What is the purpose of 64-bit IE?

[crimson]

I use 32-bit IE which is compatible with Flash, and all the various websites I browse.

So what is the 64-bit version for? What situations require 64-bit IE instead of 32-bit? Are there any examples of websites that require 64-bit IE?

 

[Bill2]

This is the official version.

There are a few advantages to using the 64-bit version:

• Security: DEP/NX is always on for 64bit processes. (Of course, on Vista SP1+, 32bit IE8+ has DEP/NX enabled by default too.)
• Security: Memory protections like ASLR are more effective (because the address space is dramatically larger)
• Security: Most bad guys only bother to write x86 shellcode, which will fail in an x64 process
• It may crash less. (Because most addons don't load in 64bit IE, it tends to be more reliable.)
• It may be faster to start up. (Because most addons aren't loaded. You can disable add-ons in 32bit IE if you'd like)

Source: Q&A: 64-Bit Internet Explorer - EricLaw's IEInternals - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

You can also take a look here.

http://www.sevenforums.com/browsers-mail/65362-why-use-64-bit-internet-explorer-8-a.html

 

[strollin]

32 vs 64 bit really shouldn't matter as far as web content. Theorectically, the 64-bit version could be faster but not necessarily so. It should be possible for the 64-bit browser to load more web pages at one time or load larger web pages but that's pretty much a moot point.

The fact that there is no distinct advantage to a 64-bit browser is probably why there are few people using 64-bit browsers and little support for things like Flash for 64-bit browsers.

 

[mach04]

My cpu is a 64 bit but I use IE 32 bit instead of 64 bit (both are installed), only because it supports Flash. I haven't noticed any significant differences between these two's performances.
As strollin says, maybe the 64 bit can handle more web pages at one time.

 

[crimson]

OK thanks. So there is really no website in which using a 64-bit IE is required to fully load properly? It's just makes internet browsing overall faster and able to load more pages.

 

[stve]

No some bad advice on this thread.
IE9 64 bit uses an older JavaScript engine & is much slower than the 32 bit version.
Think about it if the 64 bit version was better & faster wouldn't Microsoft make it the default instead of hiding it away.

IE9 vs Chrome 10 vs Firefox 4 RC vs Opera 11.01 vs Safari 5 - The BIG browser benchmark! | ZDNet

 

[carwiz]

LOL ... Sort of sidebar but this caught my eye in the ZDNet comparison.

"Microsoft’s painfully slow update cycle for IE (especially compared with Google’s aggressive update cycle) works against it in the long run."

Now that's a real "spin" on a heavily patched browser. Take a buggy piece of software and call the fixes an "aggressive update cycle". :roflmao:

:focus:

 

[strollin]

No some bad advice on this thread.
IE9 64 bit uses an older JavaScript engine & is much slower than the 32 bit version.
Think about it if the 64 bit version was better & faster wouldn't Microsoft make it the default instead of hiding it away.

IE9 vs Chrome 10 vs Firefox 4 RC vs Opera 11.01 vs Safari 5 - The BIG browser benchmark! | ZDNet

Hence why I said, " Theoretically, the 64-bit version could be faster but not necessarily so."

 

[cluberti]

IE9 64 bit uses an older JavaScript engine & is much slower than the 32 bit version.

Actually, IE9 uses the same javascript engine in 32 and 64bit builds, but the 64bit build does not have the JIT improvements that modify javascript to machine code before execution that is found in the 32bit version. Otherwise, they are the same. Note that IE9 performance in jscript can differ based on the document mode the page renders in too, affecting both 32 and 64bit versions of IE9.

 

[mach04]

There is a new Flash available for 64 bit in beta version, and it works fine for IE 64 bit.
Flash Player | 64-bit operating systems