Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Customer Preview Program

No doubt completely coincidentally, Microsoft has now provided access to Windows XP 64. This is release candidate II, and is available for download from its customer preview site.

If you have a 64-bit ready PC, you now have the option to receive trial software for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition via CD or download. Please note that in either case, the pre-release software is time-limited and will expire in 360 days.

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is designed to address the most demanding needs of technical workstation users who require large amounts of memory and floating point performance in areas such as mechanical design and analysis, digital content creation and scientific and high-performance computing applications.

System Requirements:

•	Supported processors: AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteron, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium 4 with Intel EM64T support
•	256MB RAM
•	1.5GB available hard-disk space
•	Super VGA (800x600) or higher resolution video card
•	CD-ROM or DVD drive
•	Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device Important: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition cannot be successfully installed on 64-bit Intel Itanium–based systems.