Effect of a 32 bit OS

[Samtastic06]

I have just recently upgraded my computer system, the specs i can think of are..

MSI A75MA-G55 AMD A Series Socket FM1 Motherboard

and AMD Quad-Core A8-3870K 3.0GHz Radeon HD 6550D APU

I will have Corsair Vengeance 8 GB : 2 x 4 GB Memory - DIMM 240-pin - 1600 MHz ( PC3-12800 ) very shortly.

My graphics are kind of poor with a Geforce Gt520 graphics card.

my case is a Coolmaster Elite 430 with 4 120mm fans.

I know this set up may not be the best to most, but comparing what i had to what i have, i will never complain. what my kind of concern is, I have Windows Xp 32 bit. What kind of performance, or anything else am i missing out on not having a 64 bit system. And of any of those issues, would not having a 64 bit operating sytem hinder my system in any horrible way that you can think of? Like i said i am pretty new at all of this DIY stuff, but im trying to learn and be efficient with my knowledge, So any help will be very appreciated. Thanks.

 

[txwooley]

In a nutshell, the only REAL difference is memory. Your 32bit OS will only recognize 4GB of memory whereas a 64bit OS will recognize more than we are currently capable of giving it. I see some slight speed increases with 64Bit, but negligible. The most obvious being boot time though. Unless you intend to perform memory intensive computing, 32Bit should do you just fine. But I do love my 64bit!

 

[mattberrytr]

Boot time will NOT be affected, this is limited only by hard drive speed.

You will be able to use around 3GB of your ram (probably around 3.2), not 4GB.

Whether you notice a difference...probably not, but having more ram usable is much more future proof.

 

[whooleo]

Some applications like Dolphin, Photoshop, 3D rendering, 64-bit capable games, file compression, and the 64-bit Nightly build of Firefox all have significant speed increases versus their 32-bit counter parts.

 

[caqde]

Like everyone else said being able to access all of your memory, which means being able to have more programs open at once. Also the newer OS will be able to take advantage of your hardware better.

BTW ditch or use your GT520 as a physics processor the HD6550D is faster than the GT 520. No point in using the GT 520 when the A8's GPU can deliver better frame rates all of the time sometimes giving you 2x the performance.

A8 vs GT 520 -> http://www.techspot.com/review/418-amd-a8-3850-apu/page12.html NOTE: your performance will be between the red and brown bars (Red is DDR3-1866 and Brown is DDR3-1333 since you are using DDR3-1600 it should be somewhere in between)

 

[mhokett]

on other thing, xp 32bit uses direct x 9 while win 7 uses direct x11. just one more benefit although not too many games take advantage of that yet

 

[Samtastic06]

I appreciate all of the thoughts, it will definitely help me in choosing a new operating system. The only excuse i have for having Xp is, when my old computer somewhat crashed, my dad only has 32 bit Xp, and it was free . Also, it makes sense to buy 4GB or ram if im only gonna be able to use 3.2 of it, so saving me a few bucks there too. Thank you .

 

[Samtastic06]

Best answer selected by Samtastic06.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr