WinXP 64-bit & other software

[lazyrunner50]

Ok, so I know that when computers are fully 64 bit enabled, AMD 64 Processors are supposed to blow Pentiums out of the water. Anyway, I am still in the process of building a new computer, and want to put WinXP 64-bit beta on my computer. So, I know that I need 64-bit drivers for all my parts, but will regular software (Office, Norton, various games....) work normally? If they still work in 32-bit mode, is there any reason to use WinXP 64-bit until 64-bit software comes out?

[Crax]

Ive heard that most games actually suffer from 64 bit drivers... not sure though...

[dantheman]

There's really no reason to use 64bit windows untill software actually comes out. It's hard, and in some cases impossible, to find good drivers. There's no guarrentee that those programs will work either. Some may work, and others may not. That's not too surprising considering it is a beta version. Your better off just running Windows XP for now.

[lazyrunner50]

Yeah, I was planning on using one hard drive for WinXP Pro and then my other for Linux (Fedora Core 3) and WinXP 64-bit. Just wanted to try out the 64-bit version and see what it has to offer!

[Rudegar]

old programs will just run in 32bit mode
hey i still have a 16bit program somewhere which i took with me from pre windows 9X

64bit will not help much for normal applications

the main reason 64bit was needed was big DB servers where 32bit addressing would
limit the MB you could allocate

amd 64bit eat p4 in many cases in 32bit mode
and intels 64bit cpu in 64bit mode

if you bench amd 64 with amd 64 in 32bit mode i think they would be about
even in most cases

[therealwesty]

I've been able to find 64-bit drivers for everything except my ATi TV Wonder. If I get some time this weekend I will be installing the 64-bit preview on a second partition to s how it works with the rest of my 32-bit applications, benchmarks, an maybe a fe game. I don't expect to see anything dramatic but I have wanted to give it a shot since I got the chip.

[Zefram]

Here's a link to all WinXP 64-bit drivers...................
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/DevelopWithAMD/0,,30_2252_869_875%5e10454,00.html?redir=IEGFC07
But actually AMD limit the physical addressing on AMD64 to 40 bit....... not true 64 bit.............
The reason for this is that we dont require those 16 terabyte of RAM 64-bit have to offer.......... and remember AMD 64 is hybrid chips for 32/64 bit...... so there is always 32-bit legacy hardware on the CPU.........