64 bit question

[chadd39]

I am planning on purchasing a Dell PowerEdge 6800 with (2) 3GHz/800Mhz/4mn Dual-Core Xeon 7120M processors.

Since these are 64Bit processors, do my Windows 2003 server guests need to be 64 bit or will the 32 bit versions run fine?

[jjohnston1127]

32-bit will run fine. It's reverse compatability. x64 will run 64-bit and 32-bit appilcations.

32-bit processors will run 32-bit apps only

[Dave_Mishchenko]

You'll be able to run both 64 or 32 bit guests. To run 64 bit guests you'll have to enable the Intel VT option in the bios (it is often disabled). When you create your new VMs, you'll have the option between W2K3 32 bit VMs and 64 bit VMs.

As an aside, ESX is still 32 bit.

[uber_ms]

If you do choose to go 64bit, don't forget about the 64bit sysprep caveat.