Is it better to install 32-bit on a computer with < 4GB Ram?

[rasmasyean]

What happens if you install 64-bit on a computer with say 2 GB RAM?

Is there any purpose to do this? Does this actually slow your computer down?

 

[matts6887]

What happens if you install 64-bit on a computer with say 2 GB RAM?

Is there any purpose to do this? Does this actually slow your computer down?

Yes it can slow down the system because 2gb is not enough to power a 64-bit system. I believe you need at least 8gb if im not mistaken at the very least to run 64-bit somewhat ok.

 

[Digital Life]

Windows 7 system requirements








If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here's what it takes:


• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor


• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)


• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)


• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver


Source :
Windows 7 system requirements - Microsoft Windows

I would install the 64 bit version and someday in the future upgrade the ram to whatever the mother board can handle for example my laptop can take 8 gig max and yes it would seem slow with 2 gig of ram, When I upgraded my ram from 4 gig to 8 gig I did not really notice much difference.

 

[rasmasyean]

I don't really plan on "upgrading" anything. This is just for use until it's garbage. I'm just wondering if there would be a noticable difference between 32-bit and 64-bit OS when there is 2GB RAM only.

 

[gregrocker]

I use 32 bit on all installs with less than 4gb RAM. While 32-bit can only address about 3.5gb RAM, some RAM is always apportioned to hardware, which you can check by typing Resource Monitor into Start Search box to access the Memory tab.

New mobos have UEFI BIOS which require 64 bit installs, however they are also upgradable from 4gb RAM which is the route I would take on new hardware rather than reinstall 32 bit.

However if you're stuck with less than 4gb RAM I would test install 32 bit from boot to a test partition to compare in a Dual Boot.