Should I get Windows 7 Upgrade 32Bit or 64Bit?

Question

I currently have Vista 32bit on my laptop. It is capable of runing 64 bit, because i remember the option when i bought it. I stayed with 32bit because i use a few older programs/games from the late 90s. And at the time 64bit was still new or at least to me. I have 4GB of RAM. I am a busy college student so I havent had the chance to test out betas of 32 vs 64 bit. But i do get a $30 upgrade to whichever i choose.

So i was wondering for people who have used both, is there any speed differences, especially with 4GB of ram, since i wont be gaining much ram? Also how will older 32 bit programs react? Its $30 either way so money it not an issue, and i plan on doing a format and reinstall so thats not an issue either.

Yeti · Accepted Answer

32-bit can't address an entire 4GB of RAM. It's usually closer to a bit over 3.

64-bit can address the entire 4GB. Your main concern with 64-bit is if you have any hardware that doesn't have 64-bit drivers. Some older scanners, printers, etc. don't, but most things within at least the last couple years do. You shouldn't have a problem running 32-bit programs on 64-bit, but you can have problems with hardware if things only have 32-bit drivers.

Anyway, if your system is 64-bit capable and you have 4GB (or more) of RAM, I'd go with 64-bit. Just look up any hardware you have first and ensure there are 64-bit drivers available for it.

Meh, Internets · Answer

If you have a 32 bit OS right now, you cannot upgrade to 64 bit. You need to do a clean install. 32 bit supports up to 4GB of RAM, while 64 bit supports 16 exabytes of RAM.

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Should I get Windows 7 Upgrade 32Bit or 64Bit?

2 Answers