Hey I am about to order Vista, I have one machine that is 64bit, but cannot decide weather to get the 64 or 32 bit version.
Is there that much of a difference? I have the XP 64 and installed it but wound of going back to 32 because more of my software worked (well, at least) in the 32 over the 64...now this has been some time and Im sure things have improved (just havent had the need to re-install yet)
Anyway, which should I order?
TY

I'd recommend going for 32-Bit as there are still way too many driver and other issues with 64-Bit for my liking.

Thanks Graham, I actually just got off the phone with a good friend of mine who has WAY more experience and knowledge than me, he said the same.
So that sounds like a safe bet to me.

I've actually been installing Vista 64 on new computers for a while and haven't run into any driver issues specific to x64 yet. Just people having printers and older peripherals that don't have Vista drivers... but in those cases there are no 32bit drivers either. Haven't had a new motherboard or anything come with an install CD that didn't have drivers that worked perfectly in Vista x64. If you're planning on ever getting more than 3gb of RAM, I'd say go for x64 unless you know that you are going to be using hardware that has 32-bit Vista drivers but not 64-bit drivers. Isn't it mandatory for manufacturers to make both 32 and 64 bit drivers now?

I am running 32bit Ultimate with no problems except for duplex printing.
I ahve to use a 6500 driver on my 7310 in order to duplex properly.

HP knows of the issue but he told me they are not going to fix it atm.

A customer of mine has Vista HP 64 bit and the printer drivers for it ONLY allow balck and white printing. IF he wants color he prints from XP on his desktop.

I just plugged in a HP printer to the Ultimate x64 rig I just built and it automatically recognized it and printed perfectly :-/ Are there 32 bit drivers available that work for color printing or is the problem just that it's 64 bit?

I'm not saying the problem is non-existent, but it doesn't affect everyone. Maybe I'm just good at passive avoidance, lol.

Yeah the problem that I find most frustrating with Vista X64 is that even though drivers may be provided they are often not digitally signed. Sometimes, like with SoundMax audio cards, the main components of the drivers are digitally signed but then sub-components like the contol panel are not. So the audio works but the software is blocked by the driver signing requirement of Vista X64.

Sure I guess one can press F8 and then select to disable the driver signing requirement each time you boot, but that is the only way to overcome the issue since MS in it's wisdom has wrecked every other known means of disabling the driver signing requirement.

I would recommend 64 bit, because in future you will start to encounter hardware and software limitations if you stick with the 32 bit.

The drivers signature issues that Graham alludes to really only exist for owners of XP-era hardware (and some software) that has been recycled into their 64-bit Vista installations.

However, you can use your 32-bit key in future to install the 64-bit version if you wish, as both versions use the same product keys