I know this was probably asked before but I did a search could not find anything. I upgraded to 4GB (from 2gb) of ram on 32-bit Vista premium. I know only 3GB can be used by 32-bit windows. I know you need 64-bit version of windows to be able to address all 4GBs of ram.

If i go 64-bit will my 32-bit windows games be able use all 4GB of ram? even with 3GB I run out of mem well playing games like AoC with high settings. I found a OME version of windows vista 64-bit home Premium for $100 is worth the upgrade?

Computers Specs Below:

Dell XPS410

your OS allocates the ram your game needs, the fact that the game itself is 32 or 64 bit makes no difference as far as ram usage.

32bit games will still only use the amount of memory that they are capable of. the advantage of having a 64bit OS (i'm running vista ultimate 64) is the amount of resources available to your system.

for example, if you have a game that uses 1.5gb of ram in a 32bit OS, it will still use only 1.5gb in the 64bit OS. the difference is that your system is much less likely to crash since in a 64bit OS with 4GB of ram, you will have 2.5GB of ram free for other programs, as opposed to only 1.5GB ram free in a 32bit OS.

in short, a 64bit OS allows you more headroom for running multiple apps than a 32bit OS does. that's it.

If you already own a copy of 32bit Vista, you can have them ship you a 64bit copy for $10-$20. CDkey stays the same.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvi [...] fault.mspx

sweet thx guys for the help, I got a OEM key dose that make a diff?

Not sure. I didn't actually use this service, just knew about it. You can always call Microsoft to find out.

will do.

Update: Microsoft said not worth getting 64-bit unless I get more then 4GBs of ram. Even for gaming they said it would not help. Plus they said OME keys do not work for 64-bit upgrade.

Sounds about right. If you can get the $10 upgrade, it's still worth the upgrade. But $100 is definately not worth it. Stick to the 32bit os for now.

Unless... you download a pirated copy of it for free.

if I can find a copy that works ^ . ^