32 bit-64 bit?

graham7773

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I have windows 7 installed and running OK but I am told that because I have the 32 bit version installed it is using way too much ram. what do I need in my computer to use the 64 bit version?
 
Not sure who told you that. The main reason to go with 64-bit is so that the computer can address more than 3.2G of RAM. Win 7 64-bit actually uses/requires more RAM to run than 32-bit.

In order to run a 64-bit OS, you need to make sure you have a 64-bit capable system. You can use this utility, Securable, which will tell you if your system is 64-bit capable. Unless your system is pretty old, it should be 64-bit capable.
 
strollin, I used Securable and it tells me that my system can use 64 bit and DEP but cannot do hardware virtualisation. is that a problem? And what is the best way to change W7 from 32 to 64 bit?
 
You cannot change a 32 bit Win 7 into a 64 bit system, because 64 bit is based on different architecture and policy you would have to purchase a Win 7 64 bit DVD with license and perform a clean install.

The main benefit for 64 bit systems is the ability to address more RAM, currently the ceiling for 32bit systems is 3.2GB whereas 64bit can go up to 128GB. Unless you are planning on running very intense program like Photoshop or advanced games I would advise against running 64bit.

Many applications have compatability problems with 64 bit systems such as MS Office, Sage, QuickBooks, iTunes to name but a few

If you are having slow PC problems then you may want to look at other areas such as CPU speed or graphics.

Also consider better quality RAM that will be faster and cool better, 2GB of gaming RAM would be better than 4GB of value RAM, look to the likes of Ballistix or Coarsair.

DEP is a feature that encrypts and secures execution of commands and scripts, another issue that 64bit raises is that of certificates further creating problems with certain programs.
 
You cannot change a 32 bit Win 7 into a 64 bit system, because 64 bit is based on different architecture and policy you would have to purchase a Win 7 64 bit DVD with license and perform a clean install.

The main benefit for 64 bit systems is the ability to address more RAM, currently the ceiling for 32bit systems is 3.2GB whereas 64bit can go up to 128GB. Unless you are planning on running very intense program like Photoshop or advanced games I would advise against running 64bit.

Many applications have compatability problems with 64 bit systems such as MS Office, Sage, QuickBooks, iTunes to name but a few

If you are having slow PC problems then you may want to look at other areas such as CPU speed or graphics.

Also consider better quality RAM that will be faster and cool better, 2GB of gaming RAM would be better than 4GB of value RAM, look to the likes of Ballistix or Coarsair.

DEP is a feature that encrypts and secures execution of commands and scripts, another issue that 64bit raises is that of certificates further creating problems with certain programs.

I'm sorry, but most of this is simply wrong. First of all, the product key is independant of the bit-version of windows. All he needs is a new 64-bit Disk.

There is absolutely no reason why someone who doesn't game, do photoshop or anything else that's "heavy" shouldn't get 64-bit. If anything they should just to future-proof themselves if they ever decide to do those things.

I've run MS Office 2007 and 2010 on both Vista and Win7 x64 edititions with out problems of compatibility. Same thing with QuickBooks and Itunes. Whatever told you they had issues, was wrong or simply outdated.
 
To clear this up, a 32-bit processor can address 4096 Megabytes of RAM, exactly 4GB. You see these odd 3.X RAM amounts in Windows because you have 4GB of RAM, but manufacturers count and label the number of bytes/bits differently than a computer addresses them. Kind of how you purchase a 100GB Harddrive, but when you mount it in Windows you only get 87.xGB...

Most applications now have a 64bit variant and I've never had issues with MS Office/iTunes. Can't speak to Sage or Quickbooks but I would be willing to bet that they have fixed their 64bit architecture by now.

@graham7773 What are your current system specs? What do you typically do with your computer?

There are many differences between the 32bit and 64bit architecture. Anything from file size on the harddrive to 'words' being processed by the CPU. Knowing what you have and what you want to do with it will be help us give you advice on whether or not to make the investment in a 64bit OS.
 
To clear this up, a 32-bit processor can address 4096 Megabytes of RAM, exactly 4GB. You see these odd 3.X RAM amounts in Windows because you have 4GB of RAM, but manufacturers count and label the number of bytes/bits differently than a computer addresses them.[...]

What about a 32bit operating system? As I understand it, a 32bit OS can adress 4096 Megabytes of RAM including your video display adapters RAM. That would make the usable system RAM less than 4GB by the amount of RAM on your video card. Is this wrong?
 
Well, considering the varying opinions about what to do I thought I would just go ahead and instal the 64 bit version of Windows 7. The kit I purchased had both discs so no need to purchase another disc. Went thru the whole install and update thing, no dramas. Great I thought. Checked System Info, No difference whatever! Still reads 4gb installed ram, still shows 3.24gb usable ram. I even pulled the sticks out of the board to check them 2gb Kingston, 2gb of I can't remember but decent ram. I will look at the brands recommended on this forum. Stroudyit. The 64 bit install went in no problems and accepted the same "KEY". Memtest tells me the ram is working well with no issues.

Hagain55, your post just confused me. "Writing statesman"?..... "you poverty to attain careful you mortal a 64-bit adequate group". In the words of the immortal stateswoman, "please explain?".
 
Just a side note, Hardware Virtualisation is used when you run programs like VMWare, it's completely irrelevant to the average user. 32-Bit OS can only address up to 3 and a bit GB of RAM, 64-Bit OS (Using x64 Ultimate as an example) can address up to 192GB of RAM.

If you've got 4GB or more of RAM, 7 x64 is your best bet for best performance, and obviously if you have a 64-bit compatible processor. Whoever told you that x86 operating systems 'use more RAM' was talking out of their backside.

You can't go an in-place upgrade to x64 from x86, because the kernel and core files are different. You can upgrade from Professional x86 to Ultimate x86 because the kernel is the same, it's just the feature files and trivial things that are different.
 
Actually to clear this up a bit, 32 bit PROCESSORS can address more than 4GB of RAM through various tricks, this is especially true on server platforms. The memory limitation is just an imposed limit by way of Microsoft (or other software vendors)

Moot point here, 64 bit Windows is the discussion, and would be best from here on out on any new PCs. End of subject. :)
 
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