Ryan Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 Well I have an Acer Aspire 1520 Notebook which an AMD Athlon 3000+ processor and I have Windows Professional on it at the moment but I was reading about Windows x64 and I was wondering if it is worth the upgrade (ofr the amount of money) or should I wait until more programs are made into 64bit (I'am a bit of a computer noob so I don't know much so if you can explain in easy terms to understand that would be great) And overall does it make a noticable difference well playing games, surfing the net, buring or ripping music? And is it compatiable with my notebook.Here are the specs:Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Processor: AMD Athlon™ 64 processor 3000+ 1.80GHz, 1MB L2 cache Chipset: VIA K8N800 Memory: 512MB Storage: 80GB* ATA/100 hard disk drive Video:15.0 XGA (1024 x 768) TFT LCD, up to 16.7 million colors VIA K8N800 chipset with integrated UniChrome™2 graphics, up to 64MB shared memory S-video TV out and VGA ports Support for simultaneous display on notebook LCD and external monitor Audio:Two integrated speakers Mono microphone/line in and mono headphones/speakers/line out, ports Microsoft® DirectSound® and Sound Blaster® Pro compatibility Interface Ports: Four USB 2.0 DC-in Parallel RJ-11 modem RJ-45 LAN VGA S-video TV-out Mono microphone/line-in Mono headphones/speakers/line-out FireWire® (IEEE 1394) FIR (fast infrared) Card Slot: PC Card slot for two Type II cards or one Type III card, 32-bit PC CardBus architecture, Zoomed Video support Connectivity: Acer® InviLink 802.11b/g wireless LAN, Acer® SignalUp technology for enhanced antenna efficiency, WI-FI CERTIFIED™ Gigabit LAN, Wake-on-LAN ready V.92 56Kbps* data/fax modem, PTT (postal, telegraph, telephone) certified in select countries Dimensions & Weight: 14.2" (361.0mm) W x 11.5" (292.5mm) D x 1.9" (47.3mm) H 7.9 lb. (3.6kg) Size and weight may vary depending on configuration Power: 135-watt AC adapter Eight-cell lithium ion battery: up to 2.5 hours life depending on configuration and usage; 2.0 hours recharge time with system off, 4.0 hours with system in use Thanks, for any answers you have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marko_tomas13 Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 Since you are a self named "newbie" I would suggest you do not go for the 64bit version of windows.To you, and to 90% of other people, it will not make a difference, rather it will just cause headaches. The only people who should be switching are those who stand to gain something in terms of program performance, however those who do know it well and already have. Many CAD users.It would not be worth it for any reason, so I would stick with what you have now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jcl Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 You would know if 64-bit support would do you any good. With XP x64 you would have a system that was almost indistinguishable from the normal XP Pro, except the driver support would be worse.So, I recommend that you wait. Odds are that you'd be waiting a very long time indeed if you held off until there was a real benefit, so I'll just say wait until you upgrade Windows. Hopefully by then the driver situation and the any lingering application compatibility issue will have been resolved and the 64-bit system will go from a net loss to break even. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan Posted August 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 Yeah I'am gonna wait I think it might be better after like 6 months hopefully driver issues will be sorted out by then because almost every review I read of it it says problems with drivers.Also is my computer compatiable with it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkestDream Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 most of the driver is not 64-bit supported and the programs too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pierce Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 Not to mention there is nothing gained by the 64bit, not even performance (yes i read a massive article detailing why). The only advantage of 64bit, is that you can install 20GB of ram, have hard drives up to 64 TeraBytes and of course run 64bit execution's so certain operations are a little faster.Considering your using a laptop, and still want portability, i doubt you want to carry arround an extra 2 boxes holding 10 Strips of 2GB memory modules and 128 500GB hard drives? Pierce Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aluvus Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 Yeah I'am gonna wait I think it might be better after like 6 months hopefully driver issues will be sorted out by then because almost every review I read of it it says problems with drivers.Also is my computer compatiable with it?<{POST_SNAPBACK}>It's probably best to skip this generation entirely.But yes, your system is compatible.Not to mention there is nothing gained by the 64bit, not even performance (yes i read a massive article detailing why). The only advantage of 64bit, is that you can install 20GB of ram, have hard drives up to 64 TeraBytes and of course run 64bit execution's so certain operations are a little faster.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Your statement is contradictory; you claim there is no performance gain, then state there is a performance gain.The tests I've seen have shown a few areas of decent (10%) performance gain, but this was balanced out by areas where performance was worsened and by the difficulty of finding drivers. It would be more precise to say there is no net performance gain. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Schusterjo Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 This will help you understand a little about 64 bit.. Great article that i found a long time ago.When is it faster to have 64 bits? A comprehensive look at the term "64-bit operations" reveals its chameleon-like meaning and qualifies its benefits -- and drawbacks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pierce Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 Not to mention there is nothing gained by the 64bit, not even performance (yes i read a massive article detailing why). The only advantage of 64bit, is that you can install 20GB of ram, have hard drives up to 64 TeraBytes and of course run 64bit execution's so certain operations are a little faster.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Your statement is contradictory; you claim there is no performance gain, then state there is a performance gain.The tests I've seen have shown a few areas of decent (10%) performance gain, but this was balanced out by areas where performance was worsened and by the difficulty of finding drivers. It would be more precise to say there is no net performance gain.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Key words "certain operations are a little faster". Playing a computer game will be the exact same speed, maybe a little slower. It will only become faster when people start writing programs to take advantage of the 64bit, its like MMX operations, they only work if the program takes advantage of it.Pierce Quote Link to post Share on other sites
xxkbxx Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 I'd wait it out or skip it entirely. like they always say "if it ain't broke don't fix it" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IEatHardDrives Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 I think windows x64 is a big waste of money. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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