What Say You?
Monday, October 12, 2009 by jscogg | Discussion: Personal Computing
So I recently decided that I would finally get around to backing all my stuff up so that I could install my recently acquired copy of Windows 7. All went really well, and I was very pleased at how quickly the new OS installed. I then proceded with the process and started to install drivers... this is when I realized I had done something I had not intended.
I could have sworn that I chose otherwise, but during the install process I apparently chose to install the 64-bit version of Windows 7. I usually run a 32-bit OS and am not accustomed at all to this. I understand that 64-bit is designed to help handle larger amounts of RAM more effeciently, but I have only 2 GB to work with.
My question is this: Does it matter that I have installed the 64-bit version instead of the 32? Will it hinder my computer's performance?
Reply #2 Monday, October 12, 2009 7:07 PM
Why is it important/necessary to choose the 64-bit ver. over the 32?
Reply #3 Monday, October 12, 2009 7:09 PM
64Bit... say good bye 16bit programs... NOOOOOOOO!... But I can live with that... old games are being remade... 
But then again im loving 64bit... with 12gb ram under the hood! 
Reply #5 Monday, October 12, 2009 8:17 PM
Quoting fr4nk3nstein, reply 2Why is it important/necessary to choose the 64-bit ver. over the 32?It's ancient technology . The limitations of the different memory address spaces in a 32 bit Windows are getting more and more apparent nowadays.
Alright. I'm glad I'm set for the way of the future then!
Reply #6 Tuesday, October 13, 2009 2:10 PM
Once you go 64bit you can cram in all that extra ram you've been dreaming about 
Reply #9 Tuesday, October 13, 2009 6:56 PM
Yes, it will negatively affect your performance as 64-bit binaries use 64-bit unit types by default rather than 32-bit ones so they'll occupy twice as much memory as the 32-bit versions. However, unless you're doing math-heavy work on a low-memory enviroment (a terrible idea by itself), the effect will likely be less than what you get by leaving your browser open while you play a game, ie: completely and utterly irrelevant.
As for the limitations of 32-bits, due to various things involving low-level OS design a 32-bit OS is limited to addressing 4 GBs of memory max, and from what I've heard Windows uses 512 MBs of those for its own personal uses so in the end its just 3.5 GBs you can effectively use in your Windows OS. To make it worse, that's not just the system's RAM but your graphic card's as well, so if you have a 1 GB video card (as many of us do), that leaves you with a max of 2.5 GBs of system RAM usable by the OS, which is... well, not little, but a bit constraining in the long term. I think it also had to include the swap file (AKA "virtual memory") which would further constrain your computer's memory, but I'm not sure on that one.
Now, as to why you should choose 64-bit versions of software it's simple: Windows (and Linux, and I believe MacOSX as well) has 32-bit versions of most system libraries to allow you to use your 32-bit programs if you so choose, but if you run a 64-bit app and a 32-bit one, the OS will have to load both the 64- and 32-bit versions of the libraries rather than making both apps share the same one, increasing your memory usage. Again, the end effect likely won't be noticeable on a modern system, performance-wise, but Windows pushes 32-bit apps in its own, unsightly-named folder away from pure 64-bit apps and some of us are suckers for cleanliness and order in our OS
Reply #10 Wednesday, October 14, 2009 2:20 AM
x64 FTW.
Though, with 2gb only, well, I'm not sure it's the best solution. From what I've heard, x86 performs better with this amount of ram than x64.
But perfs are really close anyway ^^
Reply #11 Thursday, October 15, 2009 4:35 PM
But perfs are really close anyway ^^
You always have to plan for the future, though. 2GB now, but what about in 6 months?
Reply #12 Thursday, October 15, 2009 4:56 PM
One of the biggest advantages is RAM, especially that it is so cheap now.
Reply #13 Thursday, October 15, 2009 4:58 PM
in a pinch, going 64-bit requies you to have twice as much RAM. 2 GB is probably not enough and I would recommend an upgrade to 4 GB.
Reply #14 Thursday, October 15, 2009 5:13 PM
I have 4 gigs of ram on my 64 bit.. only 3 gigs will show up on any OS. 
Reply #15 Friday, October 16, 2009 5:20 AM
Reply #16 Friday, October 16, 2009 5:52 AM
vstyler would have that effect with x86 windows, but in my 8gb ram machines in x86 windows I see 3gb, but in 64 bit windows ON the same system I see ALL 8GB
harpo
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Reply #1 Monday, October 12, 2009 6:56 PM
No, it will not hinder your computer's performance. With Windows 7 you should always chose the 64-bit version over the 32-bit version, unless you know you have to use a special application or a special driver, that does not work on Windows 7 64.