Windows 7 64bit or 32bit

Status
Not open for further replies.
V

vb86

Contributor
I'm a little confused here.

My laptop (Dell XPS m1330) configuration is a T7300 processor with 2gb RAM running Vista home premium 32bit currently. I'm planning to switch to Windows 7 RTM tomorrow.

I have an option of either installing 32bit or 64bit.

Another option is to replace the 2gb RAM with 4gb and install the 64bit edition. However, since i have 2x1gb sticks occupying both slots, I'll need to buy 4gb and not 2gb.

Which is the best option? Is the RAM upgrade worth it? What will be the approximate damages?

TIA.
 
dude, the 64-bit editions will also work pretty nicely with your existing 2GB RAM. Only if you actually want to utilise the 64-bit OS's capabilities for 4GB+Ram, should you consider 64-bit computing.

This is coming from a guy who just bought a Transcend 4GB DDR2 800 (2X2GB) Kit. Even I plan on upgrading to 64-bit computing, but I am going to install 64-bit Ubuntu in place of my existing 32-bit Ubuntu.

My laptop (Acer 5920) can support a max of 4GB RAM, and it is now out of warranty, so I thought why not mod it to my heart's content? :)

Next I will swap the existing 160GB HDD for a 500GB one.
 
you already have a pretty powerful laptop, with a nice processor. If things run smoothly on my T5550 Intel, then they are definitely going to be smooth on yours.

thing with windows is, that you'll require all the appropriate 64-bit drivers for your laptop hardware when you upgrade. I won't be facing that problem with Linux (at least I hope I don't :P)
 
which is the best compatible ram for my system if i do plan to upgrade?

will i face any limitations in terms of usage and software availability if i opt for 64bit?
 
if u are not planning to increase the memory then i think 32-bit should be fine. again all depends on your usage, if it is just for casuals use like surfing, office work and presentations then i think 32 bit is good enough. as such as of now there are no major benefits for going 64 bit.
 
@Rohan30186

any noticeable difference when using 6GB Ram? I am asking because I have seen my Ubuntu laptop whiz through most of the tasks. Never once has it lagged, or hung up on me. I know that is not a true indicator of 64-bit computing, or even for increased memory, but I really am very happy after upgrading to 4GB and installing 64-bit Ubuntu 9.04. :)
 
To utilize more than 3GB RAM, 64bit OS is necessary. TRUE



To utilize 64bit OS, more than 3GB RAM is necessary. FALSE

64bit OS can be installed on any machine that has a 64bit capable processor. The only shortcoming used be the fact that you must have the 64bit drivers for chpset,graphic card, sound card etc. Windows 7 comes with almost all necessary drivers. Besides, Intel,AMD,Realtek,nVIDIA all have released their 64bit drivers.

Almost all 32bit apps can run on 64bit OS unless specified otherwise. There are various apps which are available in both 32bit and 64bit versions. And the 64bit versions run quite faster than their 32bit counter parts.

So I recommend 64bit Windows 7. :)
 
I did install the 64 bit version on my laptop with 2gb ram. It's running smoothly. No issues at all. I only wish that there were more 64 bit applications. Right now, I'm having to install a lot of 32 bit applications, which run fine. Adobe should have a 64 bit flash player for starters so that we can have browsers going 64 bit officially.
 
For a system with 2GB RAM, a 64bit OS will use more RAM for the OS than a 32bit OS.
So, i would advise a 32bit OS over a 64bit OS for 2GB as more RAM would be left for the applications.

And anyway, why fiddle over drivers and 64bit extensions for just 2GB. Start worrying once u get ur 4GB (which is useless unless gaming or multitasking) :cool2:
 
sabby said:
To utilize more than 3GB RAM, 64bit OS is necessary. TRUE

To utilize 64bit OS, more than 3GB RAM is necessary. FALSE

64bit OS can be installed on any machine that has a 64bit capable processor. The only shortcoming used be the fact that you must have the 64bit drivers for chpset,graphic card, sound card etc. Windows 7 comes with almost all necessary drivers. Besides, Intel,AMD,Realtek,nVIDIA all have released their 64bit drivers.

Almost all 32bit apps can run on 64bit OS unless specified otherwise. There are various apps which are available in both 32bit and 64bit versions. And the 64bit versions run quite faster than their 32bit counter parts.

So I recommend 64bit Windows 7. :)
Click to expand...
+1
exactly.

I'm running Windows 7 64-bit on 2 GB ram and have absolutely no problems. Also problems with drivers and applications were all from the early days. You won't have any trouble in this regard.
 
Frankly speaking, I don't find any point installing a 64Bit OS on a Lappy with 2GB RAM. Unless you plan or upgrading your RAM to 4GB or 4GB+, the 64Bit isn't really worth it IMO.

Go ahead with the x86 build.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom