Forum Home
Press F1
 
Thread ID: 128198 2012-12-05 22:12:00 Does 32 bit hardware have a future? Vince (406) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1316678 2012-12-05 22:12:00 I am going to have a new computer built and I want to know if it should be 32 bit or 64.

Price is a consideration; but so is longevity.
I don't want to save money now, only to have to replace the computer in 3 or 4 years, because it is obsolete!

How much of a price differential is there between the two anyway?
Vince (406)
1316679 2012-12-05 22:17:00 As it stands, there's almost zero price difference, and almost zero reason for most people to want to *stay* on 32-bit.

On top of that, you'll be hard pressed to find a CPU that doesn't support 64-bit, so it'll only be OS-level stuff when you go and install Windows.
Chilling_Silence (9)
1316680 2012-12-05 22:18:00 All new PCs are 64 bit capable, there is no 32 bit hardware for you to worry about. dugimodo (138)
1316681 2012-12-06 04:43:00 All new PCs are 64 bit capable, there is no 32 bit hardware for you to worry about.

But they can also run 32-bit operating systems too, though for most there is no real need.. UNLESS you want to run 16-bit programs natively in Windows.
Agent_24 (57)
1316682 2012-12-06 06:06:00 Hardware is getting to the point where any 16 bit or 32 bit app can be easily virtualized in it's own window with minimal performance impact. I predict in the next few years there will be no 32 bit consumer PC's.

That being said, the x86 Surface Pro units are ALL 32 bit so perhaps with intel (maybe) moving SoC there will remain 32 bit for mobile devices. On the other hand, eventually we will see 64x CPU's running tablets with Windows 10 and 12gb of RAM someday.
The Error Guy (14052)
1316683 2012-12-06 06:33:00 Hardware is getting to the point where any 16 bit or 32 bit app can be easily virtualized in it's own window with minimal performance impact. I predict in the next few years there will be no 32 bit consumer PC's.That being said, the x86 Surface Pro units are ALL 32 bit so perhaps with intel (maybe) moving SoC there will remain 32 bit for mobile devices. On the other hand, eventually we will see 64x CPU's running tablets with Windows 10 and 12gb of RAM someday. Doesn't the Surface Pro have an i5? Are you talking about the Surface RT? pcuser42 (130)
1316684 2012-12-06 07:18:00 Surface pro has an i5 indeed but that's the Surface Pro. RT runs on ARM chipsets. The Error Guy (14052)
1316685 2012-12-06 07:22:00 Doesn't the Surface Pro have an i5? Are you talking about the Surface RT?

Correct, the Surface Pro is an i5, and runs Windows 8 Pro (x64). The Surface RT is a Tegra3 (32-bit ARM).
inphinity (7274)
1316686 2012-12-06 07:25:00 EDIT: Whoops, that wasn't a mistake... pcuser42 (130)
1316687 2012-12-06 08:26:00 I thought it was 32x, my bad.... 32 is dead then haha The Error Guy (14052)
1 2 3