I just purchased a new computer from Dell with Vista 64-bit. I’ve heard that the transition to 64-bit is often a rough one, so I’ll be keeping track of my progress here. To start, I visited the Windows Vista Compatability Center and checked that my major hardware will still work with the OS. This included my laser printer, scanner, and of less importance a card reader, Bluetooth adapter and a new TV tuner. The existing hardware was 1-3 years old and all of it will work just fine.

I opted to go with Vista Home Premium and I’ll save my money until Windows 7 comes out later this year and upgrade to the highest level then. With the exception of remote desktop, there’s nothing that I’ll be missing out on by having Home Premium.

I didn’t go with top of the line components but close. I do a bit of video editing, a lot of photo editing, and not much gaming. Here are the specs:

  • Dell Studio XPS 435MT
  • Core i7-920 processor, 2.66GHz, quad core
  • 6GB DDR3 1067MHz
  • 22″ Widescreen Full HD LCD Dell monitor
  • ATI Radeon HD4670 with 512MB memory
  • 640GB SATA Hard drive, 7200 RPM
  • Vista Home Premium 64-bit
  • 2-16X DVD+/-RW Drives

This is a major step up from my current 7+ year old system (frequently updated) that I built myself. Current specs are:

  • AMD Athlon 1.2GHz
  • 1GB PC133
  • 17″ 4:3 LCD Dell Monitor
  • ATI Radeon All-In-Wonder 7500 64MB
  • 500GB PATA hard drive, 72oo RPM
  • XP Pro 32-bit
  • 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
  • 52X CD-RW/-RW Drive
  • Unidentified burning smell (main reason for upgrade)

Look for my new 64-bit M@’s Picks, and anything else that I learn about taking the step to 64-bit in the next month or two.