32bit vs 64bit OS

Lirk13 said:
4gb
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32bit OS only pick up 3.2GB, anything over that need a 64bit OS to fully utilize the additional ram :) Im running 64bit and Im very happy with it. Other than that though there isn't a giant difference between the two.
 
Zenbaas said:
32bit OS only pick up 3.2GB, anything over that need a 64bit OS to fully utilize the additional ram :) Im running 64bit and Im very happy with it. Other than that though there isn't a giant difference between the two.
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Are there any differences in gaming, viruses etc? Thanks for the info btw
 
Well, for starters you'll need 64-bit drivers for all your hardware. As long as you don't use anything too dated or any specialist hardware, you should be fine, considering Win7 was only released recently. As for gaming, some older games may have a bit of trouble running, but that's a general Win7 problem, not specifically isolated to 64bit Win7. There are reports of some games (Crysis: Warhead 1.1 is the only one that I know of for sure) performing better in 64-bit mode than in 32-bit mode. In terms of viruses, I don't think there's any difference.

But since you've got more than 3GB of RAM, I'd recommend 64-bit Win7 to make full use of your RAM.
 
In this day and age, I don't see the use of using a 32 bit OS (unless you are running some legacy software that requires it). All the major players release 64 bit drivers and compatible software. You can only really move forward from here.
 
+1 for Windows 7 64-bit. Mine is also running smoothly and no problems running drivers and software ported from my XP 32-bit... :)
 
LazerFazer said:
Well, for starters you'll need 64-bit drivers for all your hardware. As long as you don't use anything too dated or any specialist hardware, you should be fine, considering Win7 was only released recently. As for gaming, some older games may have a bit of trouble running, but that's a general Win7 problem, not specifically isolated to 64bit Win7. There are reports of some games (Crysis: Warhead 1.1 is the only one that I know of for sure) performing better in 64-bit mode than in 32-bit mode. In terms of viruses, I don't think there's any difference.

But since you've got more than 3GB of RAM, I'd recommend 64-bit Win7 to make full use of your RAM.
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FarCry 2 64bit is also better over 32bit.

It will take time before games will benefit from 64bit.
 
Rather get 64bit. With any OS, if you have a 64 bit processor, using a 32bit OS is going to be a waste of resources. Your processor won't be used to the max, and, as has already been said, if you have more then 3.2GB RAM (in windows systems anyway), its not going to be used.
 
64 bit Windows Vista and 7 have a feature called PatchGuard that protects the kernel of the OS from a heck of a lot of attacks from malware. This isn't a magic bullet, as you still need anti-virus, but PatchGuard makes life harder for things trying to get in, and that is a good thing.

Performance wise you aren't going to notice much difference, especially in day to day work. If you running heay rendering or other apps then you will. In some cases there may be a *small* slowdown, as 32 bit code gets run through the WOW emulator.
 
Asha'man X said:
64 bit Windows Vista and 7 have a feature called PatchGuard that protects the kernel of the OS from a heck of a lot of attacks from malware. This isn't a magic bullet, as you still need anti-virus, but PatchGuard makes life harder for things trying to get in, and that is a good thing.

Performance wise you aren't going to notice much difference, especially in day to day work. If you running heay rendering or other apps then you will. In some cases there may be a *small* slowdown, as 32 bit code gets run through the WOW emulator.
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Office 2010 is going to be released in 64 bit, so if you're one of those users (you know who you are), you will notice a speed improvement. I've run into a few driver and software issues, but that's why I keep my old Windows 2000 box running next to my 64 bit box.
 
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