Systems Management

It all depends upon your situation and your environment. There are too many variables to objectively consider moving to 64-bit without knowing more about your environment. For instance, if you run applications or hardware with limited/no support for x64, then the move may cause more problems than it's worth. 64-bit operating systems support more RAM, and some applications are designed for 64-bit - which means they will perform better on 64-bit hardware with a 64-bit OS. Generally speaking, unless you need the RAM support or run x64 enhanced applications, the move to 64-bit is probably not going to be worth it for your company.

We have a test bed of 4 systems running Windows XP x64.

We have problems with: old versions of Autocad, various hardware devices and printing equipment. Some of our copiers don't have x64 drivers. One of our marketing guys tried to hook up a Sony camera to a x64 system and wouldn't work.

Unless you are building a new company with all new hardware, I would stick with x86.

To justify moving to a 64bit operating system there needs to be some incentive. Is there software that you require that is x64 native or are you working with enough data that you would benefit from having access to more than 3.5GB of RAM? If this is not your situation, there is no real reason to change, other than just to have the latest and greatest.

The drawbacks can still outway the advantages even in 2010. Many devices will not have x64 drivers and older applications may not work in a x64 bit environment. Of course, if you are set on using x64, there are ways around these drawbacks. You can use a 32bit virtual machine to gain access to older programs and load drivers that your new systems will not support.

When faced with any upgrade I like to ask myself what the benefits are. Upgrades need to present new features, increased security, better speed...benefits. Otherwise why pay for or invest the time in an upgrade?