Windows 7 32 bit to 64 bit or both?

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TonyACG51

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I have some questions about windows 7 OS.

1) Does windows 7 64 bit support 32 bit still?

2) Can I use windows 64 bit with 4 modules of ddr3?

3) Can windows 7 64 bit configure 32 bit memory channels?

4) Can I expect windows 7 64 bit to configure 128 bit width memory on dual channels 4 modules, or 256 bit width on dual channel 4 modules? (32 bit x 4 ddr3 modules)

5) Do I need to get a windows 7 64 bit + 32 bit OS package to use both 32 bit and 64 bit width memory configure?

7) Can windows run in 64 bit mode while use 32 bit architecture?

8) Can windows 7 64 bit be restricted to 32 bit when needed? or will I need a package that has suport for both 32 bit and 64 bit?

I'm asking because most all games I check on play with 32 bit os and only need 64 bit for DX11 graphics. I think one OS that can run both 32 and 64 bit with a click or switch users could be what I am looking for.
 
1. Yes 64bit can run 32bit programs.
2. Yes 4 modules is fine.
3. Ram bit depth is irrelevant (has to do with chipset). You just need to know ddr version and supported speeds of the mobo/cpu.
4. See 3.
5. See 3.
6. (7.) No a 32 bit os cannot run 64 bit.

You will want 64bit so you can use more than 4gb ram.
 
Achieve what? Now I'm confused. You will have no issues running 32 bit in a 64 bit os. But you cannot run a 64 bit program in a 32 bit os. There's no need to restrict anything as 32 bit program will run in 32 bit, 64 bit program will run in 64 bit, they can't change the bit they run at but a 64 bit os can run both.
 

enewmen

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Just get 64bit if you have 4 or more gigs RAM.
Get 64 bit anyway if you are worried about being future proof.
A no brainer.
Only concider 32 bit if you MUST use very specific 32bit device drivers. If you are not sure, get 64bit.

I'm running 64bit Windows 7 with ZERO issues with software or drivers.
I can even run 10 year old funky games.
 

TonyACG51

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Well PCIE 2.0 x16 is only 32 bits/lanes wide but im using a laptop so I don't know if mxm works the same way. But using more modules would have to work faster.
I don't know a whole lot about how it works but I would think using 2x4gbs would run slower then 4x2gb @ the same frequency?


Maybe just get one of those new computers with Pci-e 3.0 x16 slot so it could be 128 bits/lanes wide but faster with a bit rate of 8 gigatransfers per second and dual channel ddr3 would be 128 bit as well.
 

zhihao50

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I am not even aware that memory has anything to do with PCIE 2.0. If you read this article you will find there are 128 physical data wire connecting memory to CPU, split into 2 64bit hence duel channel so if you connect 4 module, two of them will share the same set of wire hence be addressed as the same time by the CPU. So putting more module wouldn't benefit alot, even possibly using more power as there is more stuff to run.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-Dual-Channel/133/3

Your system is more likely to be bottlenecked by CPU and GPU anyway.

you mean one of those sandybridge-E with quad channel memory. Then 4 stick would help
 

Maximus_Delta

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the whole point of an OS is to make all this memory / modules / ram / lanes etc transparent to user and programs. Why are you banging on about chipset details as if it has some bearing on Windows x64. Its simple: if you got 2GB of RAM only get the 32 bit version, if you have 4GB of above, get the 64 bit version. END OF STORY !!
 
The OP is not joking, he is trying to figure out if 4 ram sticks are better than 2. My suggestion: forget everything you read about memory bus width, it is all irrelevant and unrelated, and before jumping into quantum physics, learn the basics.


Disclaimer: We are not actually talking about quantum physics, it is a metaphor.
 

caqde

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TonyACG51 alot of the stuff you are worrying about has nothing to do with the OS. 32bit and 64bit OS's only deal with the amount of addressable memory in the computer. 32bit = 2^32 or 4GB of memory while 64bit is 2^48 or 256TB of memory (yes I know it is actually 48bit addressing and this is true for 64bit x86 machines) while windows 7 64bit actually limits you to 16GB (Home) and 128GB(Pro and above).

To answer your 7 original questions

1) Yes because a CPU in 64bit mode can still address 32bit code. Although some programs may not function due to driver issues (old Antivirus programs, Utilities, and Business apps) as 64bit windows does not support 32bit drivers. Another source of support issues comes with programs using 16bit code but those can be run under emulators that ask the processor to run in its 32bit support mode that supports 16bit code.

2) This is a Motherboard and BIOS/EFI issue. Refer to the motherboard manual or manufacturer for this type of issue. As far as the OS is concerned the BIOS/EFI tells it what it has available and it addresses it from there as long as it can address all that is available. (EX: 32bit OS running on a computer with 8GB of memory will only see 4GB at most.)

3) This is another BIOS/EFI issue along with your CPU. The OS will never see or care about this issue.

4) see 3.

5) No see 3.

7) If you are wondering if you can run Win 7 64bit on an old 32bit CPU then no. If you are worried about 32bit memory bus width then see 3.

8) see 1.

For your later issues you are dealing with the difference between how much data (64bit OS) and memory channels width which is how fast. This is why everyone is telling you not to worry about it because they are two separate issues. The only thing you need to worry about with Win7 64bit is ->

A) Does my CPU support x86-64 bit extensions. (not to be confused with IA64). All new consumer processors should support these extensions.

B) Does the OS support my Hardware, or can I replace said hardware with something newer.

C) Will my software run on this new OS, is there a replacement for said software that will run on this new OS, or can I run said software using emulation software in an acceptable manner.
 
One more thing to mention on top of what Caqde said (which is all absolutely correct) is if you *really* need to be able to run XP applications due to 64 bit issues I would check out

Windows XP Mode as part of windows 7

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/windows-xp-mode

This lets you run a windows XP Virtual Machine inside of a windows 7 64-bit environment, therefore removing driver and 64bit issues.
 
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TonyACG51

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The biggest issue is that the CPU is 64 bit and running a 32 bit OS would need to divide it some how or something. Using XP mode will work at least til I can use quad-channel memory. This is the only way I can find to use 32 bit with having a 64 bit windows. Thanks!
 


No it doesn't, a 64bit cpu happily runs a 32bit OS or a 64bit OS. There is a limit to how much memory space can be addressed by a 32 bit OS, but this is an address space issue not a bandwidth issue.

A 64 bit OS will run 32 bit apps happily (but not 16bit). You don't need to 'find a way' to run 32 bit apps, you just run them, however you might be trying to run 16bit apps, give us some examples.

Why do you think that quad channel memory has to do with anything, the OS sees that there is memory the hardware interprets how that memory is configured and how quick it can work, the OS just knows that there is an amount of memory.

Its not as complex as you think.
 

TonyACG51

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Any thing running DirectX 9 or older i'll use XP mode and DirectX 10 and 11 I'll use Winows pro 64. I also use 3D APIs like blender that 32bit just sucks for lol I mean its got limits I think relate to capacity of memory. 3D seems to run fine in 32 bit but a lot of other page say 64bit is best for 3D APIs so i'll get the Windows 7 pro 64 so that I have the "best of both worlds".
 



The *only* difference that the operating system and most programs see between a 32bit and 64bit Operating system is the ability to address more than 4GB of RAM.


Almost all CPU's since the AMD Athlon 64 came out in 2003 have been 64-bit CPU's and I have never seen a single problem with any CPU since then running Windows XP 32bit or Win Vista/7 32bit except that they can't address more than 4GB or RAM.

Every single CPU made today supports x86 (32bit) or x64 (64bit) instruction sets and will see ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE between a 64bit or 32bit operating system.


Again, the ONLY DIFFERENCE between 64bit os and 32bit os is the ability to address more than 4GB of RAM. Switching to quad channel memory DOES NOTHING to the operating system.

The OS (either 64bit or 32bit) does not control how the Motherboard deals with data flow, the CPU and Northbridge control how data flows and what is used and not used.

You asked "Can windows 64 restrict use of 64 bit when using 32 bit?"
The answer is YES. If a program is running in 32bit mode, it will ONLY run in 32 bit mode. There is no way for windows to change how the program was designed and give it access to more than it was designed for.

So, using a 64bit operating system and running 32bit programs is perfectly acceptable and normal and is in no way detrimental to the system's performance since it IS DESIGNED to run 32bit programs since VERY FEW programs are actually coded for 64bit operation.
 

TonyACG51

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LOL but the host can only be 64 bit meaning ill have 4GB memory or more to host a small 32 bit @ 3.5GB memory or less. Then the question is does a data dump hosting 32 bit OS dump memory configure of the 64 bit or 32 bit? That could be a problem.
 
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