64-bit vs 32-bit

If you plan for the future, install Vista 64 bit and make sure your motherboard supports at least 8GB RAM. Vista is smarter than XP in memory management; if you have 4GB in your machine and your applications use only 1GB, vista will use the remaining memory for cache (i.e. improve performance).

Today's applications also know to benefit from large memory: firefox and explorer will gladly use hundreds of megabytes for their internal cache. There are also games, virtual machines, databases ... you really can't have too much memory.

One advice: install hardware from popular brands only, to avoid driver issues.
 
Quote from HiFreekTrader:

If you plan for the future, install Vista 64 bit and make sure your motherboard supports at least 8GB RAM. Vista is smarter than XP in memory management; if you have 4GB in your machine and your applications use only 1GB, vista will use the remaining memory for cache (i.e. improve performance).

Today's applications also know to benefit from large memory: firefox and explorer will gladly use hundreds of megabytes for their internal cache. There are also games, virtual machines, databases ... you really can't have too much memory.

One advice: install hardware from popular brands only, to avoid driver issues.
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Thanks for the post. Clearly you've experienced vista and it suits you, but from the number of traders on ET that say vista just doesn't suit them, it seems that for me, it would be prudent to stay with XP for the trading machine and upgrade down the line, when all is stable.
 
Quote from 9999:

Is anybody using Windows Server 2003? Comments, suggestions?
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It's essentially Vista Ultimate SP1, with some UI and multimedia functions stripped, and some server functions added. Apart from configuration settings (see attachment), there is no deep internal differences.

One benefit - you can install VMWare Server on it, absolutely free and absolutely legal. There is also Microsoft alternative - HyperV - didn't work for me.
 

Attachments

Quote from Synonym:

Thanks for the post. Clearly you've experienced vista and it suits you, but from the number of traders on ET that say vista just doesn't suit them, it seems that for me, it would be prudent to stay with XP for the trading machine and upgrade down the line, when all is stable.
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There is nothing Vista can do that XP can't. I installed it simply because I am a geek and love everything new and shiny.
 
Quote from mokwit:
Tums, Can you elaborate on "there are utilities that can help if you are desperate"
I am on the verge of desparation as I have max 2GB RAM available on my scanning PC and with the 4000 symbols I run it is just going over the 2 GB RAM and presumably writing to the HDD.
As I am just on the threshold one of the utilities you mention might be just what I need.
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The utility is to help 32 bit OS see beyond 4 GB of memory. I do not have the links at hand, but a quick Google search should net you some results.
 
Quote from syswizard:

No, that's not right...Windows Server 2003 based on XP. Windows Server 2008 based on Vista.
I think going with Windows 2003 server for trading is a good idea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows
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Interesting.
What about security-wise? Win2k and XP had lots of bugs that required fixes, patches and the like almost non-stop. Is Server 2003 better?
Thank you guys.
 
Quote from TradingWise:

32 bit supports up to 4 gb. But less can be available to you depending on your hardware configuration (usually around 3 to 3.5 gig).

XP64 has never been a mainstream operating system. I haven't used it myself, but I know of people who had troubles because driver support was lacking. I would avoid XP64.

The main reason to go for 64 bit would be to support more than the 3 - 3.5 gig of ram. If you want to go for 64 bit, take vista not XP. Vista is not really a problem anymore after the release of service pack 1. If you buy your computer in combination with vista, the manufacturer will make sure Vista works flawless on your system. You do need to watch out for peripheral support under vista, old hardware might not work.

Downgrade means that you buy a Vista software licence, but that they install windows XP on the machine. The business and ultimate versions of vista allow this downgrade.
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agree 100%. go with xp 32-bit or vista 64-bit. which one you get depends on what you need and will use it for. just last week i saw at best buy a gateway desktop amd phenom quad-core vista ultimate with 8gigs of ram for under $600.
 
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