Getting new laptop: Best OS for FTN95?

I may be getting a new laptop soon, and development of FORTRAN programs with this FTN95 compiler will be a main usage.

I keep seeing two different operating systems on various laptops: A Vista 32-bit version, and Vista 64-bit version. Does picking one over the other, have any advantages for use of the FTN95 system, in compile speed, execution speed, memory capacity etc.?

Is it true that the 32-bit will only access up to 3GB of RAM, as salespeople keep telling me? While 64-bit can access much more?

Thanx all!

Little-Acorn,

Be careful here, yes a 32-bit OS will only allow up to 3GB of ram to be addressed. A 64-bit OS running a 64-bit application can access probably all the ram you can afford to put in it. But FTN95 is only a 32-bit application and will only compile 32-bit programs whether you have a 64-bit OS or not! FTN95 will not create 64-bit programs on a 64-bit OS

Here in Australia, there does not appear to be the emphasis on 64bit OS as Dan has found in California, certainly not in the retail outlets. It appears from my questioning that a lot of current processors support the 64-bit OS but the pc configuration does not support the extra memory. Does anyone know of reviews of 64-bit laptop performance ? Does the extra memory reduce battery life ? Is there a significant improvement in run-time performance ? Does WOW64 support /3gb ?

64 bit is coming and I want to be able to run clearwin+ and ftn95. I hope we don't go through the same cycle with WOW as we did with DOS !

John

Well, I got the new laptop, went for the 64-bit Vista OS. Just finished installing the Personal Edition of Plato and FTN95, loaded my program, and it ran fine... almost completely.

Just one little glitch: When it executes the BEEP statement we talked about in another thread, which was working great (giving a clearly audible BEEP tone) on the old system (WinXP), now on this Vista-64bit system, it makes no sound.

That's after recompiling the FORTRAN code on the new system, with no changes to the FORTRAN code.

I haven't begun experimenting much with the new system, but will soon. Is this something you folks have seen before, on newer computers?