32bit? 64bit? What's the difference and is it worth it?

[killingzeasy]

Hi,

I'm currently running XP Home (32bit,) on a 64bit compatible computer that's four years old and I'm just curious really, would a change from the 32bit version of XP to the 64bit version make any real difference? What does this mean in terms of performance, etc?

KV

 

[treefrog07]

-- 64-bit will be slightly slower than the 32-bit in benchmarking software because it has to run 32-bit apps. in Windows on Windows (WOW) mode - but you won't likely notice the difference in everyday use.
-- 64-bit will generally see and use all of your memory.
-- 32-bit is limited to seeing and using about 3.5GB of total memory (RAM, CPU, and GPU).
-- 32-bit hardware drivers are almost universally available; 64-bit are not (plan on giving up using your old peripherals that worked well in 32-bit).

 

[FALC0N]

The only real reason to upgrade to a 64 bit OS at this point in time is to extend your memory beyond 4 GB. If that is not a consideration for you, then there is no point. Thats why 64 bit really didn't catch on until you started to see systems running into the 32 bit memory barrier.

That said, XP 64 is a highly underrated OS.