Sharepoint Designer for SP2010

Question

I am bit confused as on this..

1. Which version of Share Point designer (32 or 64bit) do I need to use to work on SP 2010.

When I try to download the 64 bit , I see a message as "32 bit is recomended for most users ..".

1. I have installed SP 2010 on win 2008 R2 in virtual box. Is it mandatory for me to install Vs 2010 on same machine to develop web parts ...?? Can I install Vs 2010 in a different machine ..?? Which version of VS 2010(Express, Prof, Prem or Ult) is required ..??

Answer 1

1. Sharepoint 2010 can be installed on client machines with Windows 7 or Vista.
2. It is required for Sharepoint 2010 products that you are running x64 version of OS.
3. The development tools like VS and Sharepoint designer can be either 32bit or 64bit.