[crozer]

Hey,
as the title says, I find myself in a dilema..

It started when I decided I wanted to put a total of 4GB of RAM in my computer. The problem is that I have Windows XP x86 (32-bits) installed.
Then, a few friends of mine adviced me to get rid of this old Windows XP (32-bits), get the total of 4GB of RAM and install Windows 7 x64.

My CPU's architecture supports x64 systems, as I have 4 cores. My main problem, is that I would have to reinstall all my programs, applications and drivers (because I have the 32-bits-versions installed) and that if I stay with my 32-bits-XP system, it would only read 3 to 3.5GB of RAM aprox.

In response to this, a friend told me that Windows 7 x64 wouldn't cause compatibility issues with those 32-bit programas, applications and drivers. However, if I'd like to get the best performance, I would have to download/get the x64-compatible-versions..

To sum it up, I would really like if you experts could help me and get me out of this dilema. Is it true what my friends mentioned me? Should I change and get the new Windows 7 x64? Which would be the downsides and which the upsides?

I would also like to mention that I am a still and motion graphics designer, and that the latest softwares for that (for instance all Adobe CS4) have come out x64.This would definitely be a plus if I change to Windows 7 x64, right?

Thank you very, very much.. Really.
Best regards,
Chris.

[Lance1]

First lets see if your system is ready for Windows 7. Download this ---> Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and test your system for compatibility.