microsoft

> and get a version of the 64 bit Vista in the same version that you had

> previously purchased. Is this possible? Or is my only option to go out and

> purchase a new version of 64-Bit Vista?

>

> "Stefan Pendl" wrote:

>

>> On Wed, 21 May 2008 19:41:28 -0700, Adam

>> <Adam@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>>

>> >Hi,

>> >

>> >I currently have an Intel Core2 CPU E6600 @ 2.40 GHz, running Vista Home

>> >Premium (32 Bit). I use this computer mainly for gaming and recently

>> >picked a

>> >new game up which was bogging my system down a bit

>>

>> Is your game available as 64-bit edition ???

>> You will only spend money for nothing, if it is not and I do not think

>> that any company has released a 64-bit game by now.

>>

>> You now have 4GB of RAM, which is the maximum for 32-bit Windows.

>> I would spend the money on a better graphics adapter or CPU.

>>

>> ---

>> Stefan Pendl

>>

>> Windows XP Pro SP 2

>> Celeron M 1.3 GHz

>> 752 MB DDR RAM

>>