Is the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor 32 or 64 bit?VISTA will operate in 32 or 64 bit mode. If I had a 64 bit processor, could I still operate VISTA in the 32 bit mode?I have IBM Lotus software that will run on VISTA 32 bit mode only.Thanks.Stanner

The Core 2 Duos are all 64 Bit.You can run Vista 32 Bit or 64 Bit. It doesn't make any difference at this point, but 64 Bit is clearly the future. 64 Bit drivers are already widely available, so I would recommend 64 Bit, unless you have some software that won't work on 64 Bit. If it for some reason doesn't work out, you can still install the 32-Bit version with the same key, unless you're using a OEM version or a version that includes no 64-Bit media.Lotus Notes will work on Vista 64 bit. I have it running here.Good luck!Pat

>The Core 2 Duos are all 64 Bit.>>You can run Vista 32 Bit or 64 Bit. It doesn't make any>difference at this point, but 64 Bit is clearly the future. I've read this can be a problem because of existing legacy 16 bit code which does not run on 64 bit OS, present in installer routines for example. Have you heard about this?Noel

Correct. But I haven't really seen or was aware of any existing 16Bit applications. They pretty much became extinct in the time after Win95 where MS introduced 32bit drivers and APIs.I have ported all my apps to Vista and haven't had a problem whatsoever so far (knock on wood) - except for some games that cannot handle the new audio engine. ;)Pat

Pat, what do you think about Vista so far? I have a system upgrade in my future, but the one I've got now I hope to keep up n running until there is something bigger in the way of a CPU/memory improvement over what I have now. I know the current C2D's outperform this thing, but that's not all I care about. I'd like to see a doubling of FS-throughput (CPU-wise) before upgrading my system. I have no idea when that will be, but I'm guessing not for over a year, yes?Noel

>Correct. But I haven't really seen or was aware of any>existing 16Bit applications. They pretty much became extinct>in the time after Win95 where MS introduced 32bit drivers and>APIs.>Extinct eh? Heh. :) I still use a couple of 16-bit apps. One of them is a distance converter (meters to feet) I still use when designing scenery.I bet a person could run a 16-bit app in Vista via an emulator.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case