Why 32bit?

[AllanJacques]

Then you should not be running a beta os...

Anything straightforward would be an extreme oversimplification to the point of being wrong - therein lies the issue and the reason there is so much misunderstanding about the issues with 32 vs 64.

Wow! did I mention that I like you? Nice answer!!!! I usually like smart people and you seem to be one of them! And yes, I shouldnt be running a beta OS... just cant be held tight enough not to try it anyway...

 

[Fizban]

It should be pointed out, however, that the software (excluding drivers) is not a problem.

It's not a problem for you perhaps, but it certainly can be. Most of my games work on 64 but OS's but there are a few that don't, most notably NeverWinter Nights 2.

How many people will be using less than 4gig of ram by 2010 anyway!!

Me. 2 GB is plenty for everything at the moment.

Windows 8 is going to be x64 only, as windows 7 should have been (AND WAS PLANNED TO BE), they just didn't have the balls to do it.

Not sure they'll have the balls next OS either.

So do you think 2gig is enough to run 64-bit windows 7? I mean, will there be any disadvantages in doing so?

Not at all, my laptop has 2 GB RAM and ran Build 7057 and runs 7068 flawlessly, both are x64.

may be slightly slower with only 2Gigs then it would be if you had X86

My laptop on benchmarks is roughly 10-12% faster on various benchmarks running x64 than x86 with 2 GB RAM.

So would you say that it is prefereable to use a 32-bit version with 2gig ram only?

No. You'd be hard pressed to use my laptop and notice that it had 2 GB of RAM and not 4 GB unless you specifically ran dxdiag or another diagnostic tool. 2 GB is plenty for most everything, beyond 2 GB becomes is mostly negligible.

 

[Fliplip]

I tried W7 64bit (my PC is up to the task) but i quickly found problems with applications i needed to run. There only seemed to be 32 bit versions so i quickly went back to 32bit.
I cant see any downside to using it over 64bit but then maybe im not really pushing it much (photo editing and music recording being the two most used tasks).

Dave.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi guys
Win 7 X-64 works fine even on a tiny laptop with just 1GB of RAM so long as the processor (nearly all of them are today are) is 64 bit enabled.

My advice would be to (whatever the amount of RAM in your system) to use X-64 if your processor supports it.

(Just because your car only has a 45 - 50 Litre Gas tank doesn't mean that you can't fill up from a Gas station which has gas tanks of several thousand litres).

X-32 is essentially dead -- for really old legacy stuff just run it on a Windows XP Virtual machine -- even a 1GB laptop with a dual processor will run a 512MB virtual machine -- more than enough for driving a really old legacy printer / scanner etc.

I really think that W7 will be the last Microsoft OS that comes in 2 flavours. In future it will be only 64 bit with "limited but diminishing" 32 bit support.

For Old infrequently used hardware just use a VM --saves all the hassle of maintaining huge amounts of drivers in a current OS.

In future I also think Virtual Machine support should also be enabled "straight out of the box".

cheers
jimbo

 

[win7]

I just dont get why there is a 32bit Windows 7 are there any 32bit PC's left?

Edit
Just noticed I didn't even get first post on my own forum!!

Check my specs, no x64 machines in my house.

 

[Dzomlija]

I think computer sellers are a major part of the problem. My dad is currently looking for a new computer so i've been going round the local independant stores (i avoid pcworld etc at all costs!) getting prices etc and when i ask them if they offer 64 bit they are all saying yes they do but they wouldnt recommend anyone other than technicians get 64 bit due to the issues that may possibly arise. If these sellers don't push 64 bit then its gonna be slow to really enter the mainstream.

Then you should head over to South Africa and hear what the suppliers (the guys who sell only to the retailers) are saying.

Apparently, they won't sell 64-bit Vista OR 7 because (and I quote) : "64-bit is nothing more than a clever marketing gimmick. It'll be forgotten before years end, and nobody will even care. You're throwing away perfectly good money if you spend it on 64-bit junk."

Almost makes me wish I had a voice recorder connected to my phone so I could give proof of the above staement!

 

[Romulinx2]

Mmmm very interesting!

I agree with all of you.

 

[AllanJacques]

Nice, according to WEI, processor and ram were faster under 64-bit than 32-bit...
Any ideas why and if this is true?

 

[torrentg]

64 bit is faster for many things, most notably video encoding.

 

[Fizban]

Nice, according to WEI, processor and ram were faster under 64-bit than 32-bit...
Any ideas why and if this is true?

Odd, I've found my computer faster running x64 on benchmarks, but identical scores on WEI both ways. I suspect the difference is actually a modification to the scoring scale from two different Beta Builds and not the x64 vs. x86 change.

 

[AllanJacques]

Strange as it may seems it happened...
I mean, with 64-bit 7057 processor and ram were 4.9 and with 32-bit 7068 they became 4.7, wich renders the question: Is 64-bit really faster or I am dreaming?
Answers in next episode of "Lost among Bits, Helped by Heroes that dont Lie to Me."
Stay tuned!

 

[Fizban]

Strange as it may seems it happened...
I mean, with 64-bit 7057 processor and ram were 4.9 and with 32-bit 7068 they became 4.7, wich renders the question: Is 64-bit really faster or I am dreaming?
Answers in next episode of "Lost among Bits, Helped by Heroes that dont Lie to Me."
Stay tuned!

Curious, what processor is that? My processor is a 4.9 on x64 7068, but I haven't tested with a x86 build since 7000.

 

[AllanJacques]

core2duo t5550.

 

[Fizban]

Weird... Not sure how that scores the same as my T7200. T5550 is 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo, T7200 is a 2.0 GHz core 2 Duo. T5550 has a 2 MB L2 Cache, T7200 has a 4 MB L2 Cache. T7200 also supports "Intel® Virtualization Technology" which the 5500 doesn't. Wonder what Windows bases its scores on, only actual GHz rating?

 

[AllanJacques]

So, back to 64-bit...
Nothing to complain, wei gives me better processor and ram score.

 

[Sam]

Unless MS all of sudden really makes Seven really power-hungry, comparable to Vista. They need to stick with x86 for their novice user who does the install themselves, who doesn't know what the hell a x64 processor is or has an "older" computer with an x86 processor. Also, if I remember correctly, Seven can run on a 1ghz processor, and there are x86 processers running at 3ghz+. And don't forget it, MS is a businesses aimed at making money for their stockholders, so to expand their market the must still use x86 in Windows 7.

The next release of Windows (after Seven), will be a radical change. Either in the cloud or something like the jump from XP to Vista (with all the power-hunger). Probably, this is the final hoorah for x86 simply because of it's speed limitations.

 

[patrickt]

Microsoft sells Operating Systems worldwide and the U.S., U.K. and Australia are important but they aren't the world. I live in Oaxaca, Mexico, and you'd have trouble finding a computer in a home that can run a 64-bit OS. Not many businesses would have them, either. My supplier for parts was asking me about Windows7 because he's never used, or seen, a 64-bit system running.

Windows7 64-bit is much friendlier with older 32-bit programs that was the first version of Vista x64 or XP x64. My MS Office 2003 runs flawlessly on Windows7.

 

[Sam]

That's because Mexico isn't as developed as the U.S., U.K. and Australia. So, older computers are a better investment for computer resellers there, better chances of actually selling the computers.

 

[Sam]

Doesn't everyone get mad at M$, and music too.
And to answer your question "So why do you need a 64Bit OS or even 16Gbs + of Ram ? Let us know hit the comments! "
The idea is everyone will be using 4gb+ worth of RAM during Seven's run. Which will make x86 obsolete, because it can not use that much RAM, due to it's architecture.