Forum Home
Press F1
 
Thread ID: 116959 2011-03-27 19:09:00 Should I go to 64bit? Bryan (147) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1189830 2011-03-27 19:09:00 I am running Win7 32bit. My m/b is capable of running 64bit. I have 3g memory. Everything works well.

Is there any advantage installing a 64bit o/s as I do not use the PC for anything but recreational purposes?

If I was to install 64bit, does that mean the equivalent of reinstalling a system from scratch and have to reinstall all my previous programs?
Bryan (147)
1189831 2011-03-27 19:38:00 If your PC is doing what you want now there is not much point in change just for the sake of it. 64bit allows you to run more ram which is good if you want/need it. Just make sure that you have 64bit drivers for your system ready before you make the change. CliveM (6007)
1189832 2011-03-27 19:40:00 Yeah I think you need to reinstall Windows and every other software ..... Nomad (952)
1189833 2011-03-27 19:50:00 If your PC is doing what you want now there is not much point in change just for the sake of it. 64bit allows you to run more ram which is good if you want/need it. Just make sure that you have 64bit drivers for your system ready before you make the change.That sums it up nicely :thumbs: And as nomad points out you WILL have to completely reinstall windows along with all programs - you cant upgrade from a 32 bit to 64 Bit. wainuitech (129)
1189834 2011-03-27 20:05:00 Is there any advantage installing a 64bit o/s as I do not use the PC for anything but recreational purposes?



What recreational purposes? Recreational purposes can be what needs high end hardware and max performance. Gaming for instance.

If gaming, yes.

If not, not if you're happy with it as is.
pctek (84)
1189835 2011-03-27 20:07:00 +1

It looks and feels identical so the only advantage from an end user point of view is the ability to use more RAM as stated.

If you ever find yourself reinstalling for other reasons and you have the option to go 64 bit then it may be a little more fututre proof, but certainly not worth the effort otherwise.
dugimodo (138)
1189836 2011-03-27 21:49:00 I, too, am what I would class a recreational user - use the PC for everyday tasks like word processing, spreadsheets, photo editing, email and Voip, but like to have the grunt to play contemporary games (Fallout3, Dragon Age, Titan Quest, Sacred 2 et al) without annoying performance issues (ignore my sig, that's the old system!)

Of course, a decent video card is most important!

I was in a similar postion before my recent system build - I have Win 7 64 now but wouldn't have considered using it with my old system (although the MB was 64 compatible) as all was running well (from an OS point of view anyway!).

I did run into a couple of issues with lack of 64 bit drivers for my Wireless PCI card and printer for my new build but with a bit of jiggery pokery was able to work around them (God bless the internet).

Cheers!
Richardd150 (13927)
1189837 2011-03-28 05:20:00 Thanks all. I will leave well alone. Bryan (147)
1189838 2011-03-28 07:14:00 Not that this is exactly relevant but its rumored that windows 8 will support 128 bit.

All part of progress really but yeah, if you have no really good reason to move save yourself the hassle and stick 32x
The Error Guy (14052)
1189839 2011-03-28 17:41:00 128 bit?? wow. Why do they always double it lol, 65 bit is double the size of 64 just as a thought dugimodo (138)
1 2