64bit blah blah blah

Hello

So I just got my new computer, should be here in a few days.

I decided to go with the athlon 64 FX

So my specs are:

Athlon 64 FX
1GB Corssair Ram
Radeon 9800 PRO 256mb
120 HB Windows XP PRO

Anyways, with all this waiting, I have been trying to find out more on the 64bit and I came accross this page.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/evaluation/upgrade.mspx

I was wondering if I should use this? I understand it's a year beta and all, but what really makes me wana use it is the fact that I baught Far Cry, which said inside that a 64bit version of Far Cry will be released.

Now I for the questions

#1 Will the 64 bit version of Far Cry be most likely a patch?
#2 To use this, will I have to use the 64bit Windows beta?
#3 What kind of preformance boost should I get? Also what should I be getting FPS wise on the regular 64bit with the 32bit program on highest settings?
#4 Is it worth all my time?

Thanks.

 

bump

 

#1 - Probably not.
#2 - Yes
#3 - Noone knows because the Windows XP 64-bit beta has very little driver support and noone uses it.
#4 - No

64-bit OSes won't be around for a little while yet. Probably a couple of years. When Then a couple of years after that, there will be lots of 64-bit apps to use on the 64-bit operating system. Right now, 64-bit doesn't do much except give you a bit of an increase in CPU performance. Personally, I think the price on the 64-bit Athlons are not worth it right now. In a few years, when there are OSes and applications to take advantage of the hardware, it will be worth it. And they'll be cheaper.