BleepingComputer.com: is xp64 relaible?

ive had a very very bad experience with vista, but for some of the new games coming out im worried about that 4gig barrier. im building a new gaming machine and i want to know what 64 bit os to get.

I used xp64 for a few weeks before. For me, it worked just like 32bit except without the support of as many programs. I had 2gb ram at the time, and I'm sure if I added up to 4gb (my current config) it would have performed better, simply because the architecture of the OS would support and utilize 4gb compared to xp32. I had no problems with it--same installation, same functioning (as far as I could tell). What I didn't like was the lack of supported programs. Many of the programs I use are basic Notepad-created programs, many of which apparently are not supported by xp64. Thus, I got rid of it and went out and got xp32 pro.
But, of course, if you are comfortable without all the support of a wide variety of programs, by all means upgrade. you seem to know which programs you want that do support the architecture. But make sure you get an AV and spyware remover that support xp64. SpySweeper does not, nor does Norton 360 (I attempted to install these and neither worked. I'm sure these are made as a separate program just for xp64, though).
hope this helps!

The problem with the lack of 64-bit applications has improved a great deal as it is becoming more popular. One of the attractions is being able to add as much RAM as your motherboard will support, with operating systems like Vista it is nice to able to add more than the 4GB it advertises. The bottom line with a 32-bit OS is it will only recognize between 3.0 and 3.5GB due to the address space being 4GB.

Just did a Google search on programs which support xp64. There are quite a few. I might actually consider switching back. Luckily, all my vauables are on other hdd's, so this won't be a problem of losing anything. It seems only a year ago (when I used xp64) that it was rare to find much for 64-bit, let alone games.
http://www.start64.com/

By the way, do different Linux distros offer support for 4gb? In other words, are some Linux distros 64-bit (or equivalent)? Though, of course, Windows programs, regardless of architecture support, won't run natively on Linux. I've been meaning to try some Ubuntu.

This post has been edited by HamSandwich: 09 March 2009 - 12:49 PM