Attached Link: Purchased omputer parts thread

The OS I purchased is a Windows XP Pro 32bit with an upgrade path to Vista Pro 64 bit. The salesperson told me they did not have the Windows XP Pro 32bit in stock and it would take 2 weeks to order it.

  After reading some posts in the Poser forum I am concerned I should have purchased Window XP Pro 64 bit. i can still make the exchange as I have not opened the package yet. I also purchased 4 gigs of Ram. The sales person told me that windows 32bit can only read 3 gigs of ram and will degrade. Any advice on this.

  If I go to XP Pro 64 bit do you know if these software packages will run on it?
Vue Inf 6
Poser 6
Poser 7
Z brush (latest)
Cararra Pro
Photoshop 7 and Photoshop Cs

thanks so much for any advice you care to give me.
I would like to add that I am not a hardware or OS guru so I prefer to take the path that will keep my system and apps running with the least number of problems.

Is it a free upgrade to Vista Pro?  If not, i'd take it back.  Vista is due for release the end of this month.   I don't think XP 64 bit is available for sale anymore since Vista will be replacing it.  

I have a machine waiting to be upgraded too - I have no idea what software will/will not run on Vista.

I have XP Pro 32 and 64 bit partitioned.
Both Poser 6 and 7 will run in the 64 bit mode but will not take advatage of the 64 bit system.(They will still run in 32bit) however Poser will take advantage of the Dual Core system.
E frontier have told me that they are looking at a 64 bit render engine for P7.
Adobe Photoshop CS2 has a 32 and 64 bit operating system.They will run in both.
I do not have  Carrara or Z brush but I assume they will run in the 64 bit mode but unless they have a 64bit program they will only run in 32bit.
This is my experience with both operating systems.Just make sure if you are running a 64 bit system you get a good video card and update  the drivers.
I am running a Nvidia 7600 GS TDH.
My system is a Tyan motherboard, with dual AMD Opteron (TM) 248 Processors 2.19 GHz and 4 gigs ram. Hope this helps.Cheers

XP 64 is still available for purchase; and don't let the 'XP' fool you. XP64 is actually based on Server 2005 (or maybe 2003; I can't remember atm....), so it works a little differently under the hood. Your tech was sortakinda right. a 32 bit application can only address 2 gigs of memory. XP has a registry hack that enables an extra gigabyte for the OS to play with, freeing up a little bit more of the lower 2 gigs (but nowhere near all of it; too much of the lower memory map is committed to disc access, IO functions, etc, and those are coded in at the BIOS level and can't be changed). At the moment, I would avoid Vista as if it were genital herpes. It sets new definitions of code bloat, and there is apparently DRM schemes there that make 'draconian' seem mild. M$ requires the device drivers to have interface with those DRM protocols; if something so much as -looks- like is attempting to circumvent DRM, the driver is degraded or disabled (if you use the sp-dif out on the video card now, you ain'ty gonna be using it no more; Vista considers it unsecure, and disables it automatically). And it can be permanently disabled by MS (although they swear they would =NEVER= do such a thing.....and if you buy that, I have some prime oceanfront property just outside of Fargo I'll sell you cheap...). Plus the cost projections on hardware that would adequately support the bloody thing are astronomical. Peggy, you can kiss any 16 bit software you own goodbye with Vista; it was engineered to refuse to run anything smaller than 32 bit, just like XP won't run 8 bit code. And of the stuff that -should- run, anything that makes a call to hardware outside of very carefully defined pathways will be considered an attempt at circumventing DRM.... Personally, I'd love to see a revolt of the user base. Vista was designed for the RIAA and MPAA, not for the consumer.

I run XP64 on one of my machines and love it.  Haven't found a 32-bit application that doesn't run on it yet.  Vue is fantastic being able to access more memory and Poser 6 and 7 run beautifully.  I'm avoiding Vista as long as I can.   Don't like what I read about it.

I'm revolting - No Vista here.

Blame it on the "Bush," he killed the law suites against MS, that might have brought them down to size and opened the path for healthier software.  Now that Microsoft is full of themselves, even more, we are gonna pay bad. 

I'd definitely go the 64 bit route, 32 bit is going to go the way of VHS tape when DVD came out eventually [IMO]
As for Vista, I've heard some pretty scary stories on that recently about not being able to run programmes because of some new security stuff going on with it!

It is called DAT, for Data Execution Prevention.  The AMD chipset has hardwire code that catalogs and controls all kernel code, to ensure Malware does not get through.  

Some programes that address the kernel in there own style are seen as a threat and the code is isolated or killed.  Ergo, my python scripts for Paint Shop Pro cause the software to crash unless I turn off DAT for that program.  

XP has it and Vista will enhance both hardware and software recognition.  A lot of programes will have to tow the microsoft line or they will not work correctly. 

Vista was rewritten from the ground up in 64 bit, but will address 32 bit.  We had the same problem when MS went from 16 to 32 bit.  Nothing worked right for years.

Maybe, maybe not. Businesses are not rushing to upgrade, and more and more of them are kissing of MS and going Linux if they get strongarmed. They blew the 'foot in the door' season of the holidays; all they could ship were XP machines with upgrade coupons....and anyone with enough brain cells to recall the MCF of the 3.1-95, 95-98, 98-Me, and Me-XP upgrade fiascos will not be overly eager to trust another 'upgrade after the fact' scheme. With big business just out of an upgrade cycle and not likely to spend $$$$$ just to sate Microsoft, and them missing the once a year down the throat entrance for their latest abomination, they have almost a full year they are going to have to fight to get customers. Gamemakers have been mostly avoiding DX-10, as it is Vista only. And since they know that there isn't a pool of Xmas computers out there with Vista on them, tbey will continue to avoid it. A lot of shareware and older apps are 16 bit, and people are not going to throw away their favorite proggies just because Unca Bill says so. The same goes for the games; the vast majority of classics are 16 bit, or only 32 bit because of the Causeway extension (and odds are that won't work on Vista. Vista doesn't offer anything really new. Well, except areoglass....and frankly, I have better uses for the resources. And with the system requirements and footprint for no real gain (if you take a look, every under the hood revolutionary thing has been dropped to get the monster out the door...). Throw in the Big Brother DRM schemes and we may see MS take one in the gut for a change....

Where my husband works(big phone company) they said no upgrade to 64X for another 10-15 years & NO WAY to VISTA until they strip out all the DRM etc etc.

I'll definitely get a 64 bit system in the next 2 years but I don't like what I'm hearing about Vista!!

Damn I am getting old, DEP not DAT, boy did I screw that up.

Microsoft always puts out an “Upgrade Advisor” before each new OS Release. I have run the Advisor over my Hardware and Software and got the following.

My Promise Fast Track TX2 ATA 133 controller is supported for 32 bit but not 64, and should be replaced if I want to run 64.

My ATI Graphics card is supported along with all of my other hardware.

My Norton will not work.

My Adobe will not work, except CS2. 

All of my 3D software will work.

All of my Graphic Editors will work, 6 in all, except PhotoImpact.

The Advisor stated my setup would work with Vista, otherwise. However, a 2 GIG processor, 2 GIG of Ram, SLI Video card, and SATA II drives are recommended if you are to run 64 effectively.

I also found an article that explained 1 GIG of Ram is typically reserved for Vista OS, so if you want your other programs to run you better have plenty of RAM.

Upgrade Advisor is here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx

Thanx for the link, clean bill of health for mine except for "Record now" and a non essential photo thing which I need to uninstall anyway!!

If you have 4 go memory, you definitively need a 64 bit os to take advantage of it. As a lot of other people mentioned already, I would really stay away from Vista 32 or 64 bit. Don't get fooled by all the marketing around it, Vista is mainly eye candy and won't give you more performances (in fact, on the same computer, chances are, Vista will leave you a lot less resources for your programs than XP64)
So far all my programs work fine on XP64, and the only problem I had is the lack of driver for my scanner

Thanks so much to everyone for your help. I am definitely going for XP64.
Have a great weekend.
cheerio  lululee

Sometimes I wonder if we must laugh or cry. Just for fun I wanted to run the Vista advisor on my computer (Dual opteron dual core + 4 go memory, geforce 7900 gtx) to see what it would say (not that I intend running Vista, but just curious). So, I go to download this little tool and what do I see ? Not compatible with XP pro and XP 64. C'mon, they write those OS, they should be able to give an evaluation tool to everyone or what ?
saddest part is they're so eager promoting their Vista toy  that they will probably stop doing any effort improving XP64 which is a most better OS for serious (read professional) users :(

Personally? So long as the basic functions are stable, the less MS monkeys around with any OS they make the better....as most of that monkeybusiness involves cheap jewelry and tacky add-ons that were never intended to go under the hood of an OS to begin with. So long as I can turn off or circumvent file protection, find and clear the dll cache, delete the registry entries for the security kludges, and physically yank IE, Outlook, scripting host, address book, and associated fubars out by the short and curlies, you don't need MS to 'fix things'. Biology 101: remove the vectors for viral spread, and you have no viral spread. My systems may not be MS submissive, but they are a hell of a lot more secure.....