32 bit or 64 bit with 4 GB RAM

[DeaconFrost]

but games simply run better under XP..)

I'd start doing some troubleshooting then, rather than dual-boot. If you take a moment to check out the gaming benchmarks from any respected site, you'll see that Win 7 is on par or ahead of anything else. If your individual system isn't showing that, if it was me, I'd want to know why.

People are not deciding to go 64bit - they are pushing it down our throat. I wanted to buy a 32bit laptop a couple of months ago. Impossible to find a single one. Now I am stuck with this 64bit thing that deos not run well at all (4GB of RAM).

I'd say it is both. The average joe doesn't know the difference, but as more and more people become tech savvy, they learn what they need and how to get the best value for their buck. There's nothing wrong with x64, and it seems to me that you are letting your own personal experience cloud your viewpoint of the industry's direction as a whole. At one point, Win7 was discussed as being x64 only. One a recent system, 4 years or newer, that shouldn't be an issue at all.

Vista's may have been a PR failure, but it did prove that x64 computing was ready for the masses. Developer's have had more than ample time to be ready for Windows 7. If a company decided not to be ready, they'd lose my business. At one point, I owned four Creative Labs sound cards. I still have them all, but not one is in use. They choose to drop the ball on supporting the new OSes, so I chose to stop supporting them with new purchases.

 

[BEARCATJER]

My current desktop has 4gb of ram but runs on win xp sp3 32 bit..so I know i am only using something like 3gb of ram.I want to upgrade from XP to win 7 premium home. From what i have read elsewhere on this forum I will have to do a clean install so if I buy the 64 bit version of Win 7 Home Premium will it work on my pc even though i now have a 32 bit OS? I ran the Win 7 upgrade advisor and it didnt indicate any problems/issues with my current setup.

 

[whs]

My current desktop has 4gb of ram but runs on win xp sp3 32 bit..so I know i am only using something like 3gb of ram.I want to upgrade from XP to win 7 premium home. From what i have read elsewhere on this forum I will have to do a clean install so if I buy the 64 bit version of Win 7 Home Premium will it work on my pc even though i now have a 32 bit OS? I ran the Win 7 upgrade advisor and it didnt indicate any problems/issues with my current setup.

There should be no problem with Win7 x64 - but make a clean install.

 

[dood]

but games simply run better under XP..)

I'd start doing some troubleshooting then, rather than dual-boot. If you take a moment to check out the gaming benchmarks from any respected site, you'll see that Win 7 is on par or ahead of anything else. If your individual system isn't showing that, if it was me, I'd want to know why.

Let me be more accurate...
"Less headaches"...

Ya...I've gotten things to work under 7...
But I've simply not bothered for others...particularly older titles.

Additionally..I'm not much of a 'gamer'. I just enjoy my driving games/sims so I'm not too big on going thru the headaches.
The machine sports a solid 4.2 Mhz OC and GTX 280...so if W7 eaks out a few more FPS, its not going to make much of a difference vs XP.

The W7x64 side is primary used for a VM's, video editing and other tasks that take advantage of the 8GB of memory in the rig...

 

[Darryl Licht]

The machine sports a solid 4.2 Mhz OC and GTX 280...so if W7 eaks out a few more FPS, its not going to make much of a difference vs XP.

A whopping 4.2 MHz OC????

WOW!

 

[DennyMK]

Our PCs are primarily used for MS Office applications.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi steve,
maybe many of you won't agree with me, but for Office applications you won't even notice the difference between 32 and 64 bit OS.
I personally preffer 32 bit and I always have a bunch of stuff open and running.
(see my PC specs)

 

[Zomby88]

If there is no price difference and all the programs you need to run are compatable, I would get the 64 bit.

 

[Darryl Licht]

Our PCs are primarily used for MS Office applications.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi steve,
maybe many of you won't agree with me, but for Office applications you won't even notice the difference between 32 and 64 bit OS.
I personally preffer 32 bit and I always have a bunch of stuff open and running.
(see my PC specs)

I find it hard to believe that you did/do not notice a difference with multi-tasking... I made to move from 32 to 64 bit in January on my primary workstation and I notice a much speedier and responsive OS than when doing the same with 32 Win7.

I see it this way... If you have more than 3GB of RAM and all your add-on cards and peripherals are supported in a 64bit environment, then go for it! 64bit computing is finally here, embrace it! Oh, and 128bit is around the corner!

 

[DennyMK]

Our PCs are primarily used for MS Office applications.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi steve,
maybe many of you won't agree with me, but for Office applications you won't even notice the difference between 32 and 64 bit OS.
I personally preffer 32 bit and I always have a bunch of stuff open and running.
(see my PC specs)

I find it hard to believe that you did/do not notice a difference with multi-tasking... I made to move from 32 to 64 bit in January on my primary workstation and I notice a much speedier and responsive OS than when doing the same with 32 Win7.

I see it this way... If you have more than 3GB of RAM and all your add-on cards and peripherals are supported in a 64bit environment, then go for it! 64bit computing is finally here, embrace it! Oh, and 128bit is around the corner!

You misunderstood me buddy...I said for office applications only....and by the way those double folders bothers me (one of a few things I don't choose 64 over 32 bit OS).

 

[Darryl Licht]

You misunderstood me buddy...I said for office applications only....and by the way those double folders bothers me (one of a few things I don't choose 64 over 32 bit OS).

What double folders are you speaking of?
Program Files and PFx86???

 

[DennyMK]

What double folders are you speaking of?
Program Files and PFx86???

Program Files and Program Filesx86

 

[Darryl Licht]

What double folders are you speaking of?
Program Files and PFx86???

Program Files and Program Filesx86

From the Users standpoint all apps (x86 and 64) appear in the START --> All Programs sub menu, so it isnt really an issue. Its seamless and not an issue to me!

 

[fastexpert]

The 32 bit version can't use all 4 GB

Also 32 bit version of Windows 7 can use full 4 GB RAM (up to 64 GB). See: 32-bit Windows 7 with full 4 GB or 8 GB RAM support​

 

[dood]

The machine sports a solid 4.2 Mhz OC and GTX 280...so if W7 eaks out a few more FPS, its not going to make much of a difference vs XP.

A whopping 4.2 MHz OC????

WOW!

Well..thats on AIR.
Anything more I start to get some instability.

I suppose could get more out of it if I went with an active cooling system.

 

[mitchell65]

The 32 bit version can't use all 4 GB

Also 32 bit version of Windows 7 can use full 4 GB RAM (up to 64 GB). See: 32-bit Windows 7 with full 4 GB or 8 GB RAM support​

Beware the side effects of the Russian patch that needs to be applied. I'm not happy with pressing a function button thats name I cannot understand. The patch is only written in Russian. All this just to get an extra 512Mb RAM! Once you go over 4Gb RAM you need 64 bit OS to gain the full potential. (IMHO)

 

[fastexpert]

Beware the side effects of the Russian patch that needs to be applied.

<Irony on>
Don't trust the Russian !
Don't trust "Kaskersky Antivirus" !
Don't trust "Start 2 agreement" !
<Irony off>

I'm not happy with pressing a function button thats name I cannot understand.

There is a link a to step-by-step instruction. So you can do the patch manually. You only need a HEX editor.

All this just to get an extra 512Mb RAM!

Other users report that they only have access to 3,25 GB or 3 GB of RAM. So they get access to extra 750 MB or even 1 GB RAM. What would you say if you have bought an 1 TB hard disk and have only access to 750 GB ?

 

[mitchell65]

Beware the side effects of the Russian patch that needs to be applied.

<Irony on>
Don't trust the Russian !
Don't trust "Kaskersky Antivirus" !
Don't trust "Start 2 agreement" !
<Irony off>

OK I will rephrase that part to: "Beware the side effects of the patch that needs to be applied."