Win 7 (& Hardware)

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Xorphious

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Aug 21, 2009
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Hey all, I just have a couple of questions I'm a little confused about, as I have not been quite keeping up with some things recently and considering moving from XP to Win 7 for a few reasons.

- Since Win 7 supports both 32-bit and 64-bit hardware/apps (from it's description) will it take advantage of my E8600 and 4GB+ of RAM "automatically"?

- Is there some way/option to run Win 7 as either 32-bit or 64-bit? In other words, do you have to "choose" in some manner?

Since there is only one version of Win 7 (from what I've seen), unlike XP or Vista which had either 32-bit or 64-bit versions, I guess I feel a little confused regarding Win 7 and exactly how it works, heh.

Would be nice to perhaps see some performance increase if it intrinsically takes advantage of/uses more efficiently any 64-bit hardware and RAM that I'm already using.

I'm currently running the following, which would be the system Win 7 would go on: E8600, ASUS Rampage Formula x48, 2GB DDR2 Corsair XMS2 (of course, I'd jump to at least 4GB), GTX 280 etc. ...mainly a gaming rig.

Thanks for any info/feedback.
 
Windows 7 comes with both 32-bit and 64-bit discs. Just select the 64-bit discs, and install it. 64-bit discs can run 32-bit programs through a thin emulation layer, basically no speed hit. And yes it should automatically use your memory (in rare circumstances you have to toggle memory mapping options in the bios.)
 
devil22 said:
Windows 7 comes with both 32-bit and 64-bit discs. Just select the 64-bit discs, and install it. 64-bit discs can run 32-bit programs through a thin emulation layer, basically no speed hit. And yes it should automatically use your memory (in rare circumstances you have to toggle memory mapping options in the bios.)
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Thanks for the response.

I (obviously) didn't realize it came with two discs, now things make sense. So, I just have a few more quick questions then:

- Will the 64-bit version take better advantage of my CPU as well?
- Would my mobo be an issue regarding that in any way?
- What exactly is the "thin emulation layer" you mentioned? Something the OS does automatically?

Not exactly sure what you mean regarding possibly having to toggle memory mapping options...?

Since I've never run a 64-bit environment before, I'm just not familiar with certain aspects of running in 64-bit (edit: and also want to be sure it's worth running 64-bit with my current hardware).

Again, thanks for any further help/info.
 
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Lets just get this out of the way. Every thread that starts on about 32bit vs 64bit ends up with the conclusion that unless you are building a HTPC, there is NO reason to use a 32bit OS anymore. You aren't going to notice a difference running any of your applications. The 32bit emulation layer you never notice either.
 
The OS isn't what you need to worry about taking advantage of your processor...it's the apps in general. The point of running a x64 OS is to let those apps take advantage of the memory you are giving them. If you have 4 GB of memory, you should be running an x64 OS...simple as that.

You're motherboard should be fine, especially if it is recent enough to handle an E8600.

The emulation layer is done within the processor itself, so you aren't taking a performance hit. An x86 app isn't going to run any slower on a system with an x64 OS, than if an x86 OS was installled.

The memory mappings are a setting in some BIOSes to "turn on" the ability to let the OS see all 4 GB or more of memory. This will need to be enabled, if your motherboard has this setting, along with installing an x64 OS in order to use all 4 GB of your memory.

There's no difference in running an x64 OS, aside from needing to have the x64 drivers for your hardware. Find them, and you are set. Some system utilities have separate x64 versions, but again, that isn't a big deal.
 
DeaconFrost said:
The OS isn't what you need to worry about taking advantage of your processor...it's the apps in general. The point of running a x64 OS is to let those apps take advantage of the memory you are giving them. If you have 4 GB of memory, you should be running an x64 OS...simple as that.

You're motherboard should be fine, especially if it is recent enough to handle an E8600.

The emulation layer is done within the processor itself, so you aren't taking a performance hit. An x86 app isn't going to run any slower on a system with an x64 OS, than if an x86 OS was installled.

The memory mappings are a setting in some BIOSes to "turn on" the ability to let the OS see all 4 GB or more of memory. This will need to be enabled, if your motherboard has this setting, along with installing an x64 OS in order to use all 4 GB of your memory.

There's no difference in running an x64 OS, aside from needing to have the x64 drivers for your hardware. Find them, and you are set. Some system utilities have separate x64 versions, but again, that isn't a big deal.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the helpful and informative response. As I said, I'm not familiar with running 64-bit, but I follow what you're saying.

I thought I had seen around over time that running 64-bit takes better advantage of new CPU's regarding just general performance, but I could be remembering wrong.

Of course, what you're saying about running more RAM and apps taking advantage of that can only be done in 64-bit, so I'd have to run 64-bit if I want to use more than 2GB. I totally forgot about the setting some boards have to "turn on", as you've said, being able to see more than 2GB of RAM, so thanks for that reminder.

I notice that for my board, there are no drivers available as of yet for Win 7 at all, so I'd have to wait on that. Until they release new drivers, running 64-bit a relatively a mute point for me right now anyway.

Could you give me just an example or two of what system utilities you're referring to that might need 64-bit drivers?

Thanks again for the informative response.
 
Your board is fully supported with a 64bit OS. Just install Windows 7 and run Windows Update, the majority of required drivers will be installed for you. As per the hardware you listed, there is nothing holding you back.
 
Xorphious said:
Could you give me just an example or two of what system utilities you're referring to that might need 64-bit drivers?
Click to expand...
NOD32, for example, has a version for each platform. You can use either one as part of your license for the product, you just simply download the one for your system. Plenty of other apps offer versions for both platforms. If they don't offer separate versions, than most likely their one version will work on either platform, such as Avira.

As for drivers, many people have reported that either Windows Update, or using the Vista x64 drivers will work just fine.

All in all, I think you are making this switch to x64 out to be a much bigger deal than it really is. Many of us on here have been running x64 OSes for a few years now, and will tell you that there's really no difference, in terms of how you install and configure them. Windows 7 is Windows 7. You just have to know which platform you have installed so you know which drivers to get.
 
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