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Thread: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

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    Question Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    I am running Windows 7 32bit as got it really cheap of a mate, but since then I have upgraded a lot. Here are my specs

    i5 CPU
    4Gb ram
    ATI 5970

    Am kinder trying to talk my self out having to upgrade, would I see much off a difference if I did ?

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    jim
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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    How much RAM does Windows show you as having? That's the question.

    If it's a very low amount, that's causing you to run out of RAM, then upgrade to x64. If not, I'd make do until Windows 8.

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Quote Originally Posted by jamieuk23 View Post
    3.2Gb ram
    Fixed that for you.

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    I went with 64 bit mainly because it felt like the way the future was going (and justified it by buying an extra 4 Gig to go with my initial 2), however is there any benefit? Not from what I can tell.
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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Quote Originally Posted by MSIC View Post
    I went with 64 bit mainly because it felt like the way the future was going (and justified it by buying an extra 4 Gig to go with my initial 2), however is there any benefit? Not from what I can tell.
    There are benefits of being able to recognize 4GB RAM or more as well as security benefits. 32-bit viruses/malware cannot infect 64-bit system files. If you run Windows x64 you also see all non 64-bit processes by the *32 next to their process name.

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Quote Originally Posted by directhex View Post
    Fixed that for you.
    and ram-=vram;
    Quote Originally Posted by Agent View Post
    ...every time Creative bring out a new card range their advertising makes it sound like they have discovered a way to insert a thousand Chuck Norris super dwarfs in your ears...

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    ^ Is that applicable on dual GPU card (2x1GB)? How about if you SLI/Crossfire it? It would be interesting if a system starts trashing like crazy when running a memory+video memory intensive benchmark on a 32bit system, yet does it perfectly on a 64bit machine.

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Quote Originally Posted by TooNice View Post
    ^ Is that applicable on dual GPU card (2x1GB)? How about if you SLI/Crossfire it? It would be interesting if a system starts trashing like crazy when running a memory+video memory intensive benchmark on a 32bit system, yet does it perfectly on a 64bit machine.
    Honestly, I don't know how Windows calculates the amount of memory-mapped junk. I guess in a worst-case up to a couple of gig COULD be used by IO... but how many games are 64-bit and able to use more than the free 2 gig? At that point the only question is over the memory usage of windows itself

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Yes, it is. The CPU has to address at least a portion of that vram to make use of it.
    Quote Originally Posted by Agent View Post
    ...every time Creative bring out a new card range their advertising makes it sound like they have discovered a way to insert a thousand Chuck Norris super dwarfs in your ears...

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Software is starting to be released in 64-bit only versions now too. I only found out yesterday that Adobe Premiere CS5 doesn't have a 32-bit version. They do bundle Premiere CS4 with Master Collection and Production Premium for those stuck on a 32-bit OS though.

    Granted, that's unlikely to be the case for most applications, but still - it has started.

    Not that I care. I've been on 64-bit since Vista was released.

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Quote Originally Posted by this_is_gav View Post
    Not that I care. I've been on 64-bit since Vista was released.
    I've been on 64-bit since before it went mainstream! Got the early stuff on vinyl!

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Do not forget every program addresses things virtually, so even with 32 bit processes they can address up to 4GB, no matter where they are in real memory. (Ok a slight problem if you wish to map very large files into memory but otherwise not a problem). The real problem is hardware, and most notably PCI disk controllers, A PCI disk controller can only address 32 bits of memory so can only do DMA to the first 4G, to use any memory after that the OS has to copy it. Likewise DMA to a graphic card will also be badly effected, slowing it down greatly. There is no particular reason why a 32 bit os cannot address more paging or segmented memory allows more, AMDs have per processor memory (NUMA). Microsoft just decide that was the limit on 32bit windows server you can use more!
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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    This has been done to death - the answer is simple: if you have 4gig put 64bit windows on. Everything else is a hack and it's faster and more secure anyway. Period.
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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Quote Originally Posted by jamieuk23 View Post
    I am running Windows 7 32bit as got it really cheap of a mate
    I may be wrong, but I think the OP's problem is that he hasn't got both 32 bit and 64 bit to hand, and it's a question of whether it's worth the money to upgrade or not. If he'd bought e.g. a spare oem copy, the license wouldn't cover a 64 bit install would it??? On the other hand, I understand a retail copy covers both?

    Anyway, my 2p is if it's just a question of reinstalling windows, then no question, do it and stick 64 bit on as others have said.

    If Jamie is asking whether it's worth £60 odd quid to upgrade though, then I'm not so sure...

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Unless you're having problems with the 32bit ver of windows that you have installed, i.e. need more memory for sware such as CS5, then stick with it until the need is there.

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    Re: Should I really be using windows 7 "64bit" with these specs ?

    Quote Originally Posted by GaryRW View Post
    If he'd bought e.g. a spare oem copy, the license wouldn't cover a 64 bit install would it??? On the other hand, I understand a retail copy covers both?

    Anyway, my 2p is if it's just a question of reinstalling windows, then no question, do it and stick 64 bit on as others have said.

    If Jamie is asking whether it's worth £60 odd quid to upgrade though, then I'm not so sure...
    A Windows 7 licence is valid for both 32-bit and 64-bit, whether OEM or retail - the OEM version only comes one disc whereas the retail pack comes with both, but if you can source the alternative media elsewhere (MSDN/Technet, borrow it off a mate etc), you can use your existing product key and the resulting installation will be completely legitimate.

    As above, with 4GB RAM there's really no reason not to go 64-bit unless you have some old non-x64-compatible peripheral device you really can't manage without (and even then there's often ways around it).

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