32 bit and 64 bit dual boot

[Blade285]

i installed 64 bit last night, i've had no problems yet apart from the fact that AMD Dual Core Optimizer doesnt work one bit. i cant remember what it says but it's something stupid.

[mcxeb52!]

so then is anybody gonna recommend 64 bit edition of windows vista? Or is it not worth the hassle to switch to the 64 bit edition? If normal 32 bit programs don't run faster, and there's more trouble finding 64 bit drivers, then why bother?

[Blade285]

i honestly had no problems, got basic core files that i like on with no hassle. drivers all fine apart from Dual Core Optimizer. i'm still running 32 bit at the moment because i've had a lot of work to do so i just want my trust old pc. i'll start installing all my programs and games for it when i have enough time to do so.
thats the advantage of dual booting when 1st installing 64 bit... you can never be sure about whether its actually going to be worth it. i havent seen a dramatic performance boost but i'm sure it actually is faster (loading startup programs etc. has been cut down a lot)
its nice to have a emptier windows so i can know it will be reliable
one problem though, when i have to select what OS to boot from, there are 2 lines and there is no difference between them, they both say Microsoft Windows Vista. anyone know how i can change the names to say 32 and 64 bit or something?

[Calum]

Blade, check this link out.
It confused me too, and I much prefer the pre-Vista boot.ini configuration file, it's a lot easier to work with I think.

mxceb52! - 64-bit offers the ability to use much more RAM, and 64-bit programs will run faster.  If you have less than or 4Gb of RAM it's not really worth it unless your applications are available in 64-bit, or you have a lot of VRAM that eats into the 4Gb address space limit of 32-bit software.  Also, I wouldn't say drivers are harder to find, it's only obscure hardware that tends to have problems.  All modern hardware I've tried has worked fine with no issues.