Windows 7: 32 bit vs 64 bit Comparison

Welcome to the forums.

Overclocking a laptop is ALWAYS a bad idea, and I do not recommend that you do.

Your speed problem is definitely caused by something else. I recommend you start a new thread with your problem, and we can help you out there.

~Lordbob

Thank you Lordbob75, very nice and very clear. It should help many make the choice between the two. I chose 64 bit.

Glad I could help you out.

~Lordbob

I hope it hasn't been mentioned before but 64bit software support can be a bit slack also. Take for example Adobe - a company you think would have been STRAIGHT onto the 64bit bandwagon!

While we have had 64bit Photoshop (and 64bit Photoshop extentions, which I think showed up for PS CS2? Or was it later) for YEARS, we still do not have a 64bit Flash browser plug-in. As pathetic as it sounds, because of Adobe, I need a 32bit browser installer, so I can order pizza over the net or use a few shopping sites that use flash! We've been told for YEARS that a 64bit browser plug-in is being developed and still nothing besides a x64 Prelease last month!

While on the topic of FireFox, hey look, NO 64Bit version (except for an independant? x64 port that is always a few months behind the 'official' releases) and none planned until at least FF4.0!

Then we look at the REST of the Adobe Creative Suite (of which I am a regular user); as of CS5 (which many larger organisations haven't rolled out yet; I'm still on CS4 even though i have a CS5 box sitting on my shelves) only Photoshop Extended, Lightroom, After Effects and Premiere Pro (including Media Encoder) are 64bit apps - essentially only the video production tools. Everything else, like Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Acrobat Pro, etc are still 32bit apps - while these are the apps that typically don't need as much GRUNT as the aforementioned, I am disappointed that Adobe continues to roll out 32bit software.

Still, the big issue is Flash!

Zaggy, Adobe will NEVER make x64 flash, and I think we need to give up on it (I hate flash as is).

Secondly, remember that only recently are x64 OSes gaining in popularity. So no need to make everything x64, as most stuff is x32 and its compatible regardless.
Also, FF doesn't use enough memory to NEED a x64 version (yet).

~Lordbob

That just about says it all - clear and succinct.

Thank you!!

I would love to move to 64 bit, but had problems with mine though. It installed on my system okay but it would still only see 3 megs of RAM even though I have 4 installed.

Oh well...

Thanks a lot for this post, it helped.

Glad I could help you out.

~Lordbob

Oh man, this horse has been beaten to death, so much so that it's not even recognizable anymore! You can choose to read long posts after posts by noobs and sages but it really does boil down to very simple facts which is nearly foolish to even contradict these days. To sum all of it up - there's not one single valid reason to stick with 32 bit when building a new system. None at all! But there are many reasons, some extremely practical, some a little more obscure, to go with 64 bits. The most obvious - your CPU was designed to shine on a 64 bit OS, and Windows 7 was meant to shine on systems with lots of RAM. By lots, I mean, minimum 4 gigs; ideally more. With a 32 bit OS, you are capped at 4 gigs, and typically even with that much in your system, only about 75% of your ram is even accessible to the OS.

The argument against 64 bit shouldn't ever be about technological benefits, but rather consumer needs and perceptions. The idea that a PC used for nothing more than messenger, facebook and XXX sites rarely needs that much horsepower, but that's really just silly. All those people who say this, are the first ones to complain about slow PC performance, and they are typically the type to panic and rush over to Bestbuy and have qeeksquad "diagnose" their systems. With the cost of that 'diagnostic', they could have easily gotten the extra RAM, to take full advantage of a x64 bit system and not have to complain about the slow performance of their system a month after they buy their computers. I know this sounds a little subjective, but anyone who builds systems, or works in retail selling PCs knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Omnimodis, the only problem is that some people use software that is totally or partially 16-bit, even ones made within the past 5 years. No 16-bit software can run on a 64-bit system. Also, some older hardware only have 32-bit drivers, and 32-bit drivers only work on 32-bit systems. Yes, when building a new computer, with all relative new hardware, including peripheral devices, like printers, mice, webcams, etc., and only newer software and games, you are right. If their is even one exception, you will either have to buy the hardware/software you didn't intend to buy, or live without.