difference between 32 bit and 64 bit

[jinjuvadiamilan]

Hi sorry it might be a dumb question...but can anyone tell me whats the difference?? i mean is it really imp to rightly select it??


for vista mt system supports both 64 n 32 bits.. so does it mean same for windows 7?? i can install anyone of it??

more i would like which will be better to install and why..

thanks...

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Most users wouldn't know the difference.

If you have at least 4 mb of RAM, people will tell you to install 64 bit, but you could have driver or application issues. Some chance of that.

If you don't have a reason to believe you need 64, go with 32, unless you have an awful lot of RAM.

 

[richc46]

Today, you can really go with either, but in the very near future 64 will be the way to go. Windows 8, may be in 64 only. Appl are preparing for 64. If your machine is capable go with 64.

 

[jinjuvadiamilan]

i have dell inspiron 1545
core 2 duo
4gb ram
2.1ghz laptop...

what u guys insist?? is it like applications which run on 32 bit are not compatible on 64 bit??

is 64 bit really fast?? i can install on my lappy? what u guys insist?

 

[richc46]

Its not so much that it is fast. I think (and this is an opinion) that the biggest benefit is that you can run many applications at the same time. You can play a game, use word document, and other applications, without seeing a slow down. But the biggest benefit will be in the near future. Whether you need it or not, many manufacurers are going to phase out 32 bit, just like 16 bit has now disappeared.

 

[Dave76]

Your computer is 64bit capable, you have 4GB RAM.
Any program that will run on Vista 32bit will run on Win7 64bit.

Install 64bit.

It's an easy choice.

 

[jinjuvadiamilan]

thanks guys.. for the info.. i will now install 64bit...

 

[zone23]

You don't have to have 4gb to use x64 system requirement form MS say 2gb. I have 3gb and its fine. My point is everyone says well if you have less then 4gb then run 32bit. You can run it on any thing over 2gb. The biggest issue can be with drivers if you can get drivers for all your devices and you have 2gb of RAM or more then I say absolutely run x64.

I actually run 7 x64 on a AMD 3000 x64 with 1gb and its fine.

 

[chrysalis]

there is other differences as well.

64bit has much better pagedpool and nonpagedpool memory handling, so even with less than 4 gig of ram you will see improvements in performance and capability to scale apps.

some info here.

Mark's Blog : Pushing the Limits of Windows: Paged and Nonpaged Pool

 

[poin2]

thanks guys.. for the info.. i will now install 64bit...

The only real reason not to with a system like yours would be if you have older hardware that lacks 64-bit drivers. If you're still using an older scanner or printer or something like that, you might simply want to confirm it has 64-bit drivers available first.