Windows 10: Should I run the 64 or 32 bit OS?

Hi guys,

Just looking for a bit of advice, would I be better off using the 32 or 64-bit OS? I have an Intel Core 2 Quad CPU @ 2.4Ghz, and 3GB of ram.

Thanks!

:)

 

Control Panel Mail "Application Not Found"

I had this problem on a Surface. Check and see if Office is 32 or 64 bit. If OS is 64 install 64 Office, run updates and it should work. It did the trick for me. Uninstalled 32 bit, installed 64.

 

64 bit operating system/windows 10

Will a 64-bit CPU run a 32-bit program on a 64-bit version of an OS? Yes it will. 64-bit systems are backward-compatible with their 32-bit counterparts. Will a 64-bit OS run a 32-bit application on a 64-bit processor? Yes it will. Again, this
is because of backward compatibility. Check at right click start(windows logo)> select system>should show 64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor. There are not actually that many 64 bit programs and applications around yet. Most are 32-bit. So do
not worry.

 

I've put the 64-bit versions of Win7, WinVista, Win8/8.1 on computers that can run them then Upgraded to the 64-bit Win10, haven't had any major problems [had but never installed the 64-bit WinXP Pro]. The issue between the two boils down to have the correct drivers, some Notebooks will have issues with 64-bit. As always, there may be problems with older programs but 64-bit Windows can run a lot of 32-bit programs. There are some computers that can't run 64-bit due to BIOS limitations but the 32-bit version is okay, kind of hit-or-miss on that and I ran into it with a Dell Dimension E521 Desktop, still a good computer.

 

Welcome to the forum.

With less than 4 GB RAM the 32 bit version would usually be preferred. 64 bit Windows has some significant advantages but would be constrained by a lack of RAM. 64 bit systems have higher RAM requirements than 32 bit versions.

 

Agreed, I wouldn't install 10 64bit unless its more than 4gb

 

I agree as well. There is little benefit of installing 64-bit with less than 4GB RAM. On the contrary I prefer installing 32-bit for this extra compatibility with legacy hardware (even XP drivers can work sometimes) and software.

 

I'm running x64 10 on a Core 2 Duo (with maxed out 3GB ram) only because apple doesn't supply 32 bit drivers...

 

Shame to Apple!

There is nothing wrong to install 64-bit Windows in systems with less than 4GB RAM, but there is no real performance benefit, while you introduce more incompatibility problems (need for 64-bit drivers that are harder to find, not all applications can run in 64-bit etc). That's why I prefer installing always the 32-bit version, even if the system has 4GB RAM. I install the 64-bit version for greater than 4GB only.

As said before, in rare cases and for very old hardware you can use the Windows XP drivers in 32-bit while with 64-bit your device is simply useless. For example, any old computer having a Realtek AC'97 audio card can only install a specific version of the Windows XP driver in Windows 10 32-bit, since both the official Realtek Vista driver and the last official Realtek Windows XP drive give a BSOD, as described in this thread. If you install Windows 10 64-bit in the same computer, you are out of luck! You need to install a discrete sound card or use the computer without sound!

When dealing with old computers 32-bit is almost one-way road!

 

Well I did buy it 2006 so I'm quite happy it works at all *Smile

 

Have you realized that newer QuickTime versions do not install in Windows 8 and 10? They install only in Windows 7. This is Apple's way to say they don't want to support Windows 10. They prefer anyone using a Mac (yes, keep dreaming). If you want to install latest QuickTime in Windows 8 & 10, read about this workaround.

 

I installed quick time this afternoon on Windows 10 Pro. Just used the download from Apple UK v7.78


Dave

 

I didn't see it mentioned, but the question should be, do you plan to add any more memory to this system?

If yes, go with 64 bit, as it will be ready to use the extra memory beyond 4 GB.

If no, then there's no point in going with 64 bit. 32 bit would be perfectly fine.

 

I'd call it more a dead-end road. A one-way road can lead to somewhere, just no turning back before getting there.

I have a MacBook Pro that I got in mid-2010 set up as 32-bit, came with Snow Leopard. I Upgraded to Mountain Lion and discovered I could change it to 64-bit in its settings without needing to do a clean install, has not been a problem since.

 

Mac OS and Linux are hybrid 64-bit operating systems. They can also accept 32-bit drivers, that's why you can just upgrade to 64-bit without a clean-install. Unfortunately this is not the case with Windows. To go from 32-bit to 64-bit you must clean-install, 32-bit drivers are incompatible with 64-bit Windows.