Newb question - 64bit processors

I fell out of the loop long time ago since I haven't had to work with "newest" tech for several years + as a student I don't have cash to update my computer every 2 years.. So the question is:

Will I get any benefit of buying say.. AM2 64bit AMD Processor (Since AMD dropped their prices a lot last summer) and running it with normal WinXP? Or will I need 64bit XP? And how's 64bit XP now, especially since M$ is concentrating on Vista now and kinda dropping support for XP. I heard that back in the day it had quite awful driver support etc... Won't move to NIX/Linux since I'm a gamer ;o And don't get me started about Wine :x

Of course another option is to hope that Core 2 Duo processors turn really cheap by next Christmas ;p

Currently running 2.4GHz P4 so yeah..

Regular XP will run on a 64 bit CPU. I'm not sure about the quality of 64 bit drivers nowadays though.

Btw, go dual core either way.

Regular XP will run on a 64 bit CPU. I'm not sure about the quality of 64 bit drivers nowadays though.

Btw, go dual core either way.

Dual Core would be awesome but.. I've always been a bit "retro-guy", upgrading old tech to bit newer but still old tech ;) Cheapest Intel Core Duo (E4300) costs 117EUR, whereas cheapest AMD 64 S 939 costs 51EUR.

Even E4300 would be a upgrade to my P4 .. :p

edit: And yeah, I know that it will run, but will I get full benefit running 64bit processor on 32bit OS? No? Yes?

No. However, even if you have XP x64 or Vista x64, and 64-bit drivers (which aren't, even now, readily available), you'll be hard pressed to find an application that actually makes use of the 64-bit processing.

Dual Core would be awesome but.. I've always been a bit "retro-guy", upgrading old tech to bit newer but still old tech ;) Cheapest Intel Core Duo (E4300) costs 117EUR, whereas cheapest AMD 64 S 939 costs 51EUR.

Even E4300 would be a upgrade to my P4 .. :p

edit: And yeah, I know that it will run, but will I get full benefit running 64bit processor on 32bit OS? No? Yes?
There's nothing wrong with AMD dual cores, it's just that the core duo's are better in every aspect. :P But yeah, a 3800+ X2 is still a very good processor for the price, especially if you take use of its overclocking capabilities.

And what Shin said is true too, there are very few programs out there that take full (any) advantage of 64 bit, so you may find it's not worth the trouble to go with XP64.

even if you do use programs that take advantage of 64 bit like Lightwave 3D, you'll want to dual boot so everything else works.

Even though retail versions of Vista come with both 32 bit and 64 bit on the disc you can only install one or the other per license from what I understand. OEM versions, you have to choose when you buy your copy if you want 32 or 64 bit.

Alright, thanks for replies. Guess I'll just try to save more and go for some cheap Core 2 Duo. Any suggestions on which model?

even if you do use programs that take advantage of 64 bit like Lightwave 3D, you'll want to dual boot so everything else works.

I may have misunderstood your point here, but as far as I know, there's no reason to dual boot just for a 32-bit OS. There aren't hardly any disadvantages to running a 64-bit OS. There's just little advantage.

I run XP x64 on my PC and the only problem I've ever ran into was the Zune software not installing on it (amazing how that works). The other 99% of x86 apps should install and run just fine.

I was thinking more for gaming on Vista, the 64bit drivers still haven't matured yet. Issues with sound and video etc.

Oh, well, if you have an nVidia video card, even x86 Vista is gonna suck ass for games.