A friend is looking to buy a laptop.

If she goes for Vista 32bit version is it limited to 3GB of RAM?

If she decides to go for the 64 bit version does it have the compatability issues it used to have?

Thanks

Oliver

32bit is limited to 4GB (3.x GB usable)
64bit has no problems I've found.

Thanks

I knew I'd get a quick answer

OK, one last question I forgot to ask.

She has the option of going for either:

P4 Dual Core 2.0GHz with 320GB HDD, 4GB RAM, ATi 256Mb GPu 6 cell battery.

Or

C2D 2.0GHz with 250GB HDD, 3GB RAM, built in GPu, 4 cell battery for £65 less.

Will she notice the loss of the C2D more than she will notice the loss of the other stuff? I guess the 6cell battery is a good jump, as is the GPu (for aero) but I don't reckon the memory will make much difference though.

I'm tempted to say to go for the C2D but pay extra for the bigger battery and GPu.

What do you reckon?!

Actually, just had a browse.

The T4200 (P4) and the T6400 (C2D) are the same processor except the P4 has 1MB cache compared to the C2D's 2MB cache.

I've recommended the P4 setup laptop.

The C2D is a better processor.

I agree, and would have gone for the C2D if it was for me.

But for the £65 extra you get a very similar (in terms of what she will be using it for) CPU with more memory, more HDD, better GPU and better battery life.

32-bit Windows can see 4GB less the amount of memory needed for device addressing, which means a maximum of around 3.5GB, but if you have large graphics cards and lots of other DMA peripherals, this can drop down to around 2.5GB.

It depends what sort of legacy software your friend will be using. Older software (Office XP, for example and software that pre-dates 64-bit won't work on Vista 64-bit, but generally it should be fine if the software provider knows their stuff and cares about their customers).

Most modern applications will work with both 32-bit and 64-bit.

You also need to make sure that the motherboard chipset supports memory remapping - moving the portion of memory overlapped by the hardware mapping over the 4GB limit. Most modern boards should be capable of it, but not all, so probably worth asking. If they can't guarantee, look elsewhere.

I have had Vista 64 Bit for a few months on my main system and the only two problems that I have encountered are-

1. I cannot get Splinter Cell Chaos Theory to work because the Starforce protection driver is not available for 64 Bit and the NoCD crack that I tried (I do have the CD and I am the original purchaser) didn't work either.

2. There is a download for Windows Photo Gallery that should allow me to view RAW photos, but it doesn't work in 64 Bit and tbh, I have it on my laptop and it only seems to read the RAW data and does not apply changes made to the picture so it's pretty useless anyway

The only "problem" with 64-bit Windows I've encountered is that 16-Bit programs do not work, but then I shouldn't be playing such old games anyway.

The plugin from the Nikon website works ok for me. Couldn't find a canon one though.

Are you sure its a Pentium 4? The dual core versions of those were called Pentium Ds, and had the NetBurst architecture.

It could be a Pentium Dual Core, which is basically a Core 2 Duo with a bit less Cache.

I'd still go for the one with the ATi graphics and Pentium.

Oops you are right

That's what it is.

She went for the Pentium and more memory/graphics/battery/HDD option.