New laptop - 32 bit or 64 bit?

Hi all, I'm looking into a new laptop. I initially wanted a 32-bit system, but looking at the Dell Inspirons, almost everything they now offer is 64 bit (I'm going with Dell for various reasons, mainly because I can get it with a U.S. keyboard and a 4-year warranty that will transfer to the States). We bought the hubby this exact machine last month with a 32-bit OS. I found only one Inspiron on sale now where I can still get 32-bit (everything else is automatically 64 bit) and it comes with a free upgrade to Windows 7 (the 64-bit versions have a free upgrade as well as well). BUT it costs about 23 quid more for the same configuration if I get it as a 32 bit than if I buy the 64-bit system. I don't mind paying 23 more if the 32-bit system is best for my needs, but is it? It also feels a bit odd to pay more for a system that is the "older" style.

I've read various articles about 32 bit vs 64 bit, and they seem to suggest I may as well stay with 32-bit for my needs, but is it still a good idea to go ahead and go to 64 bit? I'm not a gamer. I don't look forward to device driver incompatibility problems when I use old items on my new laptop (IF that will be an issue). My husband has a 32 bit system, so my buying a 64-bit system would make it harder to share software unless I just used 32 bit as well when we buy something new. Or are these things not really going to be big issues?

Has anyone had to make a similar decision, or just know a lot about computers that can chime in?

The only reason to not switch to 64-bit is if you are running software that doesn't support it. These days, almost all of the 'common applications' support 64-bit systems. The biggest group of software there is actually 16-bit (those that didn't make the jump a decade ago!). A 64-bit system can run (well, emulate) a 32-bit system for 32-bit software (it's like half its brain tied behind its back!). I'd recommend getting a 64-bit system. At the extreme would be getting the 64-bit system and a 32-bit version of Windows, but I don't think any normal user will have to worry about compatibility issues.

Thanks so much for the tips; any others with input please chime in!

I've spent hours today trying to find out if certain programs/devices I have will operate on a 64-bit system. There is a windows site where you can check compatibility, but it just gave the answer as unknown!

Does anyone know if the following programs will work on a 64-bit system?

Adobe Photoshop 7.0 (full version, not the Elements one)

Macromedia Dreamweaver 6.0

Also, a Seagate external hard drive that is about 4 years old

You won't have any problems with the hard drive (it doesn't matter if the system is 16-bit or 64-bit). It looks like Adobe (and by extension Macromedia) products don't support 64-bit yet. 32-bit apps can be run. A quick search found that some people have had success with PS on Vista-64 (just as Flash can work if the browser is a 32-bit app).

If you're outfitting your system with 4gb of ram (or more), then you'll basically need a 64 bit system to take advantage of it. Although a 32bit system can address 4gbs, any single application can only make use of at most 2gb at a time. This generally won't matter for most apps (most won't use anywhere near this much memory), but 'bigger' apps (e.g. photoshop, some games, etc.) can run in 64bit mode and take advantage of the full amount of memory. Memory constraints aside, 64bit applications and systems generally perform better than their 32bit counterparts, although the differences are rarely big (outside of some very specific situations, such as math heavy apps).

The posters above gave a good synopsis of the current state of compatibility and operating modes, but I'll just add my own seal of approval; I switched my desktop and laptop over to Vista 64 about 2 years ago and haven't had any issues in ages. Most of the 'warnings' you see on the net refer to the state of compatibility when Vista 64 and 64bit-configured systems first started being released by the major manufacturers several years ago. Unless you have a particularly old piece of hardware or software that you must use, you're very unlikely to run into any problems. On a new system, it'll almost certainly work flawlessly.

Thanks for all the input! My current laptop has stopped acting up, so I'm going to try and skate until Win 7 comes out to get a new one. Then I think I'll get the 64-bit (in fact, by then I may be hard put to find anything else, lol).