Windows 7 forum: 64 bit or 32 bit?

No... You won't have endless driver problems with a 64-bit Win7. It was a bit of an issue in the early Vista days, when hardware makers had to scramble to make 64-bit drivers for hardware (despite Microsoft telling them well in advance that this was coming), but they've had a couple of years to work that out.

That's not to say there won't be times when some bit of hardware won't have a 64-bit driver, but I actually look on this as a good thing. If the hardware maker isn't confident enough in the product to produce 64-bit drivers for it, then it's probably just a headache waiting to happen anyway, and I'm better off without it.

The main advantage of a 64-bit OS, is that when combined with a 64-bit app, you can break the "4GB barrier". A 32-bit OS can only address 4GB of RAM, and due to some boring technical details, about 0.5GB of that is reserved. A 64-bit OS can use somewhere around 2PB (petabytes... That's the next order of magnitude up from Terabyte) if I'm remembering my figures correctly. But the exact figure isn't important so much as the fact that it's significantly higher than a 32-bit OS.

Nothing about it being a 64-bit OS really makes it faster as a whole.

I look at it more like preparing for the future. Similar to ripping the band-aid off now, and dealing with the teething pains sooner rather than later. If you're getting a new computer, you probably won't have any better opportunity to make the jump. You have to reinstall apps anyway, and do all kinds of adjusting to a new OS, reconfiguring things, etc. Since you run Photoshop, this is a great way to be able to break the 4GB barrier on that app, which can be pretty memory hungry. I think Adobe will send you a copy of the 64-bit version of Photoshop if you have a licensed copy of the 32-bit one. There may be a small processing fee, but given how much that program costs, it's a real bargain.

They are telling you a bunch of bologna.I will give you 2 examples.I can give you more if necessary.I have 4 laptops - 2 of which are running Windows.Number #1 is currently running XP 32 bit.Number #2 Is running VISTA 64 bit.I have 2 anti virus programs that WILL work on 32 bit,but WILL NOT work on 64 bit.BOTH MFG. say they are not sure if they will go to a 64 bit edition. Apparently they do not feel the engineering costs at present warrant this.The programs are UNIBLUE and REG CURE
ctelwood@yahoo.com

Ok so i can see you know a lot about windows from wich i can say you may be a programmer.I whold like to know i have a 32-bit Windows XP Professional and i whould like to know does my computer use my full RAM of wich i have 4 gb insted of wich the Windows computer summery says i have 3 gb.I em pretty shure i have 4 gb becuse i have opend my computer and say i have two rams of 2gb.Please dont mind my Gramar as i dont realy know to write good.

Well...

1: Both. First you need a processor capable of processing 64-bit instructions, then you need drivers, and software to round out the package.

2: The last 0.5GB or so is NOT being used. The memory addresses that would normally make it up are being reserved by the system for other uses. So, you'd get a little benefit there.

3: Your GPU is a whole other beast, but if you have a 64-bit optimized game, that should see a performance improvement with a 64-bit OS. A 32-bit game will be just the same as it was.

I am going to buy a new computer,my Sony VAIO has been brilliant but it is seven years old and has slowed to a crawl. I haven't taken any action yet but I am disappointed that Sony no longer make desktops only the combination PCs. I hadn't considered the need for a 64 bit processor but I am getting a quote for a Dell Optiplex and I will trust Dell to supply the correct processor for a 64 bit o/s.

Judesman

1.1: Yes, and if ever in doubt, there's a little program called CPU-Z. On an Intel chip, if you see it listing EMT64 (Enhanced Memory Technology) along with things like MMX and SSE, it's a 64-bit CPU. Most late model Pentium 4s, the Pentium D, and Core 2 should all be 64-bit capable. The original Core line is not, but I only ever saw that used in some of the early Intel Macs.

1.2: 32-bit software runs, it just won't benefit from a 64-bit OS.

2: The other uses gets into highly technical computer engineering topics that won't make sense to anyone who doesn't have a reasonable amount of programming experience. The abstract is that those addresses are reserved for protected mode processing support that Intel introduced with the 386. This keeps two programs from trying to write to the same area of RAM, and is largely responsible for the fact that you've probably never heard of a General Protection Fault, which Win 3.1 veterans probably have many unfond memories of.

3: Your graphics card is like it's own self-contained mini-computer. It really doesn't have anything to do with the rest of your computer. The only consideration is the driver that allows the video card to communicate with the operating system. And 64-bit adds additional register slots, but that's something that's really only of any concern to programmers. It means nothing to the average user, except that a clever programmer can use it to make apps a little faster, but it's not a given.

Yes. Either the CPU-Z author, or Intel, decided to drop the stupid EMT64 designation and just call it x86-64. That's AMD's designation, which has more or less become the official one, since Intel's IA64 instruction set has failed pretty miserably to gain any real traction.

Jimmy you sound very knowledgeable but I wonder about you answer to 1.1. My new Dell Studio says it is a 32bit operating system but it does has 4gb ram. They are 2 duo processors. I have another computer that is 64bit and it has the same ram makeup. Are you saying that I can now upgrade my Dell to 64 bit by simply upgrading to 64 bit Windows 7? I was under the understanding that I would have to upgrade my processor which is a pentium 2 duo.

Thank you now answer me this if you will. The Dell I was talking about came with Vista 32 bit. I just bought the Win 7 upgrade and it came with both the 32 and the 64 bit upgrade disc. Can I install the 64 bit upgrade and will it work? I upgraded to the 32 bit because I was told that I had to use the 32 bit upgrade since my Vista was only 32. Can I just upgrade my 32 bit Win 7 now to the 64 bit Win 7?

and go to Intel or the Amd website and look up the specs for your processor.

* You can address much more than 4GB of memory, which is ideal for avid gamers, CAD, video editors and heavy multi-taskers. However, any 32 bit software you use will still be restricted to 4GB memory you need a 64 bit CPU, OS and applications to take full advantage of the extra RAM.
* 16 bit applications will no longer run. Although this is unlikely to be a problem, if you use very old software (from the Windows 3.1 days!) then it will not work under a 64 bit OS.
* Existing 32 bit drivers no longer work.If you have older or poorly supported hardware you may find that it can no longer be used. Got a 7 year old scanner that just about works in Vista? You may not be able to get it working in 64 bit Windows 7.
* Unsigned kernel-mode drivers no longer work. Along with the issue above, the inability to run unsigned kernel mode drivers will cause problems for old hardware. (There is reportedly a way to bypass this check).
* Running some 32 bit applications on a 64 bit OS could actually be slower. The additional overheads in running 32 bit software in 64 bit mode could cause a slight degradation in performance. It will take some time for 64 bit software to become the norm.

No, that program will be just fine. It won't receive the full benefits of a 64-bit OS, but it will run just the same as it would on a 32-bit OS.

I'm running an *ANCIENT*, 8 year old HP Pavilion 7935 AMD Athlon 1.30 GHz PC, with only 1 GB of PC100 RAM, running 32 bit XP Pro SP3, with a fairly sizable load of running apps, and believe it or not, it runs just fine. Of course I've turned off a whole bunch of unneeded services.

As I am writing this, I'm running mIRC 6.21, (an IRC chat client), 2 instances of NetTerm 4.2a, Eve Online Apocrypha (an MMORPG) at 1680x1050x32, around 35 fps, Windows Media Player 11.0, and FireFox 3.5.4 with 3 open tabs (including this CNet tab), on an HP W2207 LCD monitor, all at 1680x1050x32 resolution. Never misses a beat. I can switch tasks in the blink of an eye. Surprise!

According to Task Manager, I still have 402,644KB RAM available (402MB), with a 577MB paging file. My 1,536 MB permanent paging lives on a second ATA100 120GB drive, which is on the second IDE channel. My boot boot C: drive is a 40GB ATA100, on the primary IDE channel, and it has a permanent 64MB paging file.

The system is very responsive - no stuttering or delay, switching from task to task. This PC has a lowly, ancient 256MB PNY nVidia FX-5200 PCI video card w/2005-vintage 71.84 nVidia drivers. It also has an equally ancient SoundBlaster Live! 24 bit PCI sound card. Yet the system as a whole runs everything very well, at a very good clip.

Even with all of those apps running, I know that can fire up Quake III at any time (also at 1680x1050x32) for a little multiplayer fragging, and it won't be a problem. Q3 will start right up in about 7 or 8 seconds, very smooth playing - around 50 fps, no lag or dropped frames.

My point is: 1 GB of RAM on a 32 bit system should be just fine for Windows XP, provided you do a little fine tuning of the OS. It's all about balance.

(By the way, just for the heck of it, I dual boot Windows 7 7100 RC1, also at 1680x1050x32 res., with Aero/Flip3D (DirectX 9), and it runs passably well with IE8 or FireFox, but I end up with nowhere near as much free RAM as in XP, but I expected that.)

Hi there.

The point which is being made about the lack of 64 bit drivers is valid, but it depends on your hardware.
I've been running 64 bit Vista nad have moved to 64 bit 7 and Nikon have still to release any drivers for a 64 bit OS for any of their scanners. I've had to keep an old XP PC aside, which I use if I need to scan negatives or 35mm trasparencies. Appart from that - the only piece of hardware which I have had to replace was an old sound card. The manufacturer had either been swallowed up by someone else or had one out of business as there was nothing available.

64 bit applications are a bit different. Hardware won't work without a proper 64 bit driver but almost all 32 bit applications will run without any problem - however, they run as a 32 bit program so have the same memory limits as they would on a 32 bit OS. Nikon, again, don't officially "support" any 64 bit OS - which means that if you have a problem with any Nikon software and you tell them you run 64 bit Win 7, they'll politely decline to offer any help.

However, there's a big user base out there now so there shouldn't be any problem finding a support forum among other users.