Are there gaming advantages (aside from the memory limitation of the 32bit Vista) to one or the other?

It is possible that future games will utilize the 64-bit instruction set, making them perform better. 64-bit also allows more RAM to be utilized. The only real drawback to the 64-bit version is that it forces the usage of MS signed drivers ONLY. So no beta or tweaked drivers.

There are tools available to get around the signed driver requirement. I personally haven't tested them (haven't had any need) but they appear to do the job for those that have needed them.

So in a nutshell, higher memory cap (vital, depending upon user tasks) and potential 64 bit optimized code (as of yet unrealized).

I don't see the point of keeping a two tier OS other than to allow better compatibility with 32 bit legacy code. It's not like there weren't enough varieties of Vista even without.

If you plan on using 64 bit programs then vista 64 is the way forward.

If you use mainly 32 bit programs then vista 64 will run them slower than vista 32. Though not overly noticeably.

Well, I put Vista Ultimate 32 bit on my new PC. We will see how it goes.

I turned off all the security crap, and that helps me at least not want to throw my PC through the window.

Crysis looks great with very high turned on. It just has issues with frame rates now. I need to see what I can turn down that has the least effect on performance.

Time to google :)

Edit: Vista is free for me. I have an MSDN license.

for a gaming rig i think 64 bit is the way to go

Also, SP1 for 32-bit vista allows you to use 4 gig ram now.

Before SP1 you could only use 3 gig.

how do I know if I have SP1? It keeps telling me I can get it with the update app, but it's not there.

Hey Mafoo - A few more differences.

When 32bit was developed, 2gb was set asiside for the Operating system - So out of this you have the ram addressed from Video cards etc. So you have a maximum of 2gb - Video ram and a few other things for the operating system and 2gb for the program space.

With 64bit - programs can take as much as they want above 2gb so they are no longer ram limited if you have the capacity available (without using the 2gb reserved for the OS). So 4gb of ram doesn't really show off the improvement but 8gb does.

Also 64bit uses more ram than 32bit - I think aprox 20%? So the differences between 3.2gb and 4gb are a wash when you take that into account. Furthermore 64bit vista kills 16 bit compatibility for security reasons so its more secure but on the other hand you can't run pretty much any game designed in the mid 90's or before.

AFAIK what I wroke is basicly right.