32-bit or 64-bit? - Printable Version
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32-bit or 64-bit? by Chris4 on 03-07-2009 at 10:56 AM
Why?
I'm just trying to get an idea of how many people have a 32-bit (x86) OS (i.e. Windows XP/Vista, etc.) compared to a 64-bit (x64).
I know most have 32-bit, just wondering how many have 64-bit.
How?
If you don't know what you have, you can check by following this:
http://forums.techarena.in/tips-tweaks/962178.htm
Thanks. 
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Th3rmal on 03-07-2009 at 11:07 AM
Just curious, but why is there an 'other' option? Is there any other type other than 32 bit and 64 bit?
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by djdannyp on 03-07-2009 at 11:13 AM
32-bit Vista here
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by NanaFreak on 03-07-2009 at 11:16 AM
x64 windows 7 
so much better than x86
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by user35870 on 03-07-2009 at 11:18 AM
x64 is the way to go.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Chris4 on 03-07-2009 at 11:24 AM
Oops, meant to post this in the poll section.
Mod: Move to Tech Talk if you like.
quote:*Shrug*
Originally posted by Th3rmal
Just curious, but why is there an 'other' option? Is there any other type other than 32 bit and 64 bit?
Just done it in case.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Jesus on 03-07-2009 at 11:24 AM
32bit XP on both my laptop and desktop.
I tried vista x64 and windows 7 x64 on my desktop, but the extra GB of memory I gained did not weigh against the fact that my remote control software (uICE) did not work on any x64 OS.
Apart from the extra GB of memory I have little to no reason to upgrade from XP, plus I don't like vista that much.
I will consider windows 7 though, as soon as it's final.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Menthix on 03-07-2009 at 12:04 PM
64bit.
Why?: 8GB RAM
If you have 3GB or less RAM there really is no reason at all to run a 64bit OS.
4GB on 32bit Windows is a strange scenario. I believe applications will only be able to use 3GB, not really sure what happens to the remaining gig.
More than 4GB you must use a 64bit OS.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Vilkku on 03-07-2009 at 12:09 PM
x86 Vista atm, but when Windows 7 is released I'm getting the x64 version (also running Win7 64bit atm). Partly same reason as Menthix... while I only have 4GB of RAM, add the gfx card memory to that (1GB) and it's over the limit =(
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Joshua on 03-07-2009 at 12:15 PM
Using 32-bit Vista Home Premium.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Nathan on 03-07-2009 at 02:26 PM
quote:So you're saying if you have 4gb of ram, and 3gb of it is used by windows, the 512mb of ram (that I have) on my 8800gtx isn't properly used because window's can't proccess that much ram, even if it's dedicated?
Originally posted by Vilkku
x86 Vista atm, but when Windows 7 is released I'm getting the x64 version (also running Win7 64bit atm). Partly same reason as Menthix... while I only have 4GB of RAM, add the gfx card memory to that (1GB) and it's over the limit =(
:/
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Menthix on 03-07-2009 at 02:39 PM
quote:I don't think video memory has anything to do with it, first time I heard that.
Originally posted by Nathan
quote:So you're saying if you have 4gb of ram, and 3gb of it is used by windows, the 512mb of ram (that I have) on my 8800gtx isn't properly used because window's can't proccess that much ram, even if it's dedicated?
Originally posted by Vilkku
x86 Vista atm, but when Windows 7 is released I'm getting the x64 version (also running Win7 64bit atm). Partly same reason as Menthix... while I only have 4GB of RAM, add the gfx card memory to that (1GB) and it's over the limit =(
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Nathan on 03-07-2009 at 03:23 PM
That's the first time i've head it as well, but this is what vilkku is saying...
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Vilkku on 03-07-2009 at 03:54 PM
Well something must be wrong with my RAM then, as Windows only shows me having 3072MB 
(using two 2GB sticks). I think it was segosa who told me this was the cause on #banana, tho I can't be sure who it was.
The way I understood it is that because of the 4GB byte-addressable memory limit on 32bit systems, it will limit the memory you get from your actual RAM so that the memory on say a GFX card is fully used. I don't think you really understood me Nathan - if what I'm saying is indeed correct, you would only have 3584MB of RAM available, how much is used by Windows at the time has nothing to do with it.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by lopardo on 03-07-2009 at 03:58 PM
http://blogs.msdn.com/ptaylor/archive/2008/01/03/...-it-is-in-use.aspx
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by tony on 03-07-2009 at 03:59 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Vilkku
072MB
Are you running SP1 on vista? used to happen to me with no service pack installed
RE: RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Vilkku on 03-07-2009 at 04:04 PM
quote:It's not any problem, it's just a limitation. (and ofc I am running SP1
Originally posted by tony
quote:
Originally posted by Vilkku
072MB
Are you running SP1 on vista? used to happen to me with no service pack installed
)<&segosa> your graphics card memory needs to be addressed too, using the same 4GB address space. your os ram limit is 4GB - gfx mem
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by segosa on 03-07-2009 at 04:09 PM
Reading the links lopardo posted, there seems to be a hard limit of 3.12GB in Vista.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Sunshine on 03-07-2009 at 04:12 PM
32 bits Vista Ultimate SP1/Windows 7 Ultimate Beta (dual boot, mostly on Windows 7)
3GB RAM
RE: RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Vilkku on 03-07-2009 at 04:12 PM
quote:
Originally posted by segosa
Reading the links lopardo posted, there seems to be a hard limit of 3.12GB in Vista.
quote:
Originally posted by http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605/en-us
This behavior is the expected result of certain hardware and software factors.
Various devices in a typical computer require memory-mapped access. This is known as memory-mapped I/O (MMIO). For the MMIO space to be available to 32-bit operating systems, the MMIO space must reside within the first 4 GB of address space.
For example, if you have a video card that has 256 MB of onboard memory, that memory must be mapped within the first 4 GB of address space. If 4 GB of system memory is already installed, part of that address space must be reserved by the graphics memory mapping. Graphics memory mapping overwrites a part of the system memory. These conditions reduce the total amount of system memory that is available to the operating system.
The reduction in available system memory depends on the devices that are installed in the computer. However, to avoid potential driver compatibility issues, the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista limit the total available memory to 3.12 GB. See the "More information" section for information about potential driver compatibility issues.
If a computer has many installed devices, the available memory may be reduced to 3 GB or less. However, the maximum memory available in 32-bit versions of Windows Vista is typically 3.12 GB.
tl;dr - your os ram limit is 4GB - gfx mem
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Adeptus on 03-07-2009 at 10:33 PM
If you have 4GB or less physical memory, use a 32-bit OS.
At 4GB, the amount of memory "lost" which you might regain by going with 64-bit Windows will be mostly offset by the larger memory footprint of the 64-bit machine code. Whatever small gain you end up with in the end won't be worth the trouble (trouble being that most people will run into something they used to use that doesn't work on 64-bit Windows).
If you have more than 4GB physical memory, use a 64-bit OS.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by ShawnZ on 03-07-2009 at 10:45 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Adeptus
At 4GB, the amount of memory "lost" which you might regain by going with 64-bit Windows will be mostly offset by the larger memory footprint of the 64-bit machine code. Whatever small gain you end up with in the end won't be worth the trouble (trouble being that most people will run into something they used to use that doesn't work on 64-bit Windows).
yeah, but i don't know how anyone can stand having bytes of unaddressable RAM in their PCs, especially when they had to pay for it
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Nathan on 03-07-2009 at 11:23 PM
Well if you don't USE it all, then there's no point. But at least you have it there just in case. If you understand what I mean.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by NanaFreak on 03-07-2009 at 11:35 PM
the speed of x64 and the gain of even that small amount of RAM when you only have 4GB still out ways the RAM usage of the x64 OS and programs not working... i found that winrar is so much faster on x64 and i love it!
RE: RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Phillip on 03-08-2009 at 12:38 AM
quote:Same except I am not a whore.
Originally posted by NanaFreak
x64 windows 7
so much better than x86
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Jesus on 03-08-2009 at 12:50 AM
quote:well, I can stand it quite ok. Ofcourse it's a bit of a waste, but if you want to use dual channel memory, it's actually cheaper to buy 2x2GB than to buy 2x1GB + 2x512MB.
Originally posted by ShawnZ
yeah, but i don't know how anyone can stand having bytes of unaddressable RAM in their PCs, especially when they had to pay for it
Plus, it leaves the option of upgrading to 8GB whenever I feel like I can live without my remote control (or buy another one which does work on x64)
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by andrewdodd13 on 03-08-2009 at 12:58 AM
The main advantage of x64 at the moment is the integer register size of 8 bytes rather than 4. This makes certain mathematical programs faster - useful if you're doing project Euler >.>
Check this
But yeah, 64-bit programs tend to have a bigger memory footprint (pointers are 8 bytes not 4 bytes now amongst other things) so my RAM usage is way up on xp64 compared to xp32.
Also, can't use old DOS / 16-bit installer stuff on 64-bit. Things like C&C and RA1 won't install (although RA1 will run with some patching and stuff).
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by John Anderton on 03-08-2009 at 07:09 AM
x64 on my laptop because of 4GB RAM
x32 on my desktop because I cba to have installed anything else 2 years ago
Which option should I select in the poll? 
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by NanaFreak on 03-08-2009 at 07:34 AM
quote:the one you like the best... or use the most
Originally posted by John Anderton
Which option should I select in the poll?
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Eddie on 03-08-2009 at 07:53 AM
Windows 7 build 7048 32-bit here.
RE: 32-bit or 64-bit? by Matti on 03-08-2009 at 09:28 AM
Windows Vista x64 (SP1).
Although my computer came with only 2 GB of RAM installed, I think it's better to go with a x64 computer now if you want it to be some kind of "future-proof". It's just a matter of time for 32-bit to be abandoned, certainly in enterprise environments where servers need as much RAM as possible to run a lot of services. Of course, buying a 32-bit PC now may work for another couple of years, but in the end you'll be better of with 64-bit.
And I can still put more RAM in my PC when I need it!