32 Bit Vs. 64 Bit

Hello all I just upgraded my Ram from 1gb to 4gb. So I had to do a new Install to windows 7 64bit and my question is what is the point of 64bit other than you can use more than 3gb ram? alot of programs are 32 bit's, Does the 32 Bit programs still run quicker on 64? I also noticed that the computer seams slower and uses up more HD space on the 64. I had more stuff installed on my 32 bit version and it used up about 38GB and on my 64bit it has Less stuff on it and its is using about the same.

Yes 64bit will use up slightly more space. 64 bit programs will also run faster.

general comments that i've read indicate that the 32 bit version of 7 feels faster

All technology aside, I have noticed that there are a ton of issues with Vista x64 like compatibility issues, and the speed is definitely not faster than x86 systems (regardless of the RAM...I have a client with 8GB and a quad core cpu, and vista x64 is no faster than a x86 system with a core 2 and 4GB of RAM)...I hope that Windows 7 has resolved these issues...I'm downloading both x86 and x64 so I'll find out.