Should I download 32 or 64-bit Windows 8?

Amazing Aura · 18 Mar 2014

1. Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

2. I have 4... um... y'know here are my specs

Also, why is my WEI score like that? New computers with the newest i7 proccesor and other stuff have like that and idkwtf things still have a lower score than my PC.... weird

Should I install the 32-bit? Which one will be faster? The 32-bit of Windows 7 Ultimate was a bit faster on this PC than the 64-bit. Might have been because 64-bit uses more RAM?

RitualJman · 18 Mar 2014

I would recommend 64-Bit because if in the future you decide to add more ram to your system 32-Bit won't use anymore then what you currently have in your system.

RitualJman

ICIT2LOL · 18 Mar 2014

AA mate you should be in the 8 forum (same people as here only 8 specific) but in a nutshell - 8 64bit and the WEI is always governed by the lowest scoring piece of "hardware" in your case the hard drive. Stick an SSD in and you will find that figure will jump to the next best 6.0 - the CPU put something better performing than that one and it will jump again to the next highest scoring item.

RitualJman · 18 Mar 2014

ICit2lol said:

AA mate you should be in the 8 forum (same people as here only 8 specific) but in a nutshell - 8 64bit and the WEI is always governed by the lowest scoring piece of "hardware" in your case the hard drive. Stick an SSD in and you will find that figure will jump to the next best 6.0 - the CPU put something better performing than that one and it will jump again to the next highest scoring item.

ICit2lol has a good point with changing to a SSD for a boot drive, even tho you can still use a hard drive for storage and a better CPU would for sure help you out and it would help bump your WEI score up as well. With changing to a SSD you can clone your current C: drive over to a SSD to avoid having to reformat your computer.

RitualJman

MrWhoopee · 18 Mar 2014

With your current configuration, 32-bit will perform better. If you actually intend to use 64-bit enabled software, then definitely upgrade the RAM and install 64-bit.

In the real world, I would estimate that fewer than 5% of users do anything that benefits from 64-bit processing. While the hardware manufacturers continue to increase speed and throughput, Microsoft continues to push people towards dumbed-down crApps and web-based software which require less processing power.

These are MY OPINIONS based on my experience. YMMV

z3r010 · 18 Mar 2014

MrWhoopee said:

With your current configuration, 32-bit will perform better.
These are MY OPINIONS based on my experience. YMMV

Based on my opinions and experience, I disagree

ICIT2LOL · 18 Mar 2014

z3r010 said:

MrWhoopee said:

With your current configuration, 32-bit will perform better.
These are MY OPINIONS based on my experience. YMMV

Based on my opinions and experience, I disagree

I upgraded my main laptop and the Sandy Bridge to 8 the 8.1 and from what I know about the differences in transfer rates etc 32bit is in my humble opinion getting to be a bit of a dinosaur to be honest.

I do have to say though that the machine is still using DDR2 which is not going to help matters anyway

so increasing that again IMHO increasing it will only have a very slight improvement on the outcome.

LMiller7 · 18 Mar 2014

If the hardware adequately supports a 64 bit OS and there are no compelling reasons to use a 32 bit OS (and there aren't many of them anymore) a 64 bit OS is probably a better choice.

It is important to understand that the difference between a 32 bit and 64 bit OS is not just 32 bits. Internally there are major differences between the two systems. And the choices isn't just about performance. 32 bit systems have severe constraints that cannot be solved without breaking compatibility and many that cannot be solved at all. A 64 bit OS can run most 32 bit software but a 32 bit OS cannot run 64 bit applications at all. And there are no add-ons that can make this possible.

The day is coming when Microsoft will cease production of 32 bit operating systems entirely, as happened with server versions years ago. The advantages of the 64 bit architecture are just too compelling for it to be otherwise.