Does 64bit CPU require 64bit OS?

My wife's laptop came with Vista and she is having problems with it in some games. Therefore, she wants to have XP put on another partition so that she can boot to XP when she wants to game. The only version of XP I have is one that came with a computer a few years ago (I assume 32-bit, due to age), but the Laptop is a 64 bit (assuming by the name of the CPU - AMD Turion 64 MK-36 2.00GHz ).

Do you have to have a 32-bit OS for the 64-bit CPU, or are they backward compatible. Or, I am so far off the mark here that I should just go back to bed? Any help is appreciated.

 

Yes, but 32-Bit software is not backwards compatible on a 64-Bit operating system. Even so, running a 32-Bit OS on a 64-Bit processor is not recommended.

 

Er...

Gonna have to disagree with ya there. If you can, run a 32 bit OS, because of software compatibility, performance (32 bit is still better than current 64 bit offerings), and drivers.


The only reason to run a 64 bit OS is if you need the power (read: Have 4+gb of ram), or have software that is either 64 bit only, or performs better in 64 bit (no consumer apps that I have heard of so far).

 

Also--

Many browser plugins are also 32 bit only, which means you end up running 32 bit software (browser), on a 64 bit OS. 32 bit OSes will always run 32 bit software better.

Defeats the purpose.

Running 32 bit software in a 64 bit OS is akin to running 16 bit software in a 32 bit OS.

 

Can you elaborate? Check major OEMs selling 64 bit hardware, and take a look at the OS they're shipping with it. Bet you won't find many with a 64-bit OS.

32-bit software CAN be run on a 64 bit OS, or that OS would be completely useless! There is SO much software that hasn't been ported to 64bit! The only catch is that you have to run 64 bit and 32 bit threads in parallel, which is quite a bit of extra overhead. If you are going for a 64 bit system, make sure you have the specs to accomodate. I run Windows XP x64 for my main PC, and I have loads of 32 bit software on it. Which sucks. LOL

The only issue here that I see is the legality of using this old copy of XP. If it came with your computer, chances are it's an OEM license, and can't legally be used on any other system.

 

Thanks for the information everyone!

Yes, Mada, I had thought about the legality issue, so I am still uncertain. I feel a little trapped though, since if I was given the choice when we were buying the new laptop (it is only a couple of months old) I would have taken XP over Vista. She (the wife) actually really likes Vista, but she isn't the one who has to try and make these programs work!

Halo, thanks for the suggestion - we have actually tried the compatibilty thing as it was suggested on another forums, but there was no improvement.

In any event, I shall mull this over some more and I thank you all once again

 

Hi Halo, well the main one right now is World of Warcraft.

There was a recent patch which didn't affect her computer, but did affect thousands of other people's Frame Rates. In light of this, Blizzard implemented a fix on Tuesday of this week, and that fix has caused her Frame Rate to now drop to ~3FPS.

We have tried all of the normally suggested things: delete specific WoW folders, run the Blizzard repair tool, update sound and video drivers, turn sound and video settings way down, defragment the drive, reinstall WoW, run in OpenGL mode, etc, etc.

Basically I figure that we have been fairly lucky up until this point, since so many other people have had problems with Vista (the support forums for WoW are full of 20 page threads discussing the issue). So, until things get ironed out I thought it might be a good idea to try it with XP. At least with XP I feel more comfortable poking around under the hood

 

I haven't had good experience with 64-bit/32-bit compatibility. Don't mind being wrong about the compatibility of a 32-bit OS on a 64-bit processor. It's been my experience with PCs that trying to use lower end technology with newer seldom leads to good results, so I'm distrustful of using a 32-bit software on a 64-bit hardware. That's just me.