Quad Master
Guide
64-Bits Goes Prime Time—Almost
Ever since the first Athlon 64 processor shipped, buyers and builders of 64-bit desktop systems have waited for a mainstream 64-bit operating system. While they waited, Apple shipped partially 64-bit versions of MacOS 10, but of course only Mac owners could enjoy those. Meanwhile, Linux users could happily install any of several 64-bit distros on their systems. Finally, Windows XP Professional x64 is here--sort of.
For example, it's tough to buy a desktop PC system today with Windows XP Pro x64 (which we'll just call Windows x64). None of the major manufacturers are shipping systems with Windows x64 installed, unless you buy an engineering or professional graphics workstation. Even the boutique resellers, such as Falcon Northwest, VoodooPC, or Alienware don't seem to offer Windows x64 preloaded. And you can't just run out and buy a retail copy--Microsoft is making it available only as an OEM item, which retail stores won't stock. So there's a version that needs to be bought with a system, but you can't buy a system with it installed. Confused yet?
Actually, you can buy OEM copies of Windows x64, but you typically need to purchase it with some sort of hardware; usually a processor, hard drive, or motherboard will suffice. In some cases, you may only need to buy a cheap keyboard or mouse in order to fulfill the OEM requirement. We've worked with stores that will sell it to us without the added hardware, but only because we regularly buy system-level hardware from them.
The other way to obtain Windows x64 is directly from Microsoft--but only if you've previously bought a system that's 64-bit capable and it was bought with a licensed copy of Windows XP Professional. Windows XP Home and Windows XP Media Center Edition aren't eligible. Your PC hardware must have been ordered or built between March 31, 2003, and July 31, 2005. Note the escape clause--"or built." So if you built your own system, you can presumably order a copy. You are sacrificing the license for the 32-bit copy you're upgrading, and it has to be either a full retail, OEM, or System Builder version. Assuming your version of Windows XP Professional is eligible, you plunk down $12.99 with a credit card and Microsoft sends you a DVD-style case with the CD and new CD key.
[rank=www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1816235,00.asp]Read Full Article Here[/rank]
Ever since the first Athlon 64 processor shipped, buyers and builders of 64-bit desktop systems have waited for a mainstream 64-bit operating system. While they waited, Apple shipped partially 64-bit versions of MacOS 10, but of course only Mac owners could enjoy those. Meanwhile, Linux users could happily install any of several 64-bit distros on their systems. Finally, Windows XP Professional x64 is here--sort of.
For example, it's tough to buy a desktop PC system today with Windows XP Pro x64 (which we'll just call Windows x64). None of the major manufacturers are shipping systems with Windows x64 installed, unless you buy an engineering or professional graphics workstation. Even the boutique resellers, such as Falcon Northwest, VoodooPC, or Alienware don't seem to offer Windows x64 preloaded. And you can't just run out and buy a retail copy--Microsoft is making it available only as an OEM item, which retail stores won't stock. So there's a version that needs to be bought with a system, but you can't buy a system with it installed. Confused yet?
Actually, you can buy OEM copies of Windows x64, but you typically need to purchase it with some sort of hardware; usually a processor, hard drive, or motherboard will suffice. In some cases, you may only need to buy a cheap keyboard or mouse in order to fulfill the OEM requirement. We've worked with stores that will sell it to us without the added hardware, but only because we regularly buy system-level hardware from them.
The other way to obtain Windows x64 is directly from Microsoft--but only if you've previously bought a system that's 64-bit capable and it was bought with a licensed copy of Windows XP Professional. Windows XP Home and Windows XP Media Center Edition aren't eligible. Your PC hardware must have been ordered or built between March 31, 2003, and July 31, 2005. Note the escape clause--"or built." So if you built your own system, you can presumably order a copy. You are sacrificing the license for the 32-bit copy you're upgrading, and it has to be either a full retail, OEM, or System Builder version. Assuming your version of Windows XP Professional is eligible, you plunk down $12.99 with a credit card and Microsoft sends you a DVD-style case with the CD and new CD key.
[rank=www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1816235,00.asp]Read Full Article Here[/rank]
