Computer upgrade help 32bit vs 64bit

[Iain328]

Can anyone provide a quick "crash course" rundown on 32 vs bit processors/operating systems & applications?

Currently using an old AMD Athlon XP (steam!) powered computer & its time for an upgrade.

Was thinking about An AMD Phenom based system with Windows 7 (still using XP at the moment - it works, don't knock it!).

Do I buy the 64 bit version of Windows 7 & what difference will it make for normal applications?

Mostly use MS Office type stuff - again, still using an old version of that too.

[strudel]

How long are you thinking of keeping it for and how much memory are you putting in it?

[NWMark]

I recently went through the same process and ended up with 64bit, solely down to the fact it was the same price and makes near on no difference to the day to day stuff i do, but at the same time is ready for any applications ready to take advantage of the 64bit.

Ive only put in 4Gb too, so i get qa small memory gain some of which swallowed up by 64bit taking up a little more memory than 32bit windows but if i needed to go further to say 8gb, no issues there.

And i have no legacy devices / components that dont have 64 bit drivers available.

So i saw little to no point in staying with 32bit.

[twinturboz]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

HTH

[RobDickinson]

Just go 64bit. Realy.

[dcb]

Iain328 said:

Was thinking about An AMD Phenom based system with Windows 7 (still using XP at the moment - it works, don't knock it!).

Excellent choice of processor.

Intel have 80% + of the marketplace, so I'd be keen
to buy into their competitor AMD, to avoid a monopoly.

I also wouldn't bother "upgrading" to Win 7 - I'd
keep XP until it stops working and save money on not
buying a new operating system.

Iain328 said:

Mostly use MS Office type stuff - again, still using an old version of that too.

If all you do is MS Office stuff, you aren't going to need 64 bit.

Suggest open office, it's a clone of MS Office and it's the
right price (free, gratis and nothing). I understand it works
on XP and Win 7 fine.

[RobDickinson]

64bit allows you to use more than 3.25(or so ) gig of memory total and allows single processes (i.e. photoshop) to use mroe than 2gig each.

Great for video edditing, heavy picture stuff, power users.

But why (now) install 32bit?

[bonsai]

Iain328 said:

Do I buy the 64 bit version of Windows 7 & what difference will it make for normal applications?

If you're a fan of multitasking and find that you currently hit your RAM limit, then you will benefit from being able to address more than c 3GB.

I've read that a 64bit application will run about 10% faster than their 32 bit equivilant (bear in mind the majority of applications you use will be regular 32 bit - most developers don't release 32bit and 64bit versions)

If we're being realistic, the difference for the majority of day to day stuff will be negligible, however it's always nice to have the superior setup - so go for it.

[-DeaDLocK-]

Don't be swayed by all the technical hoopla regarding 32 vs 64.

The bottom line is that if all your hardware has 64 bit drivers available, then go 64. If not, go 32.

The sideline issue is that if you see yourself needing to use more than 3.5GB of RAM, then you need 64bit, and if hardware drivers are an issue then replace those components with other ones that have 64bit drivers available.

Nearly all the stuff from the major retail and OEM manufacturers have 64 bit drivers available these days. The only things you have to worry about are those very niche Taiwanese or Chinese PCI cards and dongles that you've had for years but you still would love to use.

[Iain328]

Thanks very much for all the responses. Helpful stuff