Windows 7 32bit vs 64bit

V

vitalym

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 12, 2008
Messages
295
I think that these days pretty much all software has support for 64bit, is this assumption correct? What I'm trying to do is decide if I want to use the 32bit or 64bit version of Windows 7.
I game a lot if that helps. Does it pretty much come down to me having to research all the software/games I use to verify they have a 64bit version? A 32bit only software wouldn't work in a 64bit system right?

Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
MSI 8800GTS-T2D320E-HDOC GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express
 
vitalym said:
I think that these days pretty much all software has support for 64bit, is this assumption correct?
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Yes
Does it pretty much come down to me having to research all the software/games I use to verify they have a 64bit version?
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No. Unless its 10+ years old, it will probably work, and work well.

A 32bit only software wouldn't work in a 64bit system right?
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No, it will work just fine.


Prepare for this thread to get ugly, this question has been beaten to death many times over here and the answer is there is absolutely no reason not to go 64bit.
 
You know I should probably appologize, I did zero searching before asking the question.
Usually I'll search around before posting, I guess the question poped into my head and I didn't think twice about posting it.

In any case, thank you very much to the posters, I can't wait for 64bit Win7!
 
I have been running Vista 64 bit for 2 years and I have not encountered any compatibility problems in the last 12 months. 32 bit is a thing of the past for me.
 
We use a web based application at work that doesn't support 64-bit OS. The site uses a software made by Juniper Networks. I'm not sure if there is a newer offering, but the version we have settled on will not work in anything other than Windows 2000 and up, 32 bit, IE 6 and up. Seems all the new desktops/laptops are coming with Vista x64. This causes all sorts of headache for us (tech support).

I also do support for a law firm that has a time tracking system that will not work in x64 (per the support team - haven't tried myself). There are still "legacy" apps out there...so saying "there is no reason not to go x64" is a bit premature.
 
pallesen said:
I use a dictionary that is 16/32 bit. So that will not run in a 64bit edition.
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Windows 7 Professional XPM might work for you. But it's likely you're one of the few who have a reason to stay on Win 2000 or XP. There's nothing wrong with that.
 
You shouldn't have any problems with 32-bit software running on a 64-bit OS.

I've used every 64-bit OS MS has released and the only problem I've ever encountered relating to a game has been the well known incompatibility between Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and 64-bit OSes. Even that wasn't a problem with the game or operating system, but rather the copy-protection scheme Ubi decided to license.

If you have problems with non-video accelerated software that needs a 32-bit environment you could always use XP-mode in Windows 7 or dual boot.
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
really? why? Can't an HTPC run 64-bit windows just fine provided it has the proper hardware?

*confused*
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It can, but it only leads to eventual incompatibilities. 32bit works just fine for HTPC's and you lose nothing so why give yourself eventual headaches if you don't have to.
 
criccio said:
Or a HTPC. :)
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criccio said:
It can, but it only leads to eventual incompatibilities. 32bit works just fine for HTPC's and you lose nothing so why give yourself eventual headaches if you don't have to.
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:confused::confused: still not following you....

*full disclosure*, I run my HTPC on a 64-bit OS.... and its been through years of software updates, and OS updates.... I just can't really see how running 64-bit software will cause complications as long as the hardware is compatible...
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
:confused::confused: still not following you....

*full disclosure*, I run my HTPC on a 64-bit OS.... and its been through years of software updates, and OS updates.... I just can't really see how running 64-bit software will cause complications as long as the hardware is compatible...
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It's still more difficult to manage codecs in 64 bit. If you're running Win7 or Vista, and you've tried to use MPC with hardware acceleration with CUDA, then you know what I mean.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1443403
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
:confused::confused: still not following you....

*full disclosure*, I run my HTPC on a 64-bit OS.... and its been through years of software updates, and OS updates.... I just can't really see how running 64-bit software will cause complications as long as the hardware is compatible...
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When you play all types of media, SD, HD, multiple formats and containers, with and without hardware acceleration you find all the little things that just don't work.

Like I said, you gain NOTHING from a 64bit HTPC so why bother with the headaches?

You have found a situation where the path you have taken (combination of codec's, HA or no HA, and media type you play often) works out to be compatible, but you just got lucky. There are many other combinations that just don't work yet.

32bit HTPC do EVERYTHING so you lose nothing in compatibility.

No-brainer for those who have done extensive testing.
 
If you have a 64 bit CPU, and 2+gb of ram, there is absolutely no reason not to use an x64 version of vista or 7. Both OSes have a very complete suite of x64 drivers.

If you have more than 3.5gb of ram, and you are not using 64 bit windows, then you have memory in your box sitting there unformatted and unused. Big waste.

Use your hardware. Climb out of your holes people!
 
man, its been awhile since I formatted my memory... :)

agree with 64bit and htpc's.. was a major headache for me as well, switched back to 32 bit.
 
-=Antimatter=- said:
It's still more difficult to manage codecs in 64 bit. If you're running Win7 or Vista, and you've tried to use MPC with hardware acceleration with CUDA, then you know what I mean.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1443403
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Just FYI I use MPC-HC on vista and now win7 64 bit ultimate editions, with DXVA rendering on my HD4830 for h/264, and it works fine.
Both with MPC-HC x32 and x64 editions.

On win7, to get EVR/DXVA to work with mpc-hc (either version of mpc, 64 bit os) I needed to install a directx redist, as I was missing a dx9 file needed for the d3d rendering of video on the screen. Installed the aug09 redist and all is well tho!

For some reason, by default, win7 does not include all the dx files that vista 64 would include, but it only takes a second to dl and install the redist.

doox00 said:
man, its been awhile since I formatted my memory... :)

agree with 64bit and htpc's.. was a major headache for me as well, switched back to 32 bit.
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Hehe you know what I meant :) And yeah, it doesnt matter for an htpc, tho if I were to build one now, it would include 4-8gb of ddr2 and run win7 64. I have no problem with codecs and such on vista or 7 x64. MPC-HC and VLC's internal codecs and filters all work fine in 64 bit, and there are very functional open source alternatives like ffdshow-beta's as well.
 
Malakai said:
Just FYI I use MPC-HC on vista and now win7 64 bit ultimate editions, with DXVA rendering on my HD4830 for h/264, and it works fine.
Both with MPC-HC x32 and x64 editions.

On win7, to get EVR/DXVA to work with mpc-hc (either version of mpc, 64 bit os) I needed to install a directx redist, as I was missing a dx9 file needed for the d3d rendering of video on the screen. Installed the aug09 redist and all is well tho!

For some reason, by default, win7 does not include all the dx files that vista 64 would include, but it only takes a second to dl and install the redist.



Hehe you know what I meant :) And yeah, it doesnt matter for an htpc, tho if I were to build one now, it would include 4-8gb of ddr2 and run win7 64. I have no problem with codecs and such on vista or 7 x64. MPC-HC and VLC's internal codecs and filters all work fine in 64 bit, and there are very functional open source alternatives like ffdshow-beta's as well.
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My problem was running media center app itself, media player and other video players would use a different set of codecs then media center app itself would, causing alot of issues with playing movies/videos etc.
 
Malakai said:
And yeah, it doesnt matter for an htpc, tho if I were to build one now, it would include 4-8gb of ddr2 and run win7 64.
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A HTPC with 8GB or RAM.... ROFL

My HTPC's have 2GB of RAM and do perfect 1080p... Even then their RAM usage rarely goes over 600MB...

I have no problem with codecs and such on vista or 7 x64. MPC-HC and VLC's internal codecs and filters all work fine in 64 bit, and there are very functional open source alternatives like ffdshow-beta's as well.
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You have no problem with codecs because you are not using them. MPC-HC uses its own built in filters as does that POS VLC. On my desktop I use MPC-HC too but its a player, not a HTPC frontend. I use 7MC on my HTPC.

Its been said many times, if you play a large variety of video files in many different formats and containers, and want hardware acceleration to boot, x64 just isn't the way to go for a HTPC. I have a directory of about 100GB worth of test files (assorted codecs/containers) that I use for compatibility testing of players and codecs and every Windows 7 32bit HTPC I have setup thus far has had no problem playing back every single one. The x64 setups fail horribly.

And that is with all the available filters/codec setups.

Again, you gain absolutely NOTHING from trying to build an x64 HTPC except eventual incompatibilities. With 32bit HTPC you give up nothing and never have to worry about incompatibilities.

For those who have done that actual testing (myself and a few others here), x64 HTPC make ZERO sense (right now).
 
doox00 said:
My problem was running media center app itself, media player and other video players would use a different set of codecs then media center app itself would, causing alot of issues with playing movies/videos etc.
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Ah yeah I would probably not use ms products for a media center pc. Id be tempted to go linux for mythtv and such!


criccio said:
A HTPC with 8GB or RAM.... ROFL

My HTPC's have 2GB of RAM and do perfect 1080p... Even then their RAM usage rarely goes over 600MB...



You have no problem with codecs because you are not using them. MPC-HC uses its own built in filters as does that POS VLC. On my desktop I use MPC-HC too but its a player, not a HTPC frontend. I use 7MC on my HTPC.

Its been said many times, if you play a large variety of video files in many different formats and containers, and want hardware acceleration to boot, x64 just isn't the way to go for a HTPC. I have a directory of about 100GB worth of test files (assorted codecs/containers) that I use for compatibility testing of players and codecs and every Windows 7 32bit HTPC I have setup thus far has had no problem playing back every single one. The x64 setups fail horribly.

And that is with all the available filters/codec setups.

Again, you gain absolutely NOTHING from trying to build an x64 HTPC except eventual incompatibilities. With 32bit HTPC you give up nothing and never have to worry about incompatibilities.

For those who have done that actual testing (myself and a few others here), x64 HTPC make ZERO sense (right now).
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I only meant Id use 4-8gb cuz ddr2 is so cheap its almost free, and everyone I know who upgraded to ddr3 platforms has tons of ddr2 lying around!
 
There is still no point... Your spending money for no reason = money wasted. No matter how little.
 
Jon55 said:
I did and I still can't find a reason.
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Reasons to use 32bit:
Less than 2gb of ram
Less than 3.5gb of ram and some program or old piece of hardware you absolutely need that has no 64-bit driver.

Thats about it. I say less than 3.5, cause even if I really wanted a piece of hardware, I would not run with unused memory. Total waste!
 
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