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32bit vs 64bit - Why should I consider?

S

StarsFan4Life

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
472
Last week, I pre-ordered WIndows 7 Prosfessional. I have the RC1 64bit version installed right now and have more problems with it than I really should. Here is my build:


* Cooler Master Elite 330
* Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G motherboard
* AMD Phenom II Quad 940 Black Editon - Stock cooling
* 8GB G-Skill PC2-6400
* XFX Radeon 4870 1GB
* Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA II
* Onboard LAN/HD Audio
* Antec Earthwatts 650wt psu
* Logitech DiNovo Keyboard
* Logitech MX Revolution Mouse
* 2 X Yate Loon 120mm silent case fans
* 2 X Dell 23" S2309 W @ 1900 x 1080
* Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit and all updates
* DirectX 10 installed

Now, I realized that if I downgrade to 32bit, I lose 4gb of ram (which I would take out and put in another machine). However, my real question here is what would I benefit from in terms of performance if I went to 64bit for my final build when Windows 7 comes out?

I current do gaming and HD video editing with Sony Vegas Pro 9.0. Is there a real need for me to go 64bit?
 
To be frank, 64bit should be the only option you should consider with that system and the things you plan to do with it.
 
criccio said:
To be frank, 64bit should be the only option you should consider with that system and the things you plan to do with it.
Click to expand...

Ok, but why? I just want to see if it is worth the fight I am currently having with my machine and Windows 7 64bit RC1.
 
StarsFan4Life said:
Ok, but why? I just want to see if it is worth the fight I am currently having with my machine and Windows 7 64bit RC1.
Click to expand...

You should take a step back and try and figure out why you are "fighting" to get it to work. The most definitely isn't normal; of the enthusiasts here run x64 and can attest to that.
 
heatlesssun said:
Simple, can't use 8GB of RAM without x64.
Click to expand...
OP clearly stated that he is aware of the loss of memory. He is asking if any other performance is lost and why.

Perhaps a more interesting question is what kind of issues the OP is having with the 64 bit OS.
 
Nanoha said:
OP clearly stated that he is aware of the loss of memory. He is asking if any other performance is lost and why.

Perhaps a more interesting question is what kind of issues the OP is having with the 64 bit OS.
Click to expand...

I understood that. I should have been more clear. No point in getting 8GB of RAM for a 32bit OS, that's just pointless. So if the OP can find use for 8GB he's already got the reason for going with a 64bit OS.

At this point performance is just not a reason to stay with x86, benchmark after benchmark after benchmark for every Windows OS I've ever seen, including Windows 7 show that the real world performance of x86 vs x64 on the desktop to be so close 90%+ of the time that it's just not worth worrying about.

Just go with x64 at this point unless you have a compatiblity issue with it. That's rare these days but every now and then there's a hardware device that doesn't have 64 bit drivers or software that doesn't work or has broken features.
 
Yup, when it comes down to it, unless you are having serious compatibility issues (which you should NOT be having with modern hardware), 64bit should be the only option.
 
You should be asking yourself what benefit does a 32-bit OS have over a 64-bit one instead.
 
Ive had this problem of 64 bit not working but 32 bit working. So I feel the annoyance. I hope its the switch from Vista to RC1 thats the problem and when RTM comes out this week that it will fix the issues.
 
StarsFan4Life said:
I was running Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit on this same setup.....without a problem at all.
Click to expand...

Did you ever try x64 Vista on the rig? I too have had about 6 or so BSOD and restarts with my sig rig on Windows 7, but I was begining to see the problem in Vista as well. It seems to happen only when the machine has been on for 24 hours or more I'm not that concerned considering my overclock. A daily reboot isn't that big of a deal. I have Windows 7 x64 on a couple of other machines and they are as solid as brick shit houses.

Is there a Windows 7 or even Vista chipset driver package. Once I did that with my sig rig it seems to have settled things down a bit. Still have had one restart in the last couple of weeks with the nVidia 790 Windows 7 chipset drivers but things seem to be a little better.
 
performance wise for day to day stuff 32bit, 64bit ... meh abt the same


where 64bit comes into its own is precision maths (ie simulation ...) where it can do 64bit maths in one FPU tick (as opose to two in 32bit). Plus the added benefit of being able to address 2^64 unique memory addresses - ie lots-o-RAM & memorymap files (ALOT better then loading the files into RAM!!!!)

Likewise the USERLAND <=> KERNELSPACE memorymap in a 32bit OS is at 2Gig (can be made to be 3Gig with kernel build/kernel option) as opose to 64Gig in 64bit systems. The kernel can only deal with data in kernelspace RAM so anything outside of it MUST be paged into the KERNELSPACE area for it to work on - in a 64bit system with the break at 64gig there is a performance hit (and for RAM intensive operations with large datasets there is a significant performance hit)
 
i think the issues your having are yours/ not the OS, likely the wrong drivers, or trying to use old incompatible programs.

i havent used a 32bit OS since Vista Beta's and i use alot of programs work and home and all of them have worked, heck i now have Windows 7 RC on work and home rigs with out a hitch either.
 
Why are there 2 32 vs 64 bit thread that are only 2 spaces away from each other?
 
If you need the RAM stick with 64bit, if not just go 32bit, it's more stable and has better compatibility. Performance benefits between 32 and 64 bit are negligible at this point, as most apps are still written in 32bit.
 
MrGuvernment said:
because people cant be bothered to search or look, all people see is the "new thread" button, is a downfall of this generation ;)
Click to expand...
Everybody knows you get more attention with a new thread.

*edit* Awe crap hit reply you won't see this.
 
1. RC1 code is still a bit buggy, even at release it'll be a bit buggy.

2. If you build a system and it's not working out, consider a prefab.
 
Going back to a previous post, I think the answer here is that you should try installing the chipset drivers straight from AMD or the newest ones on Gigabyte's website. I think that going 64 bit will ultimately benefit you and you don't want to kick yourself down the road for not going 64bit already.
 
bonsai said:
If you need the RAM stick with 64bit, if not just go 32bit, it's more stable and has better compatibility. Performance benefits between 32 and 64 bit are negligible at this point, as most apps are still written in 32bit.
Click to expand...

I find 64bit to be more stable. And even if you take out the fact you can use more ram with 64bit and even if no apps are written in 64bit, 64bit is still better simply because the way it uses the ram you have.
 
64b and 32b are the same as far as stability ..

The only time you find a difference is if your actually going to use the 64bit processor.
There are about a handfull of programs that actually use the 64 bit architecture..
For example I work on my computer and I use Softimage which is a 3d Program
which actually uses the 64bit processor and not only does it use the full 8GB
it actually Cache's all of it,

Which means for me its a big deal , renders are quicker my work flow is much
faster and smooth.

Besides that if your not going to use the 64bit processor then its not difference.
the one differen as mention is the fact that you can have 8GB which the system
will actually use.

The price is almost the same just go 64bit its almost 2010..lol
 
StarsFan4Life said:
I was running Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit on this same setup.....without a problem at all.
Click to expand...
I'll admit I didn't click the link to see your specific issue, but you are experiencing an issue with a beta OS. You aren't comparing oranges to pears here. You have plenty of time to get the issue solved before Windows 7 goes final and it available.

On to your question, with 8 GB of system memory, a 32 bit OS shouldn't even be considered. It's one thing to lose a little memory if you had 4 GB, but you are losing over half of your installed memory....memory that you paid for.
 
bonsai said:
it's more stable and has better compatibility.
Click to expand...
Ha ha, nice. I'll give you one thing...at least you are consistent in your incorrectness.
Stanley Pain said:
If the 32bit works and 64bit doesn't, there's something wrong with some of your RAM.
Click to expand...
It could also be due to a poor or incorrect driver. However, the OP is also comparing a mature, stable OS with a new, unfinished, un-optimized OS.
 
bonsai said:
If you need the RAM stick with 64bit, if not just go 32bit, it's more stable and has better compatibility. Performance benefits between 32 and 64 bit are negligible at this point, as most apps are still written in 32bit.
Click to expand...

You DO know that 32-bit apps can be used in 64-bit Windows as long as there's no driver attached to it, right?
 
64bit will generally perform faster than 32bit.

Why? The ram. It's a huge difference. I know very few if any apps will max out 4gb, but windows will use all 8gb. The biggest improvement in vista/7 is the memory management. Windows actually uses your ram by keeping the most common apps cached there. This allows much faster launching/switching of application as it does not need to read the harddisk as much.

Also, you will lose more than 4gb.

32bit can address 4gb of TOTAL memory. You have 1gb on your videocard, plus all the other addressable memory in your system for your PCI and Buses,etc. You will end up with about 2.5 - 2.8gb of ram available to windows/applications.

64bit Windows can address 16gb or 192gb of ram (depending on version). Which means you would be able to access all 8gb as even with your 1gb video card and other items you would be well below the 16gb cap for even the home version of 7.
 
bonsai said:
If you need the RAM stick with 64bit, if not just go 32bit, it's more stable and has better compatibility. Performance benefits between 32 and 64 bit are negligible at this point, as most apps are still written in 32bit.
Click to expand...

There is no difference in stability between 64/32bit. I have used 64/32 bit versions of Vista for a while now, with no perceptible difference.

Moral of the story is: 64 bit is the only way to go for that system. You paid for the RAM, you want to run the RAM, so you need 64 bit Windows. There is no reason to consider 32 bit Windows for that system. As for your problems, it sounds like some troubleshooting is in order for whatever faulty parts are causing you problems.
 
Did you make sure to update your bios when you got the system? That should always be the first thing you do with a new system is verify that everything is current.
 
MikeTrike said:
Did you make sure to update your bios when you got the system? That should always be the first thing you do with a new system is verify that everything is current.
Click to expand...

Yes.....the motherboard would not support the Phenom II chip without the latest OS (F8).
 
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