hbe02

hi guys, im thinking of upgrading my system, but im not sure if its worth my time and money just yet. maybe you guys can give a few ideas

currently i have a intel core 2 duo notebook at 2.0 GHz with 2 GB of RAM and 2 MB L2 Cache. Running Windows XP and programming with viual studio 2005. system Bus 997 MHz.

I have the opportunity of buying a new notebook that AMD TL-68. which is a 64-bit processor, many of the reviews say its equivalent to intel core 2 duo 2.4GHz.but i guess thats just an approximation. anywyas this new notebook also has 2GB of RAM 1 MB L2 Cache and vista premium. System bus = 1600 MHz

my first question. For us programmers, and considering that i usually run up to 3 visual studio programming projects with SQL express or Oracle Express. how is L2 cache significant?

do you think its worthwhile to move to vista and start programming with V.Studio 2008 and .NET 3.0 ?

I dont program any graphics applications or play games on my notebook (thats what the PS3 is for.. hehe) would the 64-bit processor give me better performance with my windows programs?

so what do you guys think?

BstrucT

I believe that a good gaming rig will always be great for programming.

Don't know too much about which resources apps in Vista would take, but one thing to definetely consider would be cache.

Core 2 Duo is great due to having cache on each core, and they are ridiculously cheap nowadays.
HDD cache would help alot and speed up loading of forms and stuff.

Also try to settle for some low latency RAM, as that will be a major boost to your system.

Hope this helps a bit.

>BstrucT

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BstrucT

My apologies, see you are already sporting a core2 CPU, didn't read properly.

Your notebook is already very powerful I see, and you shouldn't have trouble programming in Vista on it, but unfortunately I cannot give you the advantages of running a 64-bit system, although I know that if you have a 64-bit OS running, 64-bit hardware backing it up, and running 64-bit apps, you would definately notice the boost in performance over 32-bit apps.

But I have only heard of this in gaming related topics, but what works for gaming should work great for programming...at least regarding the consumption of resources and such.



Second opinion anyone?

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Jimbo

So your "upgrade" gets you a smaller on-die cache for faster bus speed? I'd keep the rig you've got, unless you have complaints with it. The Core2 is also 64-bit, if you decide to upgrade to Vista at some point (though upgrading to 64-bit requires a fresh install, not an upgrade). Also, if you're running Vista and a lot of memory-intensive apps, I'd recommend as much RAM as you can grab (just because I like having it; note that 32-bit can only use 3.5GB or so). For comparison, my rig is a Core2 2.2GHz (4MB L2) with 4 GB of RAM, 64-bit Vista.

L2 cache is basically the CPU's last resort before it has to read from memory. Having more saves you from reading from memory as often, though a good memory controller can help reduce the difference.

And I don't see why you couldn't install VS2008 and start using .NET 3.0 and 3.5 immediately. They should install and run on XP just fine...

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hbe02

thank for all the replies...sory i havent checked this post in awhile...
so what do you guys recommend installing on vista 64-bit that would actually take advantage of having a 64-bit processor?
VS2008 express seems to have no distinction between XP or Vista.. im guessing it installs on both.. and neither 32-bit nor 64-bit?
SQL express.. same issue
what about browsers? i currently use opera.. they dont seem to have a 64-bit version.
other programs?

Jimbo

Most 32-bit programs will run in 64-bit just fine (using WOW, or Windows [32] on Windows [64]). For instance, Visual Studio is a 32-bit app, but runs just fine on Vista x64. Even Starcraft runs on Vista fine, though some of the graphics are distorted in the menus... (but it's quite playable).

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<insert shameless plug for Visual Studio here>

hbe02

what about antivirus software? anyone can recommend 64-bit vista antivirus software?

Jabo

Try Avast, it runs fine on Vista 64.

hbe02

doesnt say anything about it being a 64-bit application though?!

Sorrofix

>doesnt say anything about it being a 64-bit application though?!

Is it really _that_ important that your virus checker is 64 bit? It's not as if antivirus software requires a lot of CPU cycles or anything...