x64 or x32 with PAE?

Hi guys and girls loving the RTM of Win7, been BETA testing for a while now, telling everyone at college how awesome it is, installed it on my Dad's computer yesterday for him!

Anyhoo, I'm a music producer of sorts and an a Photography and Graphics student so I use Photoshop and FL Studio A LOT on dual monitors [not sure if the dual monitors makes a difference] but, when it's properly out, will it be better to install a x64 version, or use the PAE strategy to enable x32 to recognize more than 4GB of RAM?

Program I downloaded called EnhanceMySe7en 1.3.1 Free has this feature, but wasn't sure if was stable or came with any risks, so I thought I'd ask the pro's!

Cheers guys, Josh.

If your PC - CPU, OS and drivers are all 64-bit capable, 64-bit is the way to go.

Software does not enable PAE per se. Tweak packages simply set an OS option.

PhotoShop has a whole range of considerations regarding 64-bit. Plugins mostly. A 64-bit install of CS4 includes bot 32 and 64. Your plugin folder is not shared. Not all plugins are 64-bit.

64-bit is the future. And the future is now.

What about software? Will I have to find x64 versions of ALL my software?

Cheers for the reply

No. Most software will run just fine in 64. 16 bit software will not run. Some 32 bit software use a 16 installer, you will have problems there. You could post a list of apps that you are concerned about.

Anything that won't run - use a virtal machine. A VM is like: a program that behaves like a computer. You install an OS in the VM. Open the VM/OS and install programs. Very easy to use. For the most part ;-)

I am watching streaming video in a VM of XP right now.

What he said. So much easier . I don't have too many 64-bit apps (Adobe CS4, Lightroom, True Launch Bar, Outpost Security Suite), but those do take advantage, and the rest generally benefit from much better file buffering and overall OS efficiency in its functions. Many apps may not be 64-bit efficient, but the OS certainly is.

So is the only difference more RAM? Cause it wouldn't be that bad cause I do a lot of OS testing in Virtualbox as well. How will I know if an app is 16bit? Will all my hardware drivers be working?

joshbryan90 said:

So is the only difference more RAM?

No. There are some excellent posts and threads at SF regarding this, but I can't find them right now. I am old and tired. But here is a decent article at Gizmodo.

Find 64 bit versions of all your drivers. Use Vista 64 if you can't find Win7 versions. You can also use the Windows 7 upgrade advisor.

Antman said:

I am old and tired.

LOL!

Cheers for the advice!

What about things like drivers for a Playstation controller adapter? It was hard enough to find a x32 driver.. is there a program to help with x64 drivers or something?

joshbryan90 said:

...What about things like drivers for a Playstation controller adapter?

PS and other gaming gear are probably the most widely hacked and independently developed stuff in the wild. If you cannot find "normal" support, try the gaming type forums.

I found a Kreon firmware crack for a DVD ROM that allows me to read, and therefore burn, XBox games.