Windows XP 64-Bit Edition, is it worth it?

[tomars]

A system with an Athlon 64 3000+ 2.0 ghz, should I install 64-Bit edition or stick with regular 32-Bit edition. I heard somewhere that if you have a legal copy of Windows XP then you can get the 64-Bit edition for cheap from Microsoft, I dont know if this is true.
I mostly use the PC for archiving and playing music, watching movies, and I am going to buy a digital freeview TV tuner. I also use it for regular stuff like browsing and Photoshop and playing the occassional game like Counter Strike (though I havent played for months).
Would you think I would benefit from the 64 bit edition or will it cause more problems than its worth? I am looking for responses only from those who have tried 64-bit edition, not people who have read about it and automatically disregarded it.

Thanks
:D

[Mels_Smileys45]

I would like to know that too. Thats the same CPU I have.

[46and2]

Tried it. Had driver problems Via motherboard. Waiting for Longhorn, yes?

[tomars]

I cant say I am looking forward to Longhorn, but if XP 64-bit edition is available to me then I was just wondering if it would be worth updating since theres still a long while before the new Windows comes out.

[DwarfBaby]

Depends on your hardware. Check the MS site on compatible hardware and drivers. Most common hardware will work fine. Although unless you plan on using more then 3.5 gigs of system memory it’s probably not worth it yet. %97 of software is not yet optimized to handle 64 bit instructions and may actually be slightly slower in some cases.

There is no doubt 64 bit OSes is the future but you just might want to wait another year or two until all the bugs are worked out.

[tomars]

Thanks for the replies, I might just stick with 32 bit, this computer isnt exactly slow and handles everything I ask it to quite easily.
Thanks
:D

[Malakai1911]

Yeah, by not switching the only thing you'll be missing out on is the exclusive maps for AMD64, and the AMD64 binary that increases the eye candy, and very little else right now.

Oh and riddick, and shadows of chernobyl and whatever else is 64 bit optimized these days. Soon UT i think.

[WE_DELIVER]

I dont think u need Win64 because it doesn't look like youre doint much that would benefit from it. Besides its not worth the trouble with all the untested/unusable drivers, etc.
But thats my opinion.

[iShadowcat]

My experience with XP x64 proved fairly well, no programs ran any worse than 32 bit...i have an Athlon 64 4000+, 1024mb of PC3200, 120gb 7200RPM HDD, and a geforce fx 5200...it's really worth it, the improved kernel over the 32bit edition is just unbelieveable, practically no system hangups, none of the crap encountered with XP 32bit...now for the "but..."

I discussed with a lot of people before trying it and they told me that updates from M$ were key to prevent most problems, if you're one of those "OMGM$SUX0RS" kind of people, then you will encounter driver problems with the 64 bit edition, Microsoft pretty much has all of modern hardware covered...the other but is this...

You may not notice a difference except the fact that everything runs smoother, the OS is built to make sure you get the most out of your CPU...the tradeoff is this, if you use the 32bit edition, why even have an AMD 64 processor when you're not using all of it's features?, but if you have a 64 bit OS, you're getting the best optimized use out of your PC, sure, a lot of programs may not support it for along time, but you're ahead of the game. Will their be bugs/some problems? sure there will be, name me one Windows OS that never gave anyone a driver conflict or problem...I'm 20, female, and feel I'm "fairly" computer literate and i run things just fine...I can't give you a technical aspect, but I can give you my aspect.