Windows xp 64 or Vista for 3D apps?
polycounter lvl 10
So, it turns out my current rig, core 2 duo @ 2.66, 8800gt and 4 gb ram (essentially 3, since I'm running windaz xp 32 bit) can't cut the mustard in higher poly sculpting or when more than a mil's worth of polies are loaded into Maya or Max.
I'm thinking of going 8gb ram, but I really can't see my self going to vista and I was wondering if Windows XP x64 is a worthwhile OS...
I'm thinking of going 8gb ram, but I really can't see my self going to vista and I was wondering if Windows XP x64 is a worthwhile OS...
Replies
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I hope Windows 7 is everything Vista was not.
What is everyone else using on the ol' Polycount forums using on their machines to run Max, Maya, Z-brush and/ or Mudbox these days?
If you go after a 64 bit OS, I would say Vista.
I'm working with some quadro fx videocards and one 8400GS. modo runs great with the 8400GS (less than 30 euro and as good as a quadro O.O)
Be prepared to spend a bit of time and power on the transition, and make note that older hardware might no be compatible (especially sound cards)
I'll second whatever people said about XP64, best be avoided - every person I know who tried XP64 said the same ... and you should look into getting an new OS for the next few years rather than a 64bit version of an older one.
too bad modo has no 64bit support yet
nevertheless, it does run great with vista - had odd slowdowns at first, but upgrading the forceware drivers took care of that.
Damn, I really hope 8gb of ram makes a frigging difference when working with ZBrush...
Only thing really, is that there are no drivers for older peripheral devices like my scanner and my mobile phone which I connect to my older rig. But this problem is obviously the same for Vista 64.
If you only have one computer and you have for example a scanner that you want to use, you can always install a 32-bit OS virtually and run it that way. Also mobile phones and digital cameras pretty much always have a memory card that you can plug directly to a memcard reader bypassing the problem as well.
Also there were some problems with plugins not supporting 64-bit applications so I had to install the 32-bit version of the app as well. Developers are starting to catch up now though and all plugins I use on a daily basis now have 64-bit versions, like for example dRaster Nex and ActorX.
The programs I've used a lot and can say really work well on xp64 are Maya 2008 x64, ZBrush 3, Digital Fusion 5, Photoshop CS3, CrazyBump. Although I hear the 64-bit version of Photoshop CS4 only works for Vista 64.
I've helped 4 people in my class build rigs and they have been using win xp64 for a while now as well and they haven't had any problems with it either.
I hope this helps your decision!
I was running max 8 and ps cs2 on it with no issues, it was a dell machine though and had a quadro graphics card.
My new system is using vista 32, and I have 2x2048 ram on it, so I'm maxed out. And the only reason I stayed with it is because my 11x17 adf scsi scanner doesn't have a 64bit driver. I've decided that I'm going to dualboot the system with vista32 and 64 eventually though.
I liked xp64 a lot, it was lightning fast on the p4ht, and when I went down to 32 it was uber slow.
After spending the weekend with vista32, I can't say I hate it or have many issues with it. A lot of the stuff people I've heard complain about (especially in the mac ads) can be turned off.
Then again... the system I'm running it on is a q9300 quad core... so I probably won't have many issues with performance.
Yeah, looks like I got my answer... Well, xp64 it is - I wanted to try them out since I got my new pc, guess I'm all out of excuses now anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I did really like vista. I'll never forget when I had a evil virus on all of my computers and none of the antivirus software I used could remove it, but with the computer that had Vista it was fixed in seconds, just by auto updated!! I thought that was amazing. But power is king in my world.
I use it at home works fine! I would not suggest xp 64 as it will need special drivers that a lot of companies are not developing for since Vista is out and xp 64 did not sell in comparison.
On my "casual machine" I run XP x86, just because that's the license that came with it, but I never do anything other than browse the Internet and watch TV shows / movies on it.
I'm making the jump to 64-bit and the only question has been Vista or XP... I'm leaning toward XP 64-bit. The biggest issue right now is I'm having a hard time finding it for sale online.
I found this...
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-SP2C-System-Builders/dp/B000R46PN0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1228169392&sr=8-1[/ame]
But I don't understand what the real difference is. "for System Builders" seems to mean I can only install it on one PC, which is all I was going to do anyway. So if I want to run XP 64 bit can I just purchase this and be fine?
Or is there somewhere else that I can buy XP 64-bit?
Thanks
Hint:
I dont see any other reason to getting 64bit XP merely because we have Vista now... okay maybe some older programs but thats about it... 8GB of RAM is essential for someone like me
And what I found was that if your not running aero then you get annoying photoshop mouse lag which fixes itself in aero.
You're about as likely to find drivers for XP 64 as you are for vista 64. Maybe in a few years this would be a problem, and maybe in a few years vista will be a stable OS, so its a wash really.
This is the one I have as well. And yes you can only install it on one PC although you can make changes to your hardware as long as it's not mayor, like changing the motherboard.
I think a lot of the misconceptions of Windows xp64 not having drivers come from way back when the first amd 64bit processors came out and the OS was, indeed, rushed out. A lot of developers just didn't care to create drivers for an OS which not that many people used.
However, when Vista came to the scene Microsoft wouldn't certify developers 32-bit drivers if they didn't also include a 64-bit version, which has of course helped xp64 as well.
Also keep in mind that xp64 isn't based on win xp but instead the more stable OS, win server 2003.
The problem with that idea is that the way the drivers interact with the OS are different, so many developers aren't bothering with xp64 versus just Vista64 or not adding the full functionality (more money for that time to make the two different versions for a even smaller audience).
i use vista64 at work and simply hate how the windows browser it setup by default. out of the box it is basically an OS for noobs and not professionals. no dis-respect to anyone who uses it but thats how microsoft designed it with tabs like "rating" and "tag" instead of "date modified". wth would i need "rating" as a tab in my data folder ?
xp64 is really light on system resources and not to mention there are very very few virus attacks on xp64.
At the end it also points out the advantages of the vista explorer which are worth having a look at.
And I thought my RAm has bad timings because I always got lags while using certain photoshop tools plus max9 under vista.
will check it out.
People keep saying things like this but never actually give examples. I've had zero issues with anything at all important driver wise with xp64. I had a shity old webcam i couldn't find drivers that worked for, but i really doubt i would be able to find them for vista64 either.
Like per says, he even found drivers for his 10 year old printer and scanner, honestly the people who complain about this stuff *have not actually used xp64*.