Any good reasons not to run Vista 64?

I'm ordering a new laptop and am strongly thinking of getting Vista 64 as I
could use the entire 4 GB RAM space.

One reason I can think of is that the Cisco VPN only runs Vista 32:

The Cisco VPN client supports Windows 2000, XP and Vista (x86/32-bit only);
Linux (Intel); Mac OS X 10.4; and Solaris UltraSparc (32 and 64-bit).

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/secursw/ps2308/

I called and they seem to not even have anything in beta.

TIA

 

A 32bit OS will also support up to 4GB, minus a fraction. If yours don't a
BIOS update would probably fix it.

Tony. . .

 

I have an IBM/Lenovo laptop and people in the forum.thinkpads.com claim that
when they install 4 GB under Vista 32 they only see 3 GB. Could please give
me a link that 32 bit OS supports 4GB, minus a fraction?

Also, Cisco VPN new AnyConnect Software does work in 64 bit I found out.
Thanks...

 

Well, a bit more than a small fraction - 3 GB is a good estimate, but it
will vary depending on the specifics of the hardware you're running. A
couple of 512 MB Video cards and you'll see a good deal less than 3 GB.

If the Cisco works, and you don't have any other issues, go for 64bit. But
keep in mind that drivers are still taking a while to get into the
marketplace, and older hardware may never see 64bit drivers. So do your due
diligence.

 

With 32-bit Vista or Windows XP SP2 the lost "fraction" will be almost
25%. The operating system will not access more than 3.12GB of RAM,
depending on the hardware in the machine the op may see or be able to
use even less than that. No amount of fiddling with the hardware or
BIOS updates will change that. If the op absolutely wants or needs to
use a Windows 32-bit operating system and still keep usage of the full
4GB of installed RAM he will have to use one of the Windows Server products.

John

 

It seems, I'm over-ruled on this one - I was under the impression that you
should be able to squeeze a bit more than 3,6 out of it. Ah, well, we learn
every day.


Tony. . .

 

It used to be that depending on the hardware installed in the machine
you might be able to see or use that much but with 32-bit Vista (and I
beleive 32-bit XP SP2) Microsoft has trottled it to 3.12GB "to avoid
potential driver compatibility issues".

The system memory that is reported in the System Information dialog box
in Windows Vista is less than you expect if 4 GB of RAM is installed
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605/

John

 

Can't be 3.12GB, my 32-bit Vista reports 3.5GB, 62-bit Vista reports
the full 4GB.

I believe it depends on the BIOS, motherboard, CPU, video card and who
knows what else.

The only thing I do know for sure is that people who run Vista 32 all
seem to report different amounts of RAM which are always less than the
actual amount installed while those with Vista 64 all seem to report
the actual amount installed.

 

In that case the information in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605/
is incorrect, Microsoft should review and correct the article.

John

 

That's correct, the information is incorrect.