windows 7 and 32-bit vs. 64-bit windows

hello,

about to buy my 2nd lenovo laptop [x201], and mfr says that 4 megs of ram easily can be handled on a 32-bit system [windows 7 pro w/xppro downgrade option.]

i had thought that windows 7 was sluggish on 32-bit systems, and really needs 64.

i would be grateful for advice.

thanks very much.

Computer hardware has supported 64-bit for years. It is not that Win7 is sluggish in 32-bit mode, it is that Win7 is faster in 64. That does not mean your programs, if 32, will be faster, but if the OS can do its chores faster, that frees up resources for other tasks sooner. A good thing.

Personally, I would go 64-bit and never look back.

Hi ariel0! Welcome to the Windows 7 Forums website!

On what Digerati stated. 32-bit or x86 hardware and software are becoming a thing of the past.

64-bit or x64 hardware and software are here now and for the future, so jump on the bandwagon and enjoy the extra benefits of a wider bus speed and quicker response times.

You'll never regret it. The ONLY issues I know of, and I'm sure I'll be corrected by others here, is the fact that some of the older printers and scanners don't have 64-bit drivers available for them. Mostly for the Canon, HP and a few Epson products.

Key word there being "some". HP has been pretty good in my experience - they have current drivers from my 8 year old All-in-One. Some budget models are not supported, however. And scanner support does lag behind for some reason.