Should I switch to Windows 7 64 bit from 32 Bit

[alstein]

Hi
I have windows 7 32 bit version installed on my desktop PC. I would have installed the 64 bit version except that on of my printers did not have 53 bit drivers available. Neither does my Epson Perfection 1250 scanner. Several months after installing the 32 Bit version, I purchased a Sony Vaio notebook PC which came with a free upgrade to Windows 7 64 bit. I subsequently changed my printer to a more recent model, and have ordered a new scanner which also comes with available Windows 7 64 bit drivers. I am considering reinstalling Windows 7 on my desktop pc but in the 64 bit version. Its a real pain to do so. Any opinions on whether it will be worth the effort?​

Thanks.​

 

[richc46]

You left out the two most important criteria:

What do you want?

and

System Specs

 

[archie123]

yes it will be worth the effort , if only to ram in some more ram

heres something to read , save me rambling on http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/350609/why-bother-with-64-bit-windows

 

[Night Hawk]

Welcome to the Seven Forums! alstein

When first going to test 7 I couldn't even connect online with the 64bit Windows 7 or even previous XP and Vista 64bit editions for those two. For me it was simply a change of service provider to connect running the 64bit anything!

Upon 7's release the actual support for the 64bit Windows has seen a major improvement over what had been seen for the two previous versions. With the change and likely upgrade of printers there the decision to run the 64bit or stay with the 32bit is yours to make there.

Surprizingly most programs will still run on the 64bit due to the improvement in 32bit emulation seen in 7 while some programs simply will not run on any 64bit Windows. That is one consideration and sometimes a stumbling block for some besides hardware/device drivers.

If you are into CAD programming or running super memory hungry softwares the ability to surpass the 3.5gb barrier allows for having more then 4gb of system memory installed. But the 64bit Windows only uses about 300mb more of memory simply due to seeing less data swapped out to the hard drive by way of paging file and kept in the active ram, a more efficient process while not necessarily any super performance boost!

 

[whs]

I have a configuration like you. A new laptop with 64bit and a desktop with 32bit. For the time being, I like 32bit better - not because of driver problems but some of my other programs do not run in 64 bit (and the 32bit emulation does not help).
I would suggest you install 64bit on your new laptop and leave the 32bit on the other sytem. Then you can compare yourself. I will wait at least until after SP1 before I install another 64bit.

 

[Night Hawk]

One option would be setting up a dual boot of both 32bit and 64bit on the desktop either on a second primary or drive in order to run them for side by side comparisons. Once you have both running on the exact same hardwares with the same programs as well you can make the final decision on which suits your own needs the best.

 

[Lordbob75]

If your desktop works fine as is, there is no reason to change it (unless you have more than 4 gigs of RAM).

~Lordbob

 

[rpmstl]

I have 32 and 64 dual booted right now. Haven't booted up the 32 since I installed 64 - 6 months ago.

If you feel like formatting and reinstalling - go for it.

64 is worth it for the additional Ram it utilizes.

 

[alstein]

You left out the two most important criteria:

What do you want?

and

System Specs

Ideally, I would hope that installing the 64 bit version of Windows 7 give my system a performance boost (not that I find my current PC is performing poorly.

I am running an Intel Quad core 6600, with 4 megs of Ram, an Asus P5K deluxe motherboard, 1 terabyte internal HD, and 2 external drives, both a terrabyte connnected via e-sata, an XFX Nvidia 8800GT video card, and an Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card. I also have an internal dvd RW drive and Blu-Ray player (internal).

 

[jcgriff2]

I do not recommend x86 --> x64 unless you have found x64 drivers for all devices. x64 mandates device driver signing.

Furthermore, x86 apps running under x64 are still subject to the 4 GB RAM limitation. So unless you are running specific x64 RAM hungry apps that can take advantage of > 4 GB RAM, stick w/ x86.

Most apps today are x86 - including many Microsoft programs.

Check out the 2 Program Files folders found in x64 -

Tech Support Forum - View Single Post - 64 bit vs 32 bit

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

.

 

[severedsolo]

You left out the two most important criteria:

What do you want?

and

System Specs

Ideally, I would hope that installing the 64 bit version of Windows 7 give my system a performance boost (not that I find my current PC is performing poorly.

I am running an Intel Quad core 6600, with 4 megs of Ram, an Asus P5K deluxe motherboard, 1 terabyte internal HD, and 2 external drives, both a terrabyte connnected via e-sata, an XFX Nvidia 8800GT video card, and an Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card. I also have an internal dvd RW drive and Blu-Ray player (internal).

quite frankly, your not going to see any noticable improvements, maybe in the milliseconds, I was on 32 bit Vista, but when i bought 7 as i was going nuclear on the hard drive anyway i decided to get 64 bit, but quite frankly unless you have more than 4GB of RAM then you wont see any noticable benefits, 64 bit can be a PITA with certain applications and drivers, (for instance, 32 bit windows 7 will quite happily install Vista drivers straight outta the box, 64 bit sometimes requires a little tweaking)

 

[whs]

There is one question that still bugs me in the discussion. It is clear that X64 is the right solution for 6 or 8GB of RAM and x86 is right for e.g. 2GB of RAM. But what about 4GBs. Will the extra 500 to 700MBs of RAM that x64 can address make a difference in performance? If I look at the RAM usage in my 3GB x86 system, I would not think so. But am I looking at the right thing?

I ask because I am facing the x86 vs. x64 decision for my 4GB Q6600 system.

 

[Jonathan_King]

There is one question that still bugs me in the discussion. It is clear that X64 is the right solution for 6 or 8GB of RAM and x86 is right for e.g. 2GB of RAM. But what about 4GBs. Will the extra 500 to 700MBs of RAM that x64 can address make a difference in performance? If I look at the RAM usage in my 3GB x86 system, I would not think so. But am I looking at the right thing?

I ask because I am facing the x86 vs. x64 decision for my 4GB Q6600 system.

I'd go with 64-bit in your case Wolfgang. You will be able to use the full 4GB, but a better reason is future-proofing yourself. In case you want to upgrade, you won't also need to reinstall.

I'm using x64 on my 4GB system, and I have no problems and it runs fine.

 

[whs]

Jonathan, I am leaning there too. But then I have to give up my Applauncher in the sidebar that I use a lot. I guess I could stuff the shortcuts into the Toolbars because my Rocket Dock is full.

 

[alstein]

You left out the two most important criteria:

What do you want?

and

System Specs

Ideally, I would hope that installing the 64 bit version of Windows 7 give my system a performance boost (not that I find my current PC is performing poorly.

I am running an Intel Quad core 6600, with 4 megs of Ram, an Asus P5K deluxe motherboard, 1 terabyte internal HD, and 2 external drives, both a terrabyte connnected via e-sata, an XFX Nvidia 8800GT video card, and an Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card. I also have an internal dvd RW drive and Blu-Ray player (internal).

quite frankly, your not going to see any noticable improvements, maybe in the milliseconds, I was on 32 bit Vista, but when i bought 7 as i was going nuclear on the hard drive anyway i decided to get 64 bit, but quite frankly unless you have more than 4GB of RAM then you wont see any noticable benefits, 64 bit can be a PITA with certain applications and drivers, (for instance, 32 bit windows 7 will quite happily install Vista drivers straight outta the box, 64 bit sometimes requires a little tweaking)

Thanks for the information. I am leaning towards installing Windows 7 Home Edition 64 bit version and taking my chances......(I tend to play with stuff till it breaks, and then try solve problems that i have created <G>). I have a couple of questions about back ups for the conversion. A common recommendation is to back up documents and settings, and then restore once the new installation is complete. I don't have a problem with the concept of backing up my documents, photo's, email settings, etc., but is there any point in backing up up settings from my 32 bit Windows 7 system, if I will be reinstalling a 64 bit system?

Also, will I have a problem installing from my Windows 7 upgrade discs which I purchased last year? Both 32 and 64 bit versions were included, but is it possible thatl I may have a problem with validation?

 

[sandman]

I was the same way about 64 bit but since installing on the 24th of this month I love the extra speed opening, stuff like program folder or Pictures etc. Plus most app's work fine in 64 bit. I always leave my 32 bit hardrive as a slave and then after installing the 64 bit on a fresh harddrive I have all my user info to transfer over to the new install then when I have it all transfered, I reformat the old 32bit drive and use it for backups etc. Enjoy.

 

[BevDaBronxbabe]

That's exactly what I did. My old program AOLPRESS wouldn't run on 64 bit.

I have a configuration like you. A new laptop with 64bit and a desktop with 32bit. For the time being, I like 32bit better - not because of driver problems but some of my other programs do not run in 64 bit (and the 32bit emulation does not help).
I would suggest you install 64bit on your new laptop and leave the 32bit on the other sytem. Then you can compare yourself. I will wait at least until after SP1 before I install another 64bit.

 

[Night Hawk]

Thanks for the information. I am leaning towards installing Windows 7 Home Edition 64 bit version and taking my chances......(I tend to play with stuff till it breaks, and then try solve problems that i have created <G>). I have a couple of questions about back ups for the conversion. A common recommendation is to back up documents and settings, and then restore once the new installation is complete. I don't have a problem with the concept of backing up my documents, photo's, email settings, etc., but is there any point in backing up up settings from my 32 bit Windows 7 system, if I will be reinstalling a 64 bit system?

Also, will I have a problem installing from my Windows 7 upgrade discs which I purchased last year? Both 32 and 64 bit versions were included, but is it possible thatl I may have a problem with validation?

First of all since it will require a clean install of the 64bit 7 to "replace" not upgrade from the 32bit Windows you will want to review the guide on upgrade media. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-version.html

The Windows Easy Transfer tool will preserve most things even when changing platforms due to that being mainly files and user settings common in both. The best thing however is to plan on starting everything over from scratch if you intend to replace not keep the 32bit installation.

One thought would be creating a full system image of the 32bit and storing that on a second drive in case you later want to revert back. The system image tool in 7 packs everything on the drive up into it's own form of archives in one folder for later restoration.

For deciding to go 64bit from 32bit isn't simply just to have more then 4gb of memory installed. With the 64bit 7 on a new build here only 4gb will be seen until getting into 2D/3D CAD at some point which will likely starting chewing on ram. Other then that going from 4gb upto 8gb won't see any big performance boost.

The largest gain as far as memory is concerned involves XP and Vista as well as 7 when going from 1gb of system upto 2gb where an immediate difference was seen. With the 64bit that would be 2.5gb of memory due to seeing less data swapping out to the drive and that amounting to about 300mb more actiive ram used.

 

[KazeNoKoe23]

You left out the two most important criteria:

What do you want?

and

System Specs

Ideally, I would hope that installing the 64 bit version of Windows 7 give my system a performance boost (not that I find my current PC is performing poorly.

I am running an Intel Quad core 6600, with 4 megs of Ram, an Asus P5K deluxe motherboard, 1 terabyte internal HD, and 2 external drives, both a terrabyte connnected via e-sata, an XFX Nvidia 8800GT video card, and an Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card. I also have an internal dvd RW drive and Blu-Ray player (internal).

Based on these specs, by all means make the move to 64-bit. You won't regret it.

 

[Zomby88]

And depending on the motherboard you may still not be able to utilize all your ram.