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    Win 7: 32 or 64 bit?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by lidl, Aug 21, 2010.

  1. lidl

    lidl Notebook Guru

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    Hi, for years I have been using Win XP Pro.

    I am getting today a new laptop: AMD Sempron Mobile (2.1 GHz, 512kB cache), 2GB ram and 320GB HDD.

    Should I install Windows 7 32 or 64 bit?
     
    lidl, Aug 21, 2010
    #1
  2. goofball

    goofball Notebook Deity

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    32 bit would be fine but 64 bit is something to consider even if you don't use 3.5+ GB RAM.
     
    goofball, Aug 21, 2010
    #2
  3. MrDJ

    MrDJ Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    for that spec i would stick with 32bit
    if you ever upgrade to 4gb of ram then 32bit will only see and use 3.1gb so upgrading to 64bit gets the full usage of the ram.
     
    MrDJ, Aug 21, 2010
    #3
  4. lidl

    lidl Notebook Guru

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    But would 64bit work slower than 32bit for that spec?
     
    lidl, Aug 21, 2010
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  5. Tinderbox (UK)

    Tinderbox (UK) BAKED BEAN KING

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    there will NOT be noticeable difference in speed, but you might have problem running some older games/ utils and finding drivers for x64 , but vast majority of stuff will work just fine.

     
    Tinderbox (UK), Aug 21, 2010
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  6. lidl

    lidl Notebook Guru

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    you mean a negative difference?
     
    lidl, Aug 21, 2010
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  7. Tinderbox (UK)

    Tinderbox (UK) BAKED BEAN KING

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    OOPS, I missed out there will NOT be an noticeable difference in speed.

    +REP for spotting the mistake :(

     
    Tinderbox (UK), Aug 21, 2010
    #7
  8. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    Keep to Win32 unless you are planning to have 4GB or more of RAM.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Aug 21, 2010
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  9. lidl

    lidl Notebook Guru

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    So you think that with 2GB 64bit might work slower than 32bit?

    Can 64bit have more power usage than 32?
     
    lidl, Aug 21, 2010
    #9
  10. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    No.

    And no again. There won't be any noticeable difference in speed. The only differences you'll notice are 1: 64-bit takes up a bit more room on your hard drive than the 32-bit version, 2: you will need 64-bit drivers (which should not be a problem for most devices), 3: your programs folder will be divided into 64-bit and 32-bit (x86) programs.
     
    MidnightSun, Aug 21, 2010
    #10
  11. swarmer

    swarmer beep beep

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    Hi, I've been using 64-bit Vista on a machine with 2 gb RAM for a couple years now... and recently I'm also using 64-bit Win 7 on another 2gb machine.

    For most people with a 2gb setup, I recommend 64-bit. 64-bit Windows has better security, and performs faster when running programs compiled for 64-bit (and about the same when running 32-bit programs). And if you ever decide to upgrade to 4gb, it's easy and you won't need to install a new OS to handle it.

    The downsides of 64-bit are: using up a few extra gb of disk space, slightly more RAM (although I never really notice it), worse support for really old software and hardware.

    See my earlier post comparing 32-bit and 64-bit Vista... although the same stuff should apply to Windows 7 too: http://forum.notebookreview.com/4239375-post4.html

    So... it won't make all that much difference, but I consider 32-bit legacy stuff at this point, and IMO it's time to move on. So... I guess that's the real reason I prefer 64-bit.
     
    swarmer, Aug 21, 2010
    #11