Which is better?

[bigdog3421]

I have heard both the cons and pros to Windows 7 64 bit. I am at a fork in the road. Which is better, Windows 7 32, or 64 bit?

Thanks



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[Bolbi]

Definitely go for 64-bit; you need its address space capabilities to handle the memory on your RAM, video card, etc. If you go with 32-bit, you'll have less than 2GB of your main system RAM available. (That 5970 has 2GB onboard!)

 

[sminlal]

Use 64-bit when you have 4GB or more of RAM. A 32-bit OS can only access about 3.5GB of RAM or so, depending on the memory aperture of your video card.

Other than memory addressability, there's little to no difference in terms of performance unless you're running programs that require the extra memory.

 

[andrern2000]

Rumors said that 64-bit version has better handling of drivers and applications. Applications that supports 64-bit enviroment will also run faster than 32-bit counterparts.

But the major issue is the RAM caps that 32-bit only limits to ~3 GB, while 64-bit supports more, up to 128 GB, I think.

 

[SeF]

Go for 64bits. You have 4GB of RAM and a processor that support 64bit. There is no reason to stick with 32bit.
Almost every 32bit-only applications will run fine in your system because of the WOW64. Sometimes It will run slower or even faster than a 32bit OS (Like, 3-10% difference).

 

[cassandraf_winteam]

For any system capable of running 64-bit (and has 4 GBs of RAM or more), I'd recommend going with 64-bit. Most programs designed for the 32-bit version of Windows will work on the 64-bit version of Windows. Whereas programs designed for 64-bit Windows will not work on 32-bit Windows.

Cheers,
Cassandra
Microsoft Windows Outreach