Community Newsletter: Q&A: Should I go with a 32bit or 64bit computer system?

New Computer

In reply to: Should I go with a 32bit or 64bit computer system? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

Hi Jack,
confusing, isn't it? Let's look at the address width first, 32 bit or 64 bit. Strictly, this isn't a performance issue, it simply defines how much internal memory (RAM) the processor can address. It is actually the length of the address in memory, so 32 bit processors can address 2 to the 32nd power addresses, or 4 Gigabytes (GB). 64 bits address 2 to the 64th power or 4 billion times as much! That isn't to say that there are any machines currently capable of accommodating that much memory - economically, 8 or 16 GB is today's limit. Also, it can depend on the operating system how much can be addressed, for instance, while 32 bit Vista will address 4 GB, XP is limited to 3 GB. The 64 bit versions of both operating systems will address all the memory currently available in commercial 64 bit PCs.

As far as the processor hardware is concerned, all the currently available processors from Intel (Core 2) and AMD (Athlon and Phenom) are 64 bit capable and will run either the 32 bit or 64 bit operating systems in native node.

Why would you need the additional memory offered by 64 bit systems? If you just want to send email, surf the web and use, say, MS Office, you don't - they will all run happily in 32 bit environments. If, however, you have a large database to process, or images to edit, particularly video editing, then you would see a significant benefit from the additional memory, in that more data can be held in RAM, rather than have to keep paging it in from disk. If you are into heavy gaming, most of the advanced games are being rewritten for quad core 64 bit platforms and on the examples I've seen, the 64 bit versions are very impressive.

Another issue to consider is that not all devices have 64 bit drivers available - the situation is much better now than it was 12 months ago but if you have any older printers, scanners, etc., you may find that 64 bit drivers are not available.

Similarly, there are more software application programs available for 32 bit than 64 bit. As with drivers, the situation is improving but if you use any old or unusual software, you should check with the suppliers' web sites to see if they are 64 bit compatible.

64 bit is clearly the way of the future but there may be reasons to hold off a while. If you buy a current model processor, it will be "future proof" BUT the system in which it is installed may not - for example, if your motherboard won't accept more than 2 GB memory, you won't be able to take much advantage of 64 bit with either a Core 2 or Phenom CPU. While you could run a 64 bit OS on it, it would probably be slower than 32 bit.

Moving on, what operating system should you choose? I've assumed throughout that you are a home user, rather than business, so in 9 days time, you won't have a choice, since retailers will not be allowed by MS to sell XP machines (with one or two low end exceptions) after June 30th. But I suppose you might find an XP machine on the clearance rack. Personally, I prefer XP at the moment, it's reliable and less resource hungry than Vista and for the work I do, I don't see any value in the additional functionality Vista offers. But if you are into Video editing or gaming, you'd probably make more use of Vista's enhancements.

Most PCs in retail outlets are sold with Vista Home Premium, which is adequate for most home user applications. Avoid Home Basic - it is VERY basic! If you need to connect to a domain server (unlikely in a home situation) you will need Vista Business or Vista Ultimate - Home Premium will only connect to a workgroup. If you have the hardware to support it - decent processor, plenty of RAM (4 GB) and a good graphics card, then you could choose Vista Ultimate and get all the "eye candy" such as the Aero Glass interface and the bells and whistles but only you can decide whether these are worth the extra cost. Get your friendly PC store to demonstrate them if you want to check them out.

Or you could try Linux, of course, or a Mac but since that's not what you asked, we won't go there!

Good luck!