Author Topic: Windows 7 - 32-bit or 64-bit?  (Read 2379 times)

buying a new computer from an online store, and there are two variations of Windows 7 that have the same price: they're Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

which one can I taaaake

kickin with the32bit
sittin with the 64bit
gotta have us make up your mind

64-bit is higher quality, but 32-bit is easier to run.

64-bit is higher quality, but 32-bit is easier to run.

No.

32bit can only use up to 4gb of ram, 64bit can use more. 64bit requires atleast 2gb of ram, I'd use it if you can so you have the option of going above 4gb if you ever want to.

No.

32bit can only use up to 4gb of ram, 64bit can use more. 64bit requires atleast 2gb of ram, I'd use it if you can so you have the option of going above 4gb if you ever want to.

kickin with the32bit
sittin with the 64bit
gotta have us make up your mind
which bit can he taaaaaaaaaaaaaake

No.

32bit can only use up to 3.5gb of ram, 64bit can use more. 64bit requires atleast 2gb of ram, I'd use it if you can so you have the option of going above 4gb if you ever want to.
Fixed, it can't handle all 4GB if you have it.

It also requires a 64-bit capable processor (which are pretty much everywhere nowadays, but there are very few very, VERY ancient processors that don't), 4GB more hard drive space, and at least 2GB of RAM.

64-bit is really only recommended if you have 4GB or more of RAM, because 32-bit cannot use more than 3.5GB.

2bit

Shave and a haircut, two bits

uh 32 bit can only use 2.5 gigs on my computer

2bit

Shave and a haircut, two bits

Outsiders reference? I may just be stupid.

64-bit is really only recommended if you have 4GB or more of RAM, because 32-bit cannot use more than 3.5GB.

well first of all it can handle 4gb but 32bit users often have integrated graphics so those reserve 500mb. 32bit means the OS has 2^32 address spaces for memory, which equals a little above 4 billion bytes, which is 4 gigabytes.

second, i would never recommend 32bit if you can possibly get 64bit. if you ever decide to upgrade your computer with 4gb+ of RAM you'll have to spend over $100 again when you could have just bought the OS once in the first place.

edit: if you don't believe me about the 4gb, read the 2nd paragraph here on wikipedia. it basically says what i was trying to say.

and what you said about the requirements for 64bit, i already covered the only one that matters. he's buying a new computer, there's 0% chance the processor won't be 64bit capable. 4gb more of HDD space is trivial. and i already said you need atleast 2gb of ram.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2011, 06:54:53 PM by Fredulus »


Arstechinca recently did an article on this. http://arst.ch/p29

Short answer: get 64 bit. But read the article to see what they said.

the internal memory of the computer I'm buying has 4gb, so I guess it's better to buy the 64-bit one?

the internal memory of the computer I'm buying has 4gb, so I guess it's better to buy the 64-bit one?
Yes, As it likely also has a 64 bit processor in that case.