Reformatting questions

I have a Windows 7 x86 PC with these specs:

Quad Core 2.8ghz Q9550
4gb ddr2 800mhz ram
1gb GTX275 video card

I use this computer for school and work, as I do animation/graphics/video editing, so it can't really be out of commission for long or I'll get very behind on my work.

So, I have two questions.

The first, will there be a noticeable performance increase in 64-bit over the current 32-bit? I imagine there would be, but I've never used a 64-bit OS.

For my second Q, I was wondering if this would work to reformat. I have no DVD's to burn on to, plus, as I said, I can't have this PC out of commission for long. Would I be able to shrink my current partition on my internal HD and format that, then install W7 onto that new partition from inside my current windows install? That way I can pretty much just copy over all of the files I need and get everything situated in that before I completely wipe this install.

Dinesh said:

A1: 64 bit would definitely give a boost to performance. you have nice hardware.

A2: Clean install would be recommended though. However, i m not saying that you are wrong.You can definitely shrink the current partition and install Windows 7 on to it. Remember to back up if anything goes wrong, just incase.

It pretty much will be a clean install, just in steps instead of all at once (At least thats how I think it'll go..:P)

But yes, I already have the majority of my stuff backed up on two separate external HD's just incase anything does go wrong, but hopefully everything smooth.

Thanks for the reply

Cp

Only thing I would add to my esteemed collegue is to try and get the drivers you will need before the install in case you lose connectivity.

Good Luck Mate

ken

How were you planning to install to the new partition ?

Tricky if you current installation is x86 and you want to install x64 from within that.

chuckr said:

CPhoenix said:

I do animation/graphics/video editing, so it can't really be out of commission for long or I'll get very behind on my work.

Have you verified that your 32-bit "animation/graphics/video" SOFTWARE will run on a w7 64-bit OS?

Your current is "Windows 7 7600 x86 (Upgrade), 32 bit...

I'm using the Adobe CS4 suite (I own 32-bit and 64-bit copies), and 3DS Max (both copies of those too). Those are all I NEED, so they will run fine. Thanks for the concern and heads up, I didn't even think about that.

I figured the install would be pretty straight forward to the new partition, but I actually realized something that will probably make this a lot easier. I realized I have 2 internal HD's, the second of which I forgot about (Don't ask how, I have no clue..I see it every day in My Computer and never thought about it), so I should just be able to do an install to that.

I suppose I might be able to get a DVD if that would make things easier to reformat, but if I can avoid that it'd be better for me.

As for the drivers, I started downloading updated drivers of everything for 64-bit and tossing them on my external. Thanks for that advice.

Would it be easier installing from in windows to a new HD rather than to a different partition?

1. You likely won' see a performance increase in basic Windows apps, but your design software cuold easily yield better performance. You also have 4 GB of system memory, so that pretty much lends to running x64 anyway. You're wasting RAM if you don't, and more RAM would also help with your design apps.

2. Everyone has access to blank DVDs. Even my local grocery store sells them now! If you have a 4 GB flash drive, that can be used as well.