32 vs 64

[Duke of Alinor]

AS we have seen many times in these forums, the failure is in Windows7 not being fully 64 bit with a 32 bit virtual machine for 32 bit support. Apple knew to do this when they went 64 bit. Hopefully Windows 8 will follow this route.

Going full 64 bit speeds up the OS and rewards those who write 64 bit drivers/programs/etc. Running the 32 bit stuff in a virtual machine slows the 32 bit way down which passively encourages rapid change to 64 bit.

How fast would Adobe change if Microsoft released a competing application that was fully 64 bit and Adobe's application had to run in emulation mode?

 

[Intelly]

well your in luck there... that laptop comes with both! according to the page you linked, so you can try them out for yourself

Does that mean the laptop comes with both 64 bit and 32 bit? I always thought they'd give me a choice between 32 bit and 64 bit, not both versions.

Operating system Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit (pre-installed, Toshiba-HDD recovery) and
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 32-bit (Toshiba-Recovery DVD)

i read that as it comes with 64 bit on it, but you can go back to 32 bit by sticking the disk in

I see. But won't installing 32 bit delete all the programs and every thing already on the computer?

If that's the case, then I guess I'll stick with 64 bit and only switch to 32 bit if an important program/game isn't compatible.

 

[severedsolo]

if your going to do that, then you may as well use something like Virtualbox and installing XP as a guest OS on it, yes you are right if you switch to 32 bit you will have to do a fresh install

 

[HerrKaLeun]

there also is a 2GB limit per application in 32-bit OS. If you play big games or use autoCAd etc. this also limits beyond the obvious 3.4 GB total limit.

you should assess what old software you really need and if your hardware (mainly printer I guess) has 64 bit drivers. Regarding old software, there always will be some software that doesn't run on XP, vista or W7. but if it doesn't, there sure is some better alternative.

Depending on your needs, I also can imagine that in some years major software will drop 32-bit support. Like with Autodesk Revit. No one in his right mind (except my employer) would use a PC with less than 8 GB for that. I already see that Autodesk at some time will drop the 32-bit support. (I'm probably the only person on the planet that pays for subscription and runs 2011 version on 32-bit XP, but my employer pays me by the hour . this might not matter for a laptop.

Keep in mind, now you have 4 GB. Maybe next year memory gets sheacp and you upgrade to 8 GB. Not sure on a laptop. but for a desktop RAM is the single best way to upgrade. 4 Gb is good for most people today. But so was 2 GB two years ago. I have never heard anyone complaining about too much RAM.

 

[Intelly]

That's not really an issue for me, since I'll only be using this laptop for a couple of years.

 

[Intelly]

if your going to do that, then you may as well use something like Virtualbox and installing XP as a guest OS on it, yes you are right if you switch to 32 bit you will have to do a fresh install

One last question: Is it possible to have both Win7 64 bit and Win7 32 bit on my computer? Like when you turn on the computer, you get a choice, whether you want to run Win7 32 bit or Win7 64 bit.

 

[Tepid]

Yes, you can dual boot both Win 7 32Bit and 64Bit.