April 25, 2005
Microsoft Launches 64-bit Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
Microsoft announced the general availability of the 64 bit version of Windows XP Professional. Customers have an option to get a 32-bit or 64-bit version, they can even trade into their old 32-bit license. There is also a free 14 day trial, if you just want to check it out.Be warned though, performance gains for games are non-existent (Doom 3, Far Cry, Chronicles of Riddick) and the drivers are still very immature. For mission critical applications, it probably pays to wait a little longer.
The biggest advantage of 64-bit computing is addressable memory of more than 4 gigabytes. In fact the new OS supports 128 gigabytes and 16 terabytes of virtual memory. Wowers.
