Does Intel Core i5 and 4GB will work better on Windows 7 32bit or 64bit

[Mr.AB]

I am using a Windows XP Service Pack 2 and I am planning to upgrade my system. I don’t want to install Windows Vista, so it was quiet clear for me to go for Windows 7. I had already made my mind and had decided that I will install Windows 7 but I again got into a big confusion when my friend asked me that whether I am going for Windows 7 32bit or 64bit. Truly saying I didn’t had any sorts of knowledge regarding this, so I surfed on the Google and tried to find out the difference between the 32bit and 64bit system. I was unable to understand the specifications but got to know only one thing that if I have 4GB or less RAM then I should go for 32bit system, but some of the articles even said that 64bit system even goes well with 4GB RAM or even 2GB RAM. Now I am unable to understand what to do or which system to go with. I am using an Intel i5 processor with 4GB of RAM.

I want to know which system I should go with. I am a normal user and use my system for browsing, working on Microsoft Office and to listen to music. Will there be any boost in performance if I use a 64bit system or will it make my computer slow. I am very curious about the performance of my computer need help. Hope someone will help me with all this.

[LavinaD]

Most of the people have confusion over this one thing whether to go with 32 bit or with 64 bit operating system. The major difference in both the system is the amount of RAM the systems can use. There is a certain limit of maximum RAM usage in 32 bit system and 64 bit system. The 32 bit system can address 4GB of RAM while the 64 bit system can address up to 8TB of RAM. This is not the only difference or the thing which should be considered for choosing the system. “Addressable Space” is the big component which differs in both, the 32bit system and 64 bit system. There is limited address space, more space will be required to address the and number of hardware. RAM will get whatever amount of memory is left so that is the reason a 32 bit system having 4GB RAM will have only 3.25GB of actual memory to work with. So it totally depends on you which system to go with if you are not going to attach huge amount of hardware’s to the computer then it is recommended to go with the 32 bit system. Hope this helps you to come up with a good option.

[jamiejohn]

I’ll give you some detailed description of the differences in both the process so that you can match your requirements with my descriptions and decide what process to go with. A 32 bit OS will address only 4GB of memory while a 64 bit OS will address up to 8TB of memory. The addressable space is also applied to the programs for example. A 32 bit Photoshop will only be able to access 2GB of RAM so whether you use it in 32 bit OS or 64 bit OS the addressable space will not be changed. 32 bit OS drivers are easily available but it is not the same with 64 bit OS. A 32 bit system will always have lower memory requirement as compared to the 64 bit OS.

To make you understand this in more proper way it can be said that 32 bit OS requires minimum 1GB of RAM while the 64bit RAM requires minimum 2GB RAM. But it doesn’t mean that you will face any kind of problems using a 64 bit OS with 4GB RAM. I have used both the versions and have not found any such significant difference in regards of speed and performance. I’ll suggest that if you are planning to increase your RAM in the coming months then go for 64 bit OS or else you can simply go for 32 bit OS. Choice is your good luck.

[Cain]

There are certain amounts of misconceptions and beliefs regarding 32 bit OS and 64 bit which are not true, so just want to brief you in regards of that as it may happen even you may fall prey to such misconceptions. Most of the people make up their mind believing these misconceptions and make a bad choice for their systems. Just take a look over following points may be it helps you in some ways:

1. RAM limit is the only difference in 32 bit and 64 bit OS this is the most well know and biggest misconception. Except this there are many more differences which even include the architectural changes but it don’t makes any difference in the performance.
2. Some of the people think that the programs which are supported in 32 bit OS will not be supported in 64 bit OS which is completely false. Microsoft follows Hybrid architecture so programs supported by 32 bit OS will be definitely supported by 64 bit OS.
3. Truly saying there is not a big performance difference between both the systems as most of the programs are still written in 32 bit architecture so they will require only 2GB addressable space. The difference peeps out when you use programs made in 64 bit architecture.

[Gimbya]

I will recommend you to go for 64 bit operating system because I am using 64 bit OS from past few years now and have encountered hardly any problems with the system. If someone is having less than 3GB RAM or have an old computer or else a 32bit processor then I’ll recommend him to use a 32 bit OS but as you are having 4 GB RAM and even your micro processor is good then you should go for 64 bit OS. Because in anytime in future you are always going to increase your RAM and not decrease it so better upgrade the system with something which will be used frequently in future.

[viszable]

Hi,

It totaly depends on your use. If you want to use your computer for Hyper Threading than all of your cpu's core will work simulteneously, therefore they need an extended amount of memory like 4 GB or above. Coming to the point of 32 bit or 64 bit, Are you about to run any specific program? Many of program does not support their calculations on 32 bit. As per my experience you won't be facing any problem with 4 GB RAM.

Mentoined are the type of operating system with their RAM requirement

1. Win 7 Starter 1GB Minimum
2. Win7 Home Basic 2GB Minimum
3. Win 7 Home Premium 2-3GB
4. Win7 Professional 4GB
5. Win7 Ultimate 4GB at least