Windows 7 Worth upgrading from 32 to 64 bit?

andrewk

New Member
I'm running 32 bit on my Samsung NC10, very successfully, so I thought I'd try installing it on a new build E5200-based PC as well, which also runs pretty well.

However, the E5200 is a 64-bit capable system, so is there any real benefit in installing the 64 bit version of the RC? Ok, it's annoying that I can only use 3GB of my 4GB of RAM, but I'm not having any performance issues, and I'm not doing any heavy duty work, as the machine mainly acts as a media centre hub, and does email and word processing.

I know I'm going to feel a constant itch to upgrade - but is there any real reason that I should, other than to satsify my curiosity?

Thanks!

Andrew
 
Well yes...

If I'd stopped for a minute before starting the install, I would have realised I should have downloaded the 64 bit version, not the 32 bit version I had installed on my NC10! But I was too keen to try the shiny new toy!
 
I'm running 32 bit on my Samsung NC10, very successfully, so I thought I'd try installing it on a new build E5200-based PC as well, which also runs pretty well.

However, the E5200 is a 64-bit capable system, so is there any real benefit in installing the 64 bit version of the RC? Ok, it's annoying that I can only use 3GB of my 4GB of RAM, but I'm not having any performance issues, and I'm not doing any heavy duty work, as the machine mainly acts as a media centre hub, and does email and word processing.

I know I'm going to feel a constant itch to upgrade - but is there any real reason that I should, other than to satsify my curiosity?

Thanks!

Andrew

Hello and Welcome to Windows7forums.. ;)

It's really a matter of what you do with your computer when it comes right down to it.. If all you do is basic web surfing, emailing, basic photo editing, etc than in my opinion, no it wouldn't be worth it to make the switch.. However, if you do very memory intense tasks, such as heavy video editing, heavy gaming, web design, etc than yes 64-bit would be worth the switch in my opinion..

The key difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is 64-bit has the ability to use 128GB's+ of RAM whereas a 32-bit OS can only "use" 4GB's.. so like I said, it really depends on what your doing..

That being said, one also has to keep in mind that we are slowly moving towards a 64-bit only computing world.. Windows 8 will most likely be 64-bit ONLY.. And as more and more applications are programmed to take advantage of a 64-bit OS it will become a better choice.. ;)

To further understand the differences/advantages and disadvantages just Google something like "32-bit vs 64-bit".. There's tons of very good information regarding this subject out there.. ;)
 
I loaded 7100 RC x64 on a Dell Latitude D630 with 4GB ram. Slow and sluggish.

I went back to x86 and all runs well.

Appears x64 is just too much for the D630 with only 4GB ram.
 
Limitations of x64 to x32

The key difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is 64-bit has the ability to use 128GB's+ of RAM whereas a 32-bit OS can only \"use\" 4GB's.. so like I said, it really depends on what your doing..

I was looking at an article on the flavors of Windows 7 and it tops out at 192GB of RAM. However the theoretical limit is actually 16.8 Million TB of RAM. (That's right. 16.8 Million Terabytes!) Physical limitations will screw you over as current technology won't make it that far.... check out this Wiki on more about that.

As to the original poster's question. I agree with Radenight. If you aren't doing anything heavy with the computer then using the x86 (32bit build) is perfectly fine. However if you want to move across the technology divide at the same time as a new build is coming across, now is a great time to switch, since that 4GB limit of 32 bit is starting to get in the way for many.
 
Windows XP 32-bit and 4GB memory on NC10

I recently bought a Samsung NC10. It came with 1GB of RAM which I upgraded to 2GB without any issue.

I bought a 4GB RAM card and found that the memory could not be addressed.

Is this because of some limitation in the 32-bit OS ... and if so, would loading Vista 64-bit solve the problem?

Apologies for the techno-naive nature of this query... but any advice would be welcome...

Cheers...:D
 
One More Thought

Drew is right-on (spot-on) but you should also consider what ap's you are using. Not a lot of 64-bit applications out there right now (some, like Office 2010 are headed that way) and a few may not install in X64 (some security products are still 32-bit). That said, change to X64 and let the good stuff get updated eventually. If you have 4 gig of memory, that is incentive enough.
 
When I upgraded to 4GB RAM my 32-bit version of Windows 7 only recognized 3.2GB. And with 4GB RAM, I really didn't want to waste any of it. So I upgraded to the 64-bit version and it's been great.
 
Thanks for your responses...!

Thanks for your responses guys ... Much appreciated Drew, Busy, John...

Cheers

:D
 
I've been having problems with my 64 bit computer shutting off for no apparent reason. I've tried thre different power supplies and after a week or so get the same results, So I've gone back to my older more reliable AMD computer. As was mentioned above, the 32 bit version is rock solid on my old machine.

:)
 
I've been having problems with my 64 bit computer shutting off for no apparent reason. I've tried thre different power supplies and after a week or so get the same results, So I've gone back to my older more reliable AMD computer. As was mentioned above, the 32 bit version is rock solid on my old machine.

:)

I've never had that problem. Tried doing a system restore? Have you changed your power settings?
 
I've never had that problem. Tried doing a system restore? Have you changed your power settings?
No to both questions. Replacing the power supply is the only cure, but then the power supply seems to go bad after about a week or so and I'm back with the same problem. So something about the computer seems to be eating power supplies. It's odd, for no reason at all, it just turns off, and on reboot, it turns off again right after my desktop appears.

:frown:
 
Supplementary....

Been doing some more digging on the web...

Ref my Samsung NC10... It has an Intel Atom N270 processor... I believe this is 32 bit. So....:

Is there any way I can access the 4GB of RAM with this chipset being in place?
Is there any point in moving to XP 64 bit or Vista 64 bit?
Is there any advantage in moving to Vista Home Premium 32 bit?

Thanks....:confused:
 
A few things.

First of all if you are stuck with x32 then what you can do is turn on PAE to allow for Windows XP to address the full 4 GB of RAM. That being said, it might not work with your computer it could crash. This only allows for XP to write addresses for 4 GB there are still other limitations. First of all if a file is over 2 GB generally Windows XP x32 will complain that the file is too big to open. With PAE you can open files in total over 2 GB say 4 files of 1 GB each, but you can't open a file that is say 4 GB in size. I'm not certain even with PAE you can open files bigger then the 2 GB limit either.

Bottom line. Look and start saving for a x64 system. x32 is only good if you are satisfied with the status quo. If you want regular updates and newer software then the way to go is x64. Now many other OSs have made the switch years ago and have had support for a long while. It is only within the last few years that Microsoft has started to make the shift. So 3rd parties have not been forced to limit to x64 yet. But by Windows 8 there should be a big paradigm shift to x64 for everyone. This is being pushed by the hardware since 4 GB is no longer enough for most software programs.
 
After many years of using 32bit and only last month trying 64 every day I kick myself for not trying it sooner, the speed increase is amazing maybe 30% or 40% quicker and snappier. Will never go back to 32.
 
If you're not doing any heavy duty stuff like you said, then stick with 32 bit for now. For a normal media centre and even a gaming machine, 2gb in itself is perfectly well enough, so 3gb is just a bonus. If you were doing things in Photoshop and such (like myself, which is why I use 64 bit), then I'd say grab 64 bit, but if not, then don't worry about it. Even a hardcore gamer doesn't need a 64bit platform! Most games use 2gb or less. So yeah. My personal opinion stay with 32 bit for now until you find a need for 64 bit.
 
Throw Vista in the trash

64bit works great so far No problems and fast install

yea I will actually pay for a copy of this :)
glad i didnt get vista...
only issue is it seams like the OS is made for dummies with lots of auto setup stuf
convince to most for sure but to those that need to set things up it can be fun
learning how to get things to work. For me it was the networking that was a pain.
but all is well now :)
 
I made the swich to 64 bit win7 and have to say there is deffinately a performance boost esp in newer high end games like crysis, fallout 3, grand theft auto 4.

in crysis particularly I was using q6600 280 gtx with 2 gig ram on xp 32bit and the game was unplayable on full settings(direct x 9) @1920 x 1200 AA 2x. Upgraded to win7 64bit and added another 2 gig ram, now getting 27fps minmum frame rate all settings on ultra (direct x 10) + 2 x AA. + my system feels snappier 2,,,,

In my opinion upgrading to 64 is a no brainer,

Allthough i dunno if atom cpu's can handle it, Also windows7 32 or 64 is a much better match for atom's than vista as vista has higher system requirments.
 
Back
Top