A question about 32 or 64 bit

Currently I have a fairly fast system and it works fine for me. I want to upgrade to Win 7 just so that I can get to know who it works. I have it on my laptop but don't use it often, I figured why not upgrade my desktop to Win7 also. My question is, if I don't need the power of 64 to run several apps and what I have now works fine for me should I go with Win 7 32 bit??? From what I read people run into more software issues with the 64 bit and from what I can tell I don';t need 64 bit.


With Win7 and adding 2 more GB RAM for a total of 4GB will notice a big difference in performance over my XP Pro now ??

There wont be much performance difference..but 64 bits can access more memory than 32 bits.4 GB of RAM is ideal to run windows 7 64 bit.

If there is no proforance gain why upgrade?????????

xp is old and windows 7 is new much more stable and secure than xp..Although u might notice a small performance difference after upgrading.

The following are the 64 bit part of the Windows 7 upgrade advisor report, can someone who knows more than I do tell me if my system will handle 64 bit???

Reading the report I think so but not 100 % sure. I bought 2 more gigs or RAM so I will have 4 GB



Information about upgrading to 64-bit Windows 7
System Details
Custom installation required You'll need to perform a custom installation of 64-bit Windows 7 and then
reinstall your programs. Make sure to back up your files before you begin.
Go online to get important information about installing Windows 7 on a PC running Windows XP
Outlook Express This program is no longer included in Windows 7. You can get similar programs for
Windows 7 from other software manufacturers.
Go to the Microsoft website to learn more
Windows Aero support Your graphics adapter supports the Windows Aero user interface.
Go online to learn more about Windows Aero

CPU speed: 2.4 GHz Your CPU meets the 1 GHz minimum requirement.
2.0 GB of RAM Your PC meets the 2 GB minimum requirement.

257.8 GB free space available on C: Your hard disk meets the minimum requirement of 20 GB free space
for 64-bit Windows 7.

Devices Status Details
HP Photosmart C5100 series (DOT4)
Hewlett-Packard Unknown We don't have compatibility information about this device.
Photosmart C5100 (DOT4PRINT)
Hewlett-Packard Unknown We don't have compatibility information about this device.
ATK0110 ACPI UTILITY
ATK Check Windows Update Check Windows Update after installing Windows 7 to make sure you have
the latest driver for this device, otherwise it may not work.
Go online for more information
Generic Marvell Yukon Chipset based Ethernet Controller
Marvell Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.
Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1600 NTSC/ATSC/QAM Combo
Hauppauge Check Windows Update Check Windows Update after installing Windows 7 to make sure you
have the latest driver for this device, otherwise it may not work.
HP Photosmart C5100
Hewlett-Packard Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.
HP Photosmart C5100 series
HP Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.
HP Photosmart C5100 series (DOT4PRT)
Hewlett-Packard Check Windows Update Check Windows Update after installing Windows 7 to make sure
you have the latest driver for this device, otherwise it may not work.
HP Photosmart C5100 series (DOT4USB)
Hewlett-Packard Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.
Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Marvell Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
NVIDIA Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.
SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio
Analog Devices Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.
Go online for more information
USB Mass Storage Device
Compatible USB storage device Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.
USB Printing Support
Microsoft Compatible This device is compatible with Windows 7.

Programs Status Details
NVIDIA PhysX
version 9.10.0224
NVIDIA Corporation Not compatible This version of the program will not work on Windows 7.
Sunbelt Personal Firewall
version 4.6.1861.0
Sunbelt Software Not compatible This version of the program will not work on Windows 7.
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable
version 8.0.56336
Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 .
Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor
version 2.0.5000.0
Microsoft Corporation This program has earned Microsoft's Compatible with Windows 7 .
Learn more about the Compatible with Windows 7
Adobe Photoshop CS3
version 10.0
Adobe Systems Incorporated Compatible This program is compatible with Windows 7.
Adobe Shockwave Player 11.5
version 11.5.6.606
Adobe Systems, Inc. Compatible This program is compatible with Windows 7.
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Compatible This program is compatible with Windows 7.

Windows XP Mode is an optional feature available in Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate that
has extra system requirements.
Visit the Windows XP Mode website for more information
Requirement Details

Virtualization technology enabled Your PC supports the virtualization technology required for Windows
XP Mode, and it is currently enabled.
2.0 GB of RAM Your PC memory doesn't meet the 3 GB requirement for running Windows XP Mode on
64-bit Windows 7. When running XP Mode, you might experience poor performance.

Thank you for taking the time to read this report and give me your advice.

Go ahead and install..You can install it on a 2 Gb ram without any problem...4 GB is recommended to get a optimum performance..but don`t worry u can have 7 64 bit with 2 Gb ram..

Like I said at the begining of the post I did buy another 2 GB. Tell me to "Go ahead and install it" really doesn't tell me much I knew I could install it........lol

have u installed the extra 2 Gb ram?