<p>Should I get the Dell Studio 15 with Windows Vista 32 bit or 64 bit?</p>
<p>How much RAM does it have?</p>
<p>the 32 bit has 3 GB Ram and the 64 bit has 4 GB Ram</p>
<p>I would go with the 32 bit. 3GB of ram is more than enough for most everything. Plus 64 bit has some driver and compatibility issues, as some programs do not have 64 bit versions.</p>
<p>Get 64 bit and ask dell to give you the disc for 32 bit (they are required to give it for free if you ask) then set up a dual boot.</p>
<p>I would personally go with the 32-bit system. I can’t see why you would need so much RAM (unless you’re using Solaris with ZFS).</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure Dell has all the drivers for the 64 bit version of Windows Vista. I would go with the 64 bit.</p>
<p>If you get the 64 bit, you can always run a 32 bit OS on it.</p>
<p>I thought I read that 64 bit has an essentially unlimited RAM potential? Definitely more future proof. </p>
<p>I believe I read it on the Snow Leopard page, but I think it said that it had that because it was a 64 bit OS.</p>
<p>regardless, I have no idea what the physical difference in the 64 and 32 systems are…</p>
<p>64 bit is limited at 128 GB RAM, but it’ll take a while for us to get there.<br>
You can run MOST 32 bit programs on a 64 bit computer, except for drivers and anti-virus programs, but they usually have the 64 bit version.<br>
Note that a 32 bit OS cannot run a 64 bit program.</p>
<p>This thread scares me…</p>
<p><em>checks and confirms that I am currently using 33 MB of RAM for a browser and music player</em></p>
<p>Whoa what kind of browser do you use? My Firefox is using 115 MB of RAM with 5 tabs and my Itunes is using about 50 MB idling. Most people won’t go over 2 GB or RAM though because there is virtual memory too, but I still like to have 4GB to be safe and more future resistant.</p>
<p>I’m using elinks on a Linux framebuffer. The music player is MPD + ncmcp. It idles at 16 MB of RAM :P</p>
<p>When I need to use a graphics-heavy website or a spreadsheet, I start up X and use Opera. That’ll push me up to around 100 MB. But I can do everything else (including photos) without X - and I don’t need more than 60 MB of RAM total.</p>
<p>im at 2.6 right now w/ just three safari tabs (one is youtube idk if that matters), itunes running, skype, iChat, and iMail</p>
<p>2 gigs is plenty for almost anything.</p>
<p>I’m actually on a brand new Dell Studio 15 (1555) right now. Received it 2 days ago. It’s a 4 gb system with Vista Home Premium 64 bit. 320 HD with 7200rpm. I bought it as a replacement for son’s old Dell inspiron. I bought the 2007 Office student/home software at another store (cheaper–was on sale) and installed it. Updated Windows. So far, all is well and the machine is working super fast and smoothly. </p>
<p>We got it with the 9 cell battery. My recommendation is to stick with the regular 6 cell battery–it’s lighter and it won’t poke into your thighs when you use it on your lap. We actually ordered the 6 cell battery (unfortunately–it was expensive as we bought it after we received the new laptop) because the 9 cell was just too big for his needs (9 cell gives 6-7 hours of computer usage). </p>
<p>He had great luck with his old Dell inspiron 6000. He’s still using it because he hasn’t had the time to start moving his files over to the new Studio 15. If he can get 3+ years out of this Dell as he has with his previous Dell, we’ll be happy.</p>
<p>The nice thing is that his college services Dells and will deal with them directly regarding warranties and issues.</p>
<p>I switched from 32-bit XP Pro SP2 to 64-bit Vista Business last January. (I also upgraded the RAM from 2GB to 4GB.) </p>
<p>64-bit is great. There is absolutely no noticeable performance penalty when running a 32-bit application. In fact, I’m typing this right on using 32-bit Chrome and listening to music on 64-bit iTunes. Drivers are largely a nonissue. Lenovo provided all the drivers I needed on their web site.</p>
<p>64-bit is the future. Unless you’re forced to, there’s no need to stick with old technology.</p>
<p>If you have 4 GB of ram and have 32 bit OS already installed, it’s not worth going out and buying a 64 bit version of your OS.</p>
<p>A 32 bit OS can read about 3.5 GB of your 4 GB. That 0.5 GB of RAM will not make any noticeable difference for the average user.</p>
<p>Additionally, more advanced 32 bit OS users can use the last 0.5 GB as a RAMDISK and use that as a paging file, speeding up their system as much as installing a 64 bit OS would. </p>
<p>Don’t believe the hype of 64 bit unless you have more than 4 GB RAM. Users with 4 GB or less of ram are totally fine with a 32 bit OS at this time.</p>
<p>There’s no “hype.” It remains that we are currently in a transition from 32-bit to 64-bit. We’ve lived through such a transition before; Windows 95 more or less marked the end of the 16-bit era.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>I disagree. As of right now, I see no advantages to 64-bit systems.</p>