Hi, I've just got Windows 7, and noticed you get a choice of 32 or 64 bit. I know that 64 bit frees up about 750mb of memory if you have 4gb, but are there any other benefits/pitfalls?
Will all my games, Office Xp etc still run in 64 bit?
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Hi, I've just got Windows 7, and noticed you get a choice of 32 or 64 bit. I know that 64 bit frees up about 750mb of memory if you have 4gb, but are there any other benefits/pitfalls?
Will all my games, Office Xp etc still run in 64 bit?
all main stream applications should work on 64bit.
ive used vista 64bit for around a year i think and upgraded that machine to 7 yesterday.
you can always type a list and we can help you check.
As a rule of thumb, if you are intending to install older software on a machine and will have no more than 4 GB or RAM, i'd advise 32 bit, purely for less headaches in the short term.
64bit would be a better idea if you planned on keeping the machine for the longer term and may need to upgrade the memory, say, in 3 years or so when it's all alot cheaper.
Can I suggest that the XP Mode VM is a good way around compatibility issues, if you're running an appropriate version of 7? I'm using it to run (don't laugh...well, OK, do...) Microsoft Navision v4 SP3 which simply won't launch under 7.
3, not 4 - that's the point where things start to 'pinch' memory as a general rule. Remember all the posts we get on here about it are almost always from those with 4GB and 32bit windows saying "where's me memory gone?"Quote:
Originally Posted by MSIC
Ive been using 64-bit versions of Windows since XP 64-bit edition first came out (5 years ago?), then onto Vista Ultimate 64 on teh day of launch nearly 3 years ago and now Windows 7 64. In all that time I have only experience problems with 2 things, firstly the Creative drivers (or lack of) for the Audigy soundcard I had at the time I was using XP 64, secondly for an old Mustek scanner that had no 64-bit support from Mustek. These are the only 2 things in all that time that I have had problems with. If you have a 64-bit processor there is absolutely no reason why you should be choosing 32-bit over 64-bit, that is unless you are dependant on an application that you know will not run on 64-bit.
64 bit should be fine in 99% of cases. Choose based on your amount of memory :Quote:
Originally Posted by Smudger
1GB 32 bit
2GB 64 bit, unless you're running extremely memory hungry apps or games - then 32 bit
3GB+ 64 bit.
Or even better, upgrade your memory to 4GB and use 64 bit.
PK
According to a quick look around the web, Navision v4 SP3 will work under 7, provided you have a fairly recent build.Quote:
Originally Posted by nichomach
I can't think of anything off hand, that didn't work in Vista and thus Windows 7, although I have had to let some apps run as admin, add write support to their home directories, etc at times.
PK
I know it should, but I equally know that on my system it doesn't :mrgreen:.
List the apps.Quote:
Originally Posted by Smudger
If you have old hardware that has unsigned drivers - 32bit might be better bet.
There are not many 64bit applications out yet.
As far as the XP compatability mode goes - it's pure awesomeness and is a great workaround to any 7/Vista/64bit compatability issues. The only caveat with it though is that you cannot run 3D-accelerated applications through it.
This problem relates to pretty much every virtual machine on the market.Quote:
Originally Posted by shaithis
well virtualbox and vmware both have experimental support.Quote:
Originally Posted by nightkhaos
Well, yes, you are right. Or actually, nearly right anyway (since its just over 3).Quote:
Originally Posted by dangel
But i was talking in broad terms, for simplicity.
So was I - and generally people hit problems a ~3gb - and whether it's just over depends on their hardware (e.g. a 1gb graphics card will make sure it's below 3gb). Nobody get's 4gb on 32bit period ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by MSIC
The 64 bit version will generally run 32 bit programs fine. The main pitfall is the driver situation, so check that 64 bit drivers are available before installing. As for the benefit, it's better performance with stuff that's been specifically written for 64 bit. Basically 64 bit versions of high end software and games will be faster (in theory). A few years ago it just wasn't worth the hassle for most people but now I'd say go for 64 bit.
Drivers? Hmm. I think you'll find you're well out of date. Any hardware that is still within it's support life has 64 bit drivers now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zef
I suppose the major ones are Office XP and the original Call of Duty. Everything else I use is downloadable from Microsoft or Google...Quote:
Originally Posted by pp05
Then you will be fine. In fact I'm pressed to think of a situation where x64 would be a headache.Quote:
Originally Posted by Smudger
64bit is absolutely fine if you have a very standard machine with nothing too unusual or slightly older hardware/software. However, it's not all roses as I have found out by running Win7 64bit for the last week or so.
One of the main problems is driver support for older hardware. I have a TV card which works like a dream in XP, but as the company have gone out of business they never produced 64bit drivers for Vista64/Win7-64. There are plenty of 32bit drivers knocking around but none for 64bit. So check that you can get drivers for all your older/unusual hardware or you could be in trouble.
Everday performance is nothing to shout about tbh compared to 32bit. I've got a few specific 64bit applications but they haven't magically become super fast and amazing. There's not a lot of performance gain to be honest and where there is some, I'm not exactly bowled over with amazement. Internet Explorer 64bit (currently) does not support flash so you pretty much have to use the 32bit version anyway.
IMO, 64bit is still a few years away from being mainstream as the benefits are simply not worth the extra potential hassle (though it's pretty transparent unless you have issues). They have to start making a push toward it and it will become the standard eventually. However, for your everyday user, they don't care whether it's 64 bit. It just has to work and work well which is what Windows7 has got spot on this time around.
Don't get me wrong, I don't hate 64bit, but it's not the silver bullet that some people preach it to be. It will be the standard, but I don't think Win7 is going to be the OS that does it. The benefits simply aren't there at the moment and the average user just doesn't need more than 4Gb of RAM.
Speak for yourself. I'd like you to define your "unusual hardware" that doesn't have 64bit drivers, and ignore out of date hardware, I refer to that below.Quote:
Originally Posted by wombar
Yes, older, out of service hardware will not be supported. But to fact of the matter is very few people retain their older hardware, and those that do won't run it on their brand new machine now will they? Drivers that don't work in 64bit Windows 7 are just as likely not to work in 32bit Windows 7 as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by wombar
That is not the point. It is not supposed to perform better, it is supposed to allow more applications to run at the same time, i.e. more addressable memory, and allow applications to handle larger data sets, i.e. more addressable memory. It also allow variables to hold more data without losing accuracy, reducing calculation time significantly when handling very large (in terms of bit length) numbers.Quote:
Originally Posted by wombar
It is, and should be mainstream now. Computers are being released with 4GBs of RAM, and computers with more than 3GBs of RAM are plainly ripping users off if they don't ship with a 64bit OS. The average user is not aware of the issue cause no one told them, so we should tell them. If you find a machine that can't address all it's memory, tell the user the were ripped off, and they will likely complain to the manufacturer or retailer they bought the machine from.Quote:
Originally Posted by wombar
Silver bullet? Where did you get that from? It's hardly a miracle. It's not even unique, 64bit is even ancient by computing standards. The point is that it was time to go 64bit when Vista came out. 64bit is now gone my friend. Now it's time to take it up. And yes, that one piece of old hardware that doesn't work? Well leave it in an old XP rig if you really need. The only reason that Windows 7 ships in 32bit, in my opinion, is the Atom.Quote:
Originally Posted by wombar
You'll never need more than 640K!!!1!Quote:
Originally Posted by wombar
Exactly, and that was a brain-dead move on the part of Intel. In fact, their entire x86_64 effort has been pitiful and retarded. It's like they're still sulking over how much of a disaster IA64 has been.Quote:
Originally Posted by nightkhaos
all 64 bit versions of windows suport the capability to run 32 bit apps period
if you look into the amd64 processpr architecture or the intel equivilent you will find that it was designed such that 32 bit software would run nativly on the processor
the only problem you will ever encounter with running a 64bit system is lack of drivers which should be a non problem for more recent hardware
some programs eg older games may have trouble under the new kernal, the price of progress I'm afraid
if you are installing windows 7 and can get 64 bit drivers for everything you want to use install 64bit win7, no point in installing 32 bit if your hardware can support 64 bit
anything that will run on windows 7 32 bit will run on windows 7 64 bit
as far as xp mode goes it was designed to run legacy apps for buisness, not run games, however I have found the various compatability modes work very well for installing older games
I'm currently playing kotor and it is the only game that is having trouble for me under windows 7
Sorry nightkhaos but we're going to have to agree to disagree here because you have a totally different view to 64bit to me. There are going to be a lot of people upgrading to Win7 so they won't necessarily have the newest hardware or even a new machine. Your opinion seems to be that you shouldn't dream of running 64bit on hardware that is more than a couple of years old but is still very good at what it does. Most older hardware works fine under 32bit as the drivers are available for Vista/XP but 64bit is relatively new in the OS world for the everyday user. My Terratec DMX6Fire PCI doesn't work under 64 bit as they haven't produced drivers for it. This is down to each manufacturer. Alternatively my RME Fireface 800 works superbly as RME have always been on the ball with their drivers.
I do a lot of recording and that's where I think you'll find your statement above doesn't hold true. Just because a soundcard is PCI and 3 years old, it doesn't mean you should HAVE to replace it to run 64bit. Some of these cards run into the thousands of pounds and some of the manufacturers are still catching up or just not producing 64 bit drivers. Generally speaking, people don't upgrade their pro level sound cards just to upgrade to a new OS because it's a MASSIVE outlay.Quote:
Originally Posted by nightkhaos
Yes I absolutely agree ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by nightkhaos
I said silver bullet because there are a lot of posts saying that going to 64bit is entirely painless and brings nothing but benefits (I'm not saying your are btw). Yes there are definitely benefits but not everyone will have a smooth ride if they need to run older programs or hardware and the majority of users ARE running older hardware. I am going to have to spend £250+ to replace my software/hardware that doesn't run in 64bit. Or alternatively, I could just roll back to 32bit for a year or so. That's why they produced a 32bit version of Win7, they know that the average PC user generally doesn't want to replace hardware that worked fine in vista.Quote:
Originally Posted by nightkhaos
Fair enough my friend. It is unfortunate that your hardware does not work in Windows 7.
But I think you will find that the majority of users upgrading are also naive and don't know how to maintain old hardware, and will also be running sub-£500 machines that they can easily replace.
There will always be exceptions. If you're using pro software for professional purposes, the last thing you should be doing is upgrading OS on day one. Expensive hardware should provide you the ability to jump up and down and ask when they'll have drivers, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by wombar
Then again, in theory the companies you pay lots of money to should be up to date on OS support. In practice it's not unusual for them to not even bother starting to support an OS until it's released.
Vista x64 drivers should work in Windows 7, though (although there may be some limitations if using Vista's WDDM 1.0 display drivers instead of 7's WDDM 1.1).
PK
I went for 64 bit in the end, the only thing that didn't work was my ancient Webcam NX Pro that I never used anyway,,,
hello all
would these run on win 7 x64:
office 2007, ms project 03 o7 and maybe visio 7, cad 10 thats the most of it for now. i take it SW that ran of Vista wouldnt necessarly run on 7.
thanks
Office (32bit) works fine on 64 bit windows 7 (you'd expect it to being microsoft as there isn't a 64 bit version of office), don't know about CAD I'm afraid.
thanks a lot as long it works.
dell been a pain in regards to win xp support.
Just out of interest what is everyone's experience of memory footprint for Windows 7? I stuck the 32bit RC on my HTPC just for fun, and I'm pretty impressed that its memory footprint is only ~ 550MB: that's 200 lower than in the Hexus 7 review. Is anyone running both so they could do a comparison for us? I would, but I just don't have the time or energy ro reinstall the OS twice (at the minute, anyway: perhaps I will later... ;) )
All Sony VAIO machines will be shipping with 64bit version of W7 only. There will not be any 32bit OSes on Vaio hardware.
Unless it's a Vaio running an Atom processor, of course... the Atom Z series don't have 64bit instructions, so unless Sony are going to pull the Vaio-X within a month of launching it I'm not sure your information is correct...
Besides, Vaio's really aren't worth the huge mark-up they command over any other similarly specced laptop (he said, typing from a Vaio BX-series laptop)...
I did mean to exclude the Atom stuff. But all of the higher end laptops will run 64bit.