Hi, I made the exact same decision as you! I'm skipping Vista completely and installed XP Pro x64, Service Pack 3. So far I'm loving it and haven't run into many issues. I'm a 3d artist, and all of my software runs on it just fine, [3ds Max, Maya, Photoshop, Flash, ZBrush, etc.] Some 3d applications even have superior 64-bit versions available. Going over 4 gigs may seem unnecessary for some users, but for my line of work it's nothing short of a lifesaver.

As for games, I've successfully used various free MMOs, and Guild Wars, and ran Steam, absolutely no problems. Most modern games should work seamlessly, you might only experience problems with much older games, like Diablo.

The only issues you might run into are drivers for external hardware devices i.e. printers, scanners, graphics tablet, wireless keyboard/mouse, etc. You'll have to do some hunting online, but I was able to find workable drivers for all of my peripherals. The only problem I had was my Wacom Tablet and a logitech wireless mouse/keyboard combo. Oddly enough, each worked fine separately, but when both were installed it caused problems - I had to forfeit the wireless mouse for my much more beloved tablet, in the end. But if you don't own a tablet, this will not be a problem you'll be facing. :)

There were only two pieces of software I could not install due to compatibility issues, and both are relatively unimportant, in my opinion. The first was Norton - which honestly one can do without, there are countless comparable antivirus programs, and generally for better price tags. The second was Itunes, which is a little program I personally hate. :) The newest version of Winamp can sync to an Ipod, so this solves that problem as well.

There's also a lot of help from other users out there on the Internet, and almost any problem you'll run into has probably happened to someone else before.
Source(s):
http://www.start64.com/


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