32 bit or 64bit

[Ray]

Someone help me out whats the difference between the 32bit Windows 7 and the
64bit ?

What version would I need for my XP machine ?

What version for the Vista machine ?

Thanks

 

[Lang]

Ray,

The difference between the two versions should be transparent to the user.
Unfortunately, that is not usually the case. At least not if history is a
good teacher. The main difference is that x64 has more memory bandwidth,
meaning it can move more bits around more quickly than x86. (In theory,
anyway...) x86 can only use approximately 3.1GB's RAM, no matter how much
physical RAM you have installed. x64 can use more RAM than I can afford.

Anyway... unless you have some pressing need for a 64 bit OS, e.g., you run
an app that runs better in x64 (64 bit) than x86 (32 bit), then moving to
x64 can throw up some issues that one may not run into with x86. Like
hardware device drivers. Or more correctly, lack thereof.

And... if your PC has a 32-bit processor, you won't be running x64 no matter
how much you want to...

Here's a link on the MS site... FAQ's about 32/64bit...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/32-bit-64-bit-faq.aspx

Download the Windows Upgrade Advisor and run it on both computers. It will
point out hardware deficiencies and/or hardware/software incompatibilities.
(I should say KNOWN deficiencies and incompatibilities.) You can find it
here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

Good luck!

Lang

 

[Ray]

Thanks very much for your info, much appreciated.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Ray.

A DVD player can also play CDs. A CD player can't play DVDs.

Maybe that's the best analogy for the difference between a 32-bit computer
and a 64-bit computer. A machine with 64-bit hardware can run 32-bit
software just fine. A 32-bit computer can't run 64-bit applications or
drivers - or a 64-bit operating system.

A "classical" music player can become a "country" music player just by
taking out the Pavarotti disk and slipping in Hank Williams, Jr. or Sr. An
"XP machine" can become a "Win7 machine" almost as easily. That phrase
doesn't tell us if it has a 64-bit CPU.

If either of your computers has 32-bit hardware, it will be limited to
32-bit Win7. If either has 64-bit hardware, you can take your choice
between 32-bit and 64-bit Win7.

If you bought your computer more than, say, 3 years ago, it probably has
32-bit hardware. If you bought it more recently, there's a good chance that
it has a 64-bit CPU. Many 64-bit computers came with 32-bit WinXP or Vista
pre-installed. We can't "upgrade" from any 32-bit to any 64-bit operating
system, but we can "clean install" 64-bit Win7 on them as easily as 32-bit
Win7.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Ray]

Thanks once again for the info.

Hi, Ray.

A DVD player can also play CDs. A CD player can't play DVDs.

Maybe that's the best analogy for the difference between a 32-bit computer
and a 64-bit computer. A machine with 64-bit hardware can run 32-bit
software just fine. A 32-bit computer can't run 64-bit applications or
drivers - or a 64-bit operating system.

A "classical" music player can become a "country" music player just by
taking out the Pavarotti disk and slipping in Hank Williams, Jr. or Sr.
An "XP machine" can become a "Win7 machine" almost as easily. That phrase
doesn't tell us if it has a 64-bit CPU.

If either of your computers has 32-bit hardware, it will be limited to
32-bit Win7. If either has 64-bit hardware, you can take your choice
between 32-bit and 64-bit Win7.

If you bought your computer more than, say, 3 years ago, it probably has
32-bit hardware. If you bought it more recently, there's a good chance
that it has a 64-bit CPU. Many 64-bit computers came with 32-bit WinXP or
Vista pre-installed. We can't "upgrade" from any 32-bit to any 64-bit
operating system, but we can "clean install" 64-bit Win7 on them as easily
as 32-bit Win7.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Dabbler]

If either of your computers has 32-bit hardware, it will be limited to
32-bit Win7. If either has 64-bit hardware, you can take your choice
between 32-bit and 64-bit Win7.

One of the advantages of 64-bit architecture that is less mentioned
is the elimination of 2 GB or 4 GB limitation in many applications that
use 32 bit integers. Such integers have only 2 GB (signed) / 4 GB
(unsigned) maximums.

If you bought your computer more than, say, 3 years ago, it probably
has 32-bit hardware. If you bought it more recently, there's a good
chance that it has a 64-bit CPU. Many 64-bit computers came with
32-bit WinXP or Vista pre-installed. We can't "upgrade" from any
32-bit to any 64-bit operating system, but we can "clean install"
64-bit Win7 on them as easily as 32-bit Win7.

Unfortunately, even if you bought some 64-bit HP notebooks last year,
you can still say goodbye to upgrading to 64-bit Vista. My tx1410us
(part of the tx1000 series tablet notebooks) is one of them that came
with 2 GB memory, supposedly upgradable to 4 GB (according to the
specs,) but that turns out to be a lie when you actualy try to replace
the 2 x 1 GB memory cards with 2 x 2 GB units. According to the MS
upgrade compatibility advisor I need more than the existing memory to
upgrade to the 64-bit Win7. Also, HP does not upgrade any of the
notebook-specific drivers to Win7. So your notebook does not need to be
3 years old or older to be left out from the Win7 upgrade path. At least
if it's an HP notebook. Upgrading to 32-bit Win7 is also a risky
proposition for such notebooks because of the lack of driver upgrade
support from HP but possible if you are willing to give up some
functionality, such as fingerprint recognition.

 

[PvdG42]

One of the advantages of 64-bit architecture that is less mentioned is
the elimination of 2 GB or 4 GB limitation in many applications that use
32 bit integers. Such integers have only 2 GB (signed) / 4 GB (unsigned)
maximums.


Unfortunately, even if you bought some 64-bit HP notebooks last year, you
can still say goodbye to upgrading to 64-bit Vista. My tx1410us (part of
the tx1000 series tablet notebooks) is one of them that came with 2 GB
memory, supposedly upgradable to 4 GB (according to the specs,) but that
turns out to be a lie when you actualy try to replace the 2 x 1 GB memory
cards with 2 x 2 GB units. According to the MS upgrade compatibility
advisor I need more than the existing memory to upgrade to the 64-bit
Win7. Also, HP does not upgrade any of the notebook-specific drivers to
Win7. So your notebook does not need to be 3 years old or older to be left
out from the Win7 upgrade path. At least if it's an HP notebook. Upgrading
to 32-bit Win7 is also a risky proposition for such notebooks because of
the lack of driver upgrade support from HP but possible if you are willing
to give up some functionality, such as fingerprint recognition.

While the 2Gig memory limitation might be a reason not to go to 64 bit Win 7
(although I thought the specs said 2 Gig is OK for W7-64), my experience
with a Gateway laptop that came with Vista tends to indicate that drivers
*may* not be an issue.
I did a clean install of Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit on the wiped notebook HD, and
Win 7 found *all* needed drivers on its install media. Beyond that, the
common experience of those of us who participated in the tech beta was that
Vista drivers worked OK in Win 7.

 

[Dabbler]

While the 2Gig memory limitation might be a reason not to go to 64 bit
Win 7 (although I thought the specs said 2 Gig is OK for W7-64),

You're right about it, but because the GeForce Go 6150 video takes up
some of that memory, the MS Upgrade Advisor does not see all that 2 GB
memory; only 1.88 GB.

my experience with a Gateway laptop that came with Vista tends to
indicate that drivers *may* not be an issue.
I did a clean install of Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit on the wiped notebook
HD, and Win 7 found *all* needed drivers on its install media. Beyond
that, the common experience of those of us who participated in the
tech beta was that > Vista drivers worked OK in Win 7.

Well, that's a good news for me and I just might change my mind about
the upgrade. I am still ambivalent about the 64-bit Win7 version because
it's just too expensive. You could buy a new netbook for what MS wants
for it. How much did that Ultimate 64 cost you?

 

[Dabbler]

Oops, I need to correct my following comment:

Well, that's a good news for me and I just might change my mind about
the upgrade. I am still ambivalent about the 64-bit Win7 version
because it's just too expensive. You could buy a new netbook for what
MS wants for it. How much did that Ultimate 64 cost you?

I've just realized that the 64-bit version of Win7 CD comes in the same
package with the 32-bit version. I assumed it was a separate, higher
priced product. Big sigh of relief!