Case study on performance benchmarks with: Windows XP Professional SP3 [32bit] Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 [64bit]: benchmarking under both x86 [WOW64 aka Windows on Windows 64bit aka 32bit emulation] and under native 64bit. Testing enviroment: NLE: Sony Vegas Pro 8.0c [32bit] and Sony Vegas Pro 8.1 [64bit] Capture device: Canon XH A1 File format: HDV capture [.m2t] [MPEG-2 transport stream] Aspect ratio: 1440x1080i Frame rate: 29.970 fps Audio: Stereo 48,000 Hz MPEG layer 2 Length: 1 minute 39 seconds Encode/Render to: Microsoft HD WMV @ 1280x720p @ 30 fps A few extras done to my 32bit system prior to the start: Defrag Disk Clean Up AntiVirus disabled All uneeded processes were turned off * I assembled this system July '07 so it still has decent performance........or so I thought. 64bit System Specs Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 2.83GHz RAM: G.Skill DDR2 800MHz 8GB [4x2GB] GPU: HIS ATI HD Radeon 4670 1GB DDR3 128bit dual DVI Monitors: Dual 24 inch Gateway FHD2401 LCD ROM: HP 1070i SATA Multiformat 20x writer with LightScribe OS: Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64bit OS HDD: WD Caviar 250GB SATA Storage HDD: Seagate 500GB SATA Case: Gigabyte iSolo-220 Mid-ATX tower PSU: BFG Tech 650watt Keyboard: Logitech Illuminated USB Mouse: Logitech MX 1100 cordless laser 32bit System Specs: Motherboard: MSI K9 SLI Platinum CPU: AMD 64X2 Dual Core 6000+ @ 3GHz RAM: G.Skill DDR2 800MHz 4GB [4x1GB] GPU: XFX Nvidia GeForce 8600GT dual DVI Monitors: Dual 22 inch Samsung SyncMaster 220wm LCD ROM: LG SuperMulti 16x with LightScribe ROM: Asus 52X CD-R/RW OS: Windows XP Pro SP3 OS HDD: WD Caviar 250GB SATA Storage HDD: Maxtor 500GB SATA Crystal Fontz Info Display Panel Case: Cooler Master "Wave Master" Aluminum Mid-ATX tower PSU: Ultra 500watt Keyboard: Logitech DiNovo Edge - Bluetooth Mouse: Logitech MX Revolution Jog Device: Shuttle Pro2