32-bit or 64-bit vista for bootcamp??

Hey all.

In approx. 1 week my new 2.4ghz MacBook Pro will be arriving and because unfortunately I still need Windows for some things I will be installing Vista onto my MacBook Pro... and I was wondering whether or not I should be using a 64-bit O.S. for it or whether I will survive using my spare 32-bit Vista copy.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I would install the 32-bit (x86) version for the following reasons:

1) Software support - there's very few 64-bit (x64) specific Vista applications available that can take advantage of the x64 architecture.

2) Lack of x64 hardware drivers. If you decide to add any hardware to your MacBook to use under Vista, then you'd need an x64 driver for it as the x64 version of Vista doesn't support x86 drivers. (Also, unlike unsigned x86 drivers that just produce a warning, if you do find an x64 driver for your device and it's not officially signed by M'soft, then it won't load).

Really it's only worth installing the x64 version of Vista if you have specific x64 versions of software you need to run as that's where you get the performance gains.

Depending on what Windows software you need to run, you'd be much better off with either an x86 Vista or XP Bootcamp install, or even perhaps Fusion/Parallels rather than Bootcamp.


Good luck ;D

Well it would be mainly for gaming..and some audio production software I have that I can't use on Mac (in the mean time until I can afford Logic) so I guess 32 bit would be alright.

Just thinking though since it is a 64-bit processor and I will be installing 4gb of ram that it may be more effective... never really have had to worry about processor compatibility with software before

rob.h said:

1) Software support - there's very few 64-bit (x64) specific Vista applications available that can take advantage of the x64 architecture.

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a) not every single app has to be 64-bit
b) Vista x64 has high compatibility with 32-bit apps
c) the number of 64-bit apps will only increase

rob.h said:

2) Lack of x64 hardware drivers.

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One of the interesting stipulations Microsoft has regarding certification of drivers is that any device a manufacturer wants to certify for Vista must have a 32-bit and 64-bit driver. Likewise, software must be able to run on both. It doesn't need to be 64-bit, but it needs to properly run on Vista x64.

Vista x32 is a desperate measure, and one I'd avoid. If the Macbook Pro will have 4GB, you will need to use Vista x64 to properly use it all anyway.

S.SubZero said:

a) not every single app has to be 64-bit
b) Vista x64 has high compatibility with 32-bit apps
c) the number of 64-bit apps will only increase

Click to expand...

Sorry, I wasn't meaning to imply that Vista x64 won't run x86 applications, rather that you won't get the performance benefits if all you're running is x86 versions of your software. The problem is that many people look at the numbers and assume that because 64-bit is 2 x 32-bit, that everything will run twice as fast. I've had managers here asking me to upgrade their laptops to Vista x64 because it will double the speed they can surf the web!! ;D

True, the number of 64-bit applications will increase, but until that happens you're stuck with the older versions of whatever software it is that you use.

S.SubZero said:

One of the interesting stipulations Microsoft has regarding certification of drivers is that any device a manufacturer wants to certify for Vista must have a 32-bit and 64-bit driver. Likewise, software must be able to run on both. It doesn't need to be 64-bit, but it needs to properly run on Vista x64.

Click to expand...

The worry there is that unless the manufacturer for your device wants to go down that route, you're stuck. There are thousands of legacy devices out there that will never get x64 drivers, but then if you don't plan to use one it won't be a problem.

s.SubZero said:

Vista x32 is a desperate measure, and one I'd avoid. If the Macbook Pro will have 4GB, you will need to use Vista x64 to properly use it all anyway.

Click to expand...

Agreed, 32bit Vista is a dog's breakfast! ;D Technically though, it can address up to 4Gb of (total) RAM (ie, incl. video RAM) although getting it to use more than 3Gb is a royal pain, and yes, x86 apps are still limited to 2Gb. Problem is that benchmarks tend to indicate that Vista x64 doesn't really start to outperform it's 32-bit cousin until you start adding more than 4Gb of RAM (seeing as the x64 version of the OS has higher overheads anyway).

In the end it really depends on what use it'll be put to. Personally I'd go for a Windows XP 32-bit install. ;P

vista is still has a lot of problems..id just say skip both & install XP