win 7 64 or 32 bit, or maybe stay with xp?

MidoBan

New member
Hi, i wanna start using a daw and an interface, and currently using win xp. i'm thikng about moving to win 7 and wanna know if you think i should install 32 or 64 bit. or maybe i should even stay with xp? these are my specs:

Mobo: Gigabyte G31M-S2C
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 650 3.40GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR2

my hardware is 64 bit capable, so thats not the issue.
gonna be using cubase or reaper, and later on maybe protools 9.

Thanks!
 
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You'd need to check if your motherboard is 64bit capable, then check whether a Pentium 4
650 is 64bit capable. google is your friend.

If both answers are yes, then you have to find out if all your other hardware is 64bit capable.

You could also try the windows app that checks if your system is capable of running windows 7.

Windows 7 upgrade advisor
 
You'd need to check if your motherboard is 64bit capable, then check whether a Pentium 4
650 is 64bit capable. google is your friend.

If both answers are yes, then you have to find out if all your other hardware is 64bit capable.

You could also try the windows app that checks if your system is capable of running windows 7.

Windows 7 upgrade advisor

my hardware supports 64 bit, but i just wanted to hear some daw users recommendations. also as you can see, although my hardware is 64 bit capable, its still quite old.
 
More important; you haven't said what your interface or software is. Check here if there are known issues with drivers and Windows 7. Cubase may be OK, but again, check everything twice. The last thing you want to do is wipe and reformat your hard drive to install XP after major headaches with Windows 7.
 
More important; you haven't said what your interface or software is. Check here if there are known issues with drivers and Windows 7. Cubase may be OK, but again, check everything twice. The last thing you want to do is wipe and reformat your hard drive to install XP after major headaches with Windows 7.

Did you forget to attach a link to the "here"? anyway, i'm gonna be using cubase or reaper, and later on, maybe i'll get protools 9.
 
Like ranjam said already, your interface drivers will determine if you can run 64 bit or not. Do you already have an interface? Most new ones will have 64bit drivers, but if you have an older one, you might want to consider keeping with XP.

When I switched to Win7(64) I lost the use of one of my interfaces. Luckily, I had another with updated drivers. If your hardware supports it, then definitely 64 bit.
 
Like ranjam said already, your interface drivers will determine if you can run 64 bit or not. Do you already have an interface? Most new ones will have 64bit drivers, but if you have an older one, you might want to consider keeping with XP.

When I switched to Win7(64) I lost the use of one of my interfaces. Luckily, I had another with updated drivers. If your hardware supports it, then definitely 64 bit.

oh ok, its the saffire pro 40, so its ok. thanks!
 
If your ever planning to use hi end VSTs, you should go 64bit because it handles more memory, if your just doing audio and thats all you'll ever do, it may not be crucial, but all the newer VSTs (and some effects plugins) are 64bit.

Cubase recently updated their 32/64 bridge so both run nice in Cubase 64
 
64-bit will allow you to increase to much more RAM. I think 32-bit is capped a 8GB for Vista/Win7 and 4GB for XP.
 
Dont expect much from a single core P4. That chip is so old, running software that's made for modern processors will result in little more than frustration. Find some software that was made 6 years ago when this thing was actually considered fast and stick with that.
 
And really... moving up to 64bit is only advantageous if you run programs that access multiple cores, and over 4gb of RAM. Mostly high-end video editing, and I'm talking professional level Hollywood-pyxar stuff, is the only software that can utilize a 64bit system.

You will get no gain in performance of any game, or consumer level application, or multimedia display from a 64bit system.

All 32bit software can be run on a 64bit system. No 16bit software can run on a 64bit system.

Software technology is reaching a saturation point in the home user, non-scientific market. Unless your running global climate models, you just don't need the power. And even as everyday applications get more complex and powerful, the coding and hardware utilization becomes more efficient.
 
i use win 7 32bit on a 4 gig ram quad core...stable as a rock so far, didnt want to move on from XP but glad i did, it all seems a bit smoother now

i have an old P4 that i used as a internet PC and it wouldnt take win7 so check first
 
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