64bit Vs 32bit??

[motil]

I would like to apologize that i open this thread here i do know this is not its place but i also know that the members of this forums has the answer to my question, I just got my new i5 cpu with 8 gb memory, i didn't knew (until the seller told me) that i must install 64bit OS to take advantage of the 8gb...

the problem is that i tried my best to avoid using 64bit system since i heard so many problems around it, I also from time to time take some work from my workplace and working on it at home (coding) so my fear is that i wouldn't be able to do so since my cpu at work has 32bit OS, is it worth to move to 64bit? is there any advantages using 64bit systems or should i just bite the bullet and use only the 4 out 8 gb memory?

Thanks.
Motil

[kleinma]

I would say just go with the 64 bit OS. It is the way of the future just like 16 bit OS had to be migrated to 32 bit several years back.

As far as your coding, the .NET framework has the ability to run on both x86 and x64 without issue, and you can specifically target x86 (32 bit) for your project in Visual Studio if you want to ensure they are only 32 bit compiled. Of course the default for compiling projects in Visual Studio is "AnyCPU" meaning the code is compiled to run on both x86 and x64.

x64 Windows can run 32 bit applications, in fact Visual Studio itself is still only a 32 bit application.

Did this machine not come with x64 Windows 7 installed on it already? I don't know how they sell machines in Isreal, but in the US you can't really find a retail built machine without an OS already on it.

The 8GB of ram will come in handy as programs take up more and more ram, and if you stick with 32 bit as your OS, it won't even be a full 4GB of ram you get, its 4GB minus all the address space that all the other hardware devices need (like video, USB, etc..) so it would actually be closer to 3.25GB of ram the system would see.

[motil]

Thank you for the info kleinma didn't really knew that, so i will go with 64bit, if i'll have too much problems i always can go back to my old x86 win7, as for your question in Israel you choose if you want to buy OS with your cpu it seems logical to me since most of the time you already have some kind of OS from your old computer and you might don't want to upgrade (just like I want to do now)

thanks again your answer was very helpful.

[Pradeep1210]

The maximum usable memory for 32-bit OS is roughly 3.5 GB. Anything above that is waste; the OS can't handle/use it.

Applications whether 32 bit or 64 bit, will run on the 64 bit OS irrespective. There might be some exceptions though. No application will consume that much amount of memory. Most applications whose 64-bit versions are available are poorly coded and don't leverage the capabilities of 64 bit OS anyways. So if you can find the 64-bit versions of the applications you use, its good; otherwise you have the 32-bit versions available anyways.

[Pradeep1210]

A quick search got me this:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...4-bit-faq.aspx

See if this helps you in any way.

[stanav]

If you go with 64bit OS, the only thing you should really keep in mind is that a lot of hardware devices don't have 64bit drivers, and without a correct driver, you can't use a device. At my work place, we've been looking to move to win7 64bit for quite a while but the only thing that prevents us to do so is the availability of 64bit drivers for some of the devices we use... The older a device is, the less likely that the manufacturer would make a new 64 bit driver for it. Other than that, I love my home win7 x64 machine

[sytto]

64 all the way.

[kleinma]

If you go with 64bit OS, the only thing you should really keep in mind is that a lot of hardware devices don't have 64bit drivers, and without a correct driver, you can't use a device. At my work place, we've been looking to move to win7 64bit for quite a while but the only thing that prevents us to do so is the availability of 64bit drivers for some of the devices we use... The older a device is, the less likely that the manufacturer would make a new 64 bit driver for it. Other than that, I love my home win7 x64 machine

Yes old hardware devices are the only thing that cause problems when going to a nice new x64 based install.

[Jenner]

Agreed. Once again, like when the move from the 95/98/ME core to the NT/2000 core, drivers are the big issue with a 64bit system since it's a major rewrite. Old hardware, as well as "specialty" hardware (oddball things like check scanners, barcode printers, etc) may not have 64bit drivers written for them and thus, won't work at all.

It all depends on if the maker of that hardware decides to put in the time and effort to support it. If it's from an off-brand manufacturer, chances are it won't be. Major brands have a better chance of supporting their hardware since they have more resources at their disposal, but there's still a chance of getting burned. My suggestion, before making the move, check at Microsoft's compatibility site to see if Microsoft has a driver that'll work or see if you can find 64bit drivers directly from the manufacturers and download them to a USB chip drive.

64bit is here to stay though because computer hardware was backed into a corner with the 32bit RAM limit. Microsoft's server OS doesn't even come in 32bit version any more and sales of Windows 7 have been weak at best. All the major OEM computer builders have just decided it's easier to just install 64bit across the board as the default option. There's a lot of drivers out there though so if your hardware is even halfway modern, you shouldn't have any issues.

[chris128]

The maximum usable memory for 32-bit OS is roughly 3.5 GB. Anything above that is waste; the OS can't handle/use it.

Not technically true, PAE (Physical Address Extension) is used by some 32 bit editions of Windows Server 2003 to allow it to address up to 128GB of memory. XP is even capable of this but Microsoft limit it for "licensing and driver compatibility reasons"

[kleinma]

Well in reality his statement is still true. The (client) OS can't handle it, regardless of the actual reasons why or if it would be possible for these limits to be lifted.

[chris128]

If he had said a client OS then yes it is true, but saying the max for any 32 bit OS is 3.5 GB is simply not true
Oh and you can also get patches that enable PAE for client OS's (http://wj32.wordpress.com/2010/05/04...for-windows-7/) though I've no idea how stable they are.

[motil]

thanks for all the help, you were so right about the old drivers problem, i spent 2 hours trying to figure why my modem driver isn't working after i finished installing windows 7 x64... when i finally understood that i went to get network cable and use it instead the modem driver and i finally have internet connection again .

thanks again!

[Shaggy Hiker]

If you have programs working with older Access mdb databases, and the program was written in .NET using the Any CPU option, the program won't be able to read the mdb.