Windows XP Home - 64 bit enabled?

[funkmonk22377]

I've ordered a copy of Windows XP Home for my new build but I realized I forgot to be sure I purchased a 64-bit OS. After looking at the product info I can't figure out if Windows XP Home is 64-bit or not. Are there two versions of XP Home?

[shadowpr]

Unless it specifically says 64 bit, then it's not.

[funkmonk22377]

Hm, that's what I was afraid of. Can my Windows XP Home 32 bit be upgraded to vista (which only comes in 64 bit, right?)?
Will there be much of a performance gain by getting a 64bit version of windows xp? I plan to use the new build for games. I was thinking I'd wait until there's a legit performance gain in vista to upgrade. My university has vista premium upgrade for like $50.

Specs:
Antec Nine Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case
Cooler Master 850W Real Power Pro Psu
ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
SAMSUNG 20X DVD+R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

[shadowpr]

With those specs, unless you have a real need or reason for 64 bit, I would stay with 32 bit.

And vista, like xp, comes in both 32 and 64 bit versions.

[funkmonk22377]

last question - know if i can upgrade from 32 bit xp to 64 bit vista?

[EzyStvy]

Nope...You'd basically have to purchase a full copy of Vista and do a fresh install...

The only reason to use 64bit is if you need 4gigs of ram or more.