Should I switch bootcamp from XP 32 to Windows 7 64?

[UnatcoAgent]

Hey guys,

I'm running a bulk license edition of XP 32bit on my Mac Pro tower. It's an 8-core xeon from early 2008 with 10 gigs of ram in it (I do a lot of large format print work). Windows only recongizes 2 of the 10 gigs of ram, and generally runs like crap. I'm wondering if I'll see a big difference if I buy an OEM copy of 7 64bit home edition or whatever it is, and run that with bootcamp. My main concern is gaming, the XP system isn't the most stable and doesn't seem to have the horsepower to player new games very well, but maybe that is more the hardware limitations.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[TheStu]

Apple has a list somewhere, detailing which Macs have 64bit drivers. I believe that Macs not on the list can still install 64bit Windows, but I don't think they have full driver support. That might mostly apply to the laptops though.

If you happen to have a spare drive, and a friend with a 64bit 7 disk you could give it a whirl. Software piracy is absolutely frowned upon, so if Aphex wants to stomp on this, feel free. In this instance, it feels to me that they only way for the OP to know for sure is if he tries it out. 7 doesn't give you grief until 30 days after you install, and if nothing else I think you can just buy it from 7 (purchase a key from Microsoft online). If you are getting the OEM copy, make sure you buy some hardware with it, even if it is a $10 mouse that you will never use to keep things legit.