64 bit and 32 bit

[raident30]

i was a 64 bit windows7 user just recently and had to change it to 32 bit in an unfortunate event... are there any difference when it comes to performance in gaming and benchmarking between the two?

 

[ssjwizard]

The primary issue is going to be maximum memory size and maximum disk size. The 32bit versions of windows only show ~3.2gb of ram maximum. There are some other limits as it comes to disk sizes but your unlikely to run into that.

 

[raident30]

about the ram size, i have 4gb.. will it have some issue on performance when it comes to the ram usage?

 

[ssjwizard]

the performance is the same but you just wont be able to use a chunk of your installed memory.

 

[raident30]

Well thats kinda wasted if i have 4 gb or more installed. Unfortunately i have 4.

 

[shadowdr]

Why don't you just change it back?

 

[raident30]

yeah i found the disc now and be reverting back to 64 bit..

 

[c627627]

There is no other difference other than 64 Bit allows for use of 4GB+ of RAM whereas 32-Bit uses over 3GB but less than 4 GB of RAM max. In your case the difference was negligible.

Do you use any game or application capable of using 4 GB of RAM? Most of us don't.

 

[David]

While RAM is the main issue around 32 vs 64 bit, I see 64 bit as the future; within the next few years it'll be 64 bit or nothing, and so I reckon 64 bit ought to be the default regardless, personally.

 

[raident30]

There is no other difference other than 64 Bit allows for use of 4GB+ of RAM whereas 32-Bit uses over 3GB but less than 4 GB of RAM max. In your case the difference was negligible.

Do you use any game or application capable of using 4 GB of RAM? Most of us don't.

i havent tested it and i already reverted back to 64 bit.. i think its for the best right?

 

[shadowdr]

i havent tested it and i already reverted back to 64 bit.. i think its for the best right?

Yes, I think so. I have 12 gigs of memory installed and available unused memory is about half while the other half shows cached at idle. It must cache a lot of data that you might need so it doesn't have to page it from disk. Editing pictures and creating PDF files are a LOT faster than when I had 32 bit and four gigs of ram.

 

[c627627]

Windows 7/XP/Vista triple boot here. Can't wait for Windows 8 final to be released to test all this because I'll finally go 64-Bit, but only with Windows 8.

As i see it - the argument that should be made more frequently in favor of 64-Bit is advantages in multi-tasking. I expect to see advances there.

Working with huge graphics files frequently *and* using 64-Bit versions of identical software would yield the advantages you're talking about. I made the decision to stay with 32-Bit because for the past three years, I am certain I had less headaches with compatibility issues using 32-Bit than I would have had if I had gone 64-Bit since 2008-present.

I figured the rig would have been updated by the time Windows 8 came out so I could go 64-Bit then.

 

[shadowdr]

Windows 7/XP/Vista triple boot here. Can't wait for Windows 8 final to be released to test all this because I'll finally go 64-Bit, but only with Windows 8.

As i see it - the argument that should be made more frequently in favor of 64-Bit is advantages in multi-tasking. I expect to see advances there.

Working with huge graphics files frequently *and* using 64-Bit versions of identical software would yield the advantages you're talking about. I made the decision to stay with 32-Bit because for the past three years, I am certain I had less headaches with compatibility issues using 32-Bit than I would have had if I had gone 64-Bit since 2008-present.

I figured the rig would have been updated by the time Windows 8 came out so I could go 64-Bit then.

I can understand that as I also tried XP and Vista x64, XP was terrible and I don't know if it was just Vista or it was because it was x64 but I couldn't abide it at all. I originally had the 32 bit installed but changed it over to 64 when ram got so cheap I couldn't resist since the key would work either way. I can't recall having any problems at all because of it being x64, in fact if you ever need to reinstall I suggest that you try 7x64.

 

[raident30]

I can understand that as I also tried XP and Vista x64, XP was terrible and I don't know if it was just Vista or it was because it was x64 but I couldn't abide it at all. I originally had the 32 bit installed but changed it over to 64 when ram got so cheap I couldn't resist since the key would work either way. I can't recall having any problems at all because of it being x64, in fact if you ever need to reinstall I suggest that you try 7x64.

i was a 64bit user then tried 32bit. im not contented with 32bit i then reverted back to 64 bit...

 

[SteveLord]

"Compatibility issues" have come a long way since the earlier 64bit days. Outside of the business world, it really is rare you have to do some extra work to get something to work unless it's a really old app or piece of hardware.

Memory is stupid cheap also.