Is the 64 bit version of MS Project Professional 2010 required or optional with Project Server 2010 - advantages / disadvantages?

Question

We are upgrading to Project Server 2010 and are faced with downloading/installing either the 32 bit or 64 bit version of MS Project Professional 2010.  I've learned that we have MS Office 2010 32 bit version generally installed, and our TechOps is thinking we should go with the 32 bit version of MS Project Pro 2010.  Are there any problems, obstacles or disadvantages associated with deploying the 32 bit client?  We are now set up in Backward Compatability Mode - can we ever turn it off with a 32 bit MS Project Pro client population?

Answer 1

64 bit can be helpful if you are working with VERY large projects or creating very large master projects. Other than that they are the same.

With regard to Project Server, backwards compatability mode has to do with 2007 Pro clients connecting to the server and does not relate to 32 vs 64 bit.

If you will be creating projects with 10s of thousands of tasks or creating master projects with many very large projects you might want to think about 64 bit. Other than that 32 would be fine.

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Brian Kennemer – DeltaBahn Senior Architect
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Answer 2

Just to reiterate, there're no functionality differences between the x32 and x64 versions of Project desktop.

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www.umt.com | www.projectfinancialserver.com

Answer 3

As an FYI, I have the 32-bit version installed, and am unable to open more than 37 projects simultaneously to create a temp master project file.  I have 50 realitively small projects.  I will now be upgrading.

Trish :)

Answer 4

Upgrading to 64-bit resolved the issue.  I would ensure that if you plan on opening large projects (lots of tasks, lots of assigned resources) or numerou small projects (like I have) that the 64-bit version is the way to go.