Solved 32-bit or 64-bit?

[Franky]

Hi to all,

consider this sample machine "ASUS X54H" with these specs:
Intel B970 2.3GHz
RAM: 4GB
RADEON HD 7470M 1GB

I think it's better to install the 32-bit version of Windows 7 on it because:
1- The 64-bit version is for those machines which they have more than 4GB of RAM.
2-Almost for every software we can find the 32-bit version of it but finding the 64-bit of that software sometimes isn't easy.

Am I right?

 

[Britton30]

Partly, w7 x64 can run most 32 bit software and you could add more RAM cheaply. X64 will run well on 4GB too, recommended is 2GB.

 

[ThrashZone]

I agree 4 gig's is plenty for me,
http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/86886-32-bit-vs-64-bit-comparison.html

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I've yet to have a problem running 32bit software on my 64bit Win 7 computers. In fact, the vast majority of my software is 32bit.

 

[Franky]

Thank you guys.
I choose the 32-bit version for that machine.

 

[AddRAM]

This is just my belief but........

If I have a 64 bit capable cpu, I install 64 bit software ( windows ) no matter what amount of memory I have installed.

 

[Franky]

Why?

 

[AddRAM]

Why, because I`ll probably add more memory later on.

Your #2 statement in your 1st post is totally wrong, you don`t HAVE TO install 64 Bit software ( programs ) on windows 7 64 bit, as everyone has said you can install 32 bit ( programs ) on Windows 7 64 Bit.

They do not have to be 64 Bit programs. Windows 7 has a folder for each type.

Like I said, it`s just my belief, if I have a 64 bit capable cpu, I will install Windows 7 64 bit

 

[Franky]

OK. I arrived to one conclusion; "when the RAM is 4GB or less that it the 32-bit is better, when the 64-bit is better that the RAM is more than 4GB".

 

[Indianatone]

I had a similar issue when I built 2 computers for my in laws. Pa is 79 and Ma is late 60's to spare the blushes. I installed 32 bit Windows even though 64 bit was possible. The reason was backwards compatibility with some ancient software. Stuff that calls 16 bit routines or has a 16 bit installer or even some older programs the folks are using are 16 bit. Honestly they hardly get their computers into 3rd gear but they have the knack of running 3 or 4 Firefox browsers at once as well as lord knows how many tabs. They love their machines and the option to add more ram and go 64 is there for the future if needed.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I've been able to get some legacy programs that wouldn't work otherwise to run on Win 7 64bit by installing and running them on XP SP3 compatibility mode.

 

[carwiz]

I've have some accounting software from 1998 that I used to run on Windows 95 and XP and now W7. I refuse to let go of it. It does everything I want and need except direct printing. I have to print to the Windows XPS printer but from there, I just print the image. It works, I get a backup copy (file) and I can select the pages to print if I want.

Windows 7-x64 runs x32 programs (and some 16-bit depending on the installer) like a champ. That's what the folder "SysWOW64" is for in the Windows folder. The WOW stands for Windows On Windows and contains the 32-bit Virtual Machine and drivers Windows 7 uses for compatibility and safety.

It would make sense to select x32 Windows if you intend to use only 4GB of memory and x32 programs. They wouldn't run under the emulator. However, you can run x32 and x64 bit programs in the x64 Windows and some professional software isn't available in x32 simply because they are HUGE. Some that are run like a turtle since they are constantly swapping routines in and out of memory.

 

[ShamrockRig]

OK. I arrived to one conclusion; "when the RAM is 4GB or less that it the 32-bit is better, when the 64-bit is better that the RAM is more than 4GB".

100% disagree with this statement, im running win 7 64bit with 4gb of ram and it performs brilliantly, in my opinion 4GB and above should 100% be 64bit.

 

[whs]

OK. I arrived to one conclusion; "when the RAM is 4GB or less that it the 32-bit is better, when the 64-bit is better that the RAM is more than 4GB".

That is not so. If you have a 32bit OS, you have no 64bit program files and programs that are 64bit only cannot be installed. With 4GB, I would go with the 64bit OS - unless you have a very small disk - 32bit OS is smaller.

 

[ThrashZone]

I believe someone has already said this,
If you use win-7 pro or ultimate you can use x-p mode and your old programs will work as they always have,
But 4 gig's is plenty of ram,
Under that is iffy I have a laptop with 3 gig's it is 64 bit compatible but without adding at least 1 gig more I wouldn't consider it as good thing to do,
But the speed is undeniably slower than 4 gigs with win-7 on it,
Cheers.

 

[mrjimphelps]

In my opinion, unless you need backward compatibility for must-have software and devices which will not run in a 64-bit environment (there are a few such items out there), I would definitely go with 64-bit.

I went with 32-bit, because my computer maxes out at 2 GB of RAM. But if I could go higher than that (say, 4 GB), I would have gone with 64-bit Windows.

If your computer is old, and therefore lame, e.g., your CPU is 32-bit, you should go with 32-bit Windows. But since you have 4 GB, you should go with 64-bit Windows.

The movement of the world is in the 64-bit direction. 64-bit Windows is much more capable in terms of performance than is 32-bit, if your computer will support it.

 

[Franky]

WOW, It's very wonderful. When my RAM is 4GB why I should install the X64?
Let go on the discussion step-by-step. Now please answer the above question.
You have forgot that main reason: X64 is for RAMs of more than 4GB.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...You have forgot that main reason: X64 is for RAMs of more than 4GB.

Sigh! That simply is NOT true (something you have been told repeatedly in this thread). Win 7 64bit will run just fine on 4GB. My first Win 7 machine is a Lenovo G570 notebook that came with Win 7 Home Premium 64bit and 4GB RAM installed on it. All but four of the programs I had been using on XP ran just fine on the machine. Two of those programs I replaced with newer free ones that were actually better than the ones I had been using. The other two I ran in compatibility mode by right clicking on the .exe file, clicking on properties, clicking on the compatibility tab, then set it to run on XP SP3 mode. It ran just fine with "only" 4GB of RAM for a year and a half. I upgraded my RAM to 8GB after a year and a half because I was adding an SSD that could gain some more speed by "borrowing" some of the RAM (up to 2GB) to cache the drive.

By running Win 7 32bit, you are severely limiting what you can do with your computer. The only reason I can think of for running 32bit when you have 4GB of RAM is if you are upgrading an older machine from XP and it can't handle 64bit. If you are upgrading an older XP machine, you can check it by downloading and running M$'s Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. It will let you know what will run on it.

 

[Franky]

Thank you all for your replies. I don't think continuing to this thread is useful. The thread is solved.

 

[whs]

This was your question in your first post

Am I right?

The simple answer is - you are wrong.