Using 32bit or 64 bit windows 7 with 2 gigs of ram.

My cousin is fixing his computer after it crashed, and he has been told by a friend that fixes computers for a living that his processor is 64 bit compadabile. And hes been running windows 7 32 bit this whole time. Now his friend told him to upgrade to 64 bit windows. But only having 2 gigs of ram is this a smart idea? or would it be a better idea to continue to run 32 bit windows?

asked Jan 05 '12 at 18:49

BlancoMexicanos
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3 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

If you currently have a 32 bit version, go ahead and keep it. Most programs are still written in 32 bit. However, if you are purchasing the OS for a new computer, I would recommend 64 bit. The 64 bit version will allow you to run the same 32 bit programs, however 64 bit programs will be better optimized.

answered Jan 05 '12 at 23:27

KylePolansky
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The primary benefit of 64-bit is the capability to use more memory, though at the expense of requiring more to start with,

64-bit still does not offer significant performance benefits from the CPU alone with most coming from the ability to use more than 3.5gb of ram.

Most applications will be 32-bit anyway so will see even less benefit.

answered Jan 05 '12 at 19:20

EnvoyOfTheEnd
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edited Jan 05 '12 at 19:21

32-bit all the way on that 2GB of RAM. I have a 64-bit capable processor on my other laptop, but always Remember, 32-Bit is recommended for computers with 4GB of RAM and below, and 64-bit is recommended for computers with 4GB of RAM and above.

answered Jan 05 '12 at 18:55

DJ Scooby Doo
9.5k●237●281●380

Thats what I told him and he still insisted that running 64 bit is better since his proccessor is capable of it. Running 64 bit with 2 gigs of ram won't hurt anything at least right? while it run slow or crash often? whats the cons of doing this?

(Jan 05 '12 at 18:59) BlancoMexicanos

I think he may be starving the cpu if it is running with 4 cores in there. Unless it is a 2 core processor in there that are 64 bit. But for me I would rather have at least 4 gigs of ram to start off with for a 64 bit CPU. Or go with at least 8 if possible for the CPU case. I've also seen a 64 bit version of windows XP running with 8 gigs of RAM. My Sempron 64 had at least 2 gigs even if it was a single core CPU.

(Jan 05 '12 at 23:06) Compucore

I know I will NEVER put 32-bit Windows on my Server PC or my media PC. They have 8GB and 6GB of RAM. Even though I pulled the Server back to XP for a day, XP just started to go haywire once it hit 3 gigs.

(Jan 06 '12 at 20:23) DJ Scooby Doo

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