I bought a laptop in June 2008 with 64-bit Windows Vista installed. At that time, Windows x64 was relatively new, so I encountered a few problems with incompatible hardware and software that required an upgrade to 64-bit drivers.
Now in August 2010, most of the incompatibilities have been solved as x64 has gone mainstream. At the local Best Buy today, perhaps 90% of the full-featured laptops run 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. This makes sense because most new laptops come with 4-8 GB RAM, and you must run 64-bit Windows to access more than 3GB RAM.
64-bit Benefits
Here are the key benefits of running 64-bit Windows instead of 32-bit:
More Memory. Native Windows x64 applications can address up to 2 terabytes (TB) of physical memory. The system kernel and each process can access up to 8 TB of virtual memory. Whereas 32-bit Windows uses a flat, 32-bit virtual address space that by default is split into two buckets: 2GB for the operating system, and 2GB for user applications. More addressable memory in x64 means less reading and writing to disk, which leads to…
Better Performance. Windows x64 often runs faster than x32 because it has more addressable memory (as just noted) and double the number of registers that are also double in size. This also results in faster function calls because arguments can be passed in registers to a function instead of pushing and popping arguments onto the stack for every operation. This also results in faster floating-point operations.
More Secure. The x64 is more secure, with better overflow protection and an extra bit that provides data execution protection (DEP) to ensure memory is not being manipulated or data memory being used to execute malicious code. Patch Guard, which is exclusive to x64, prevents the Windows kernel from being hijacked or patched.
64-Bit Issues
But as I discussed above, there are still some issues with running 64-bit Windows:
Incompatibilities. All kernel mode drivers and Windows Shell handlers must be compiled specifically for 64-bit systems, meaning that you will need to find 64-bit upgrades for drivers and Windows Explorer menu items, for example.
No DOS or 16-bit Windows. DOS and 16-bit Windows applications are not supported in Windows x64. However, 32-bit and 64-bit console applications are supported.
No Legacy Networks. Legacy networking protocols such as NetBEUI, Data Link Control (DLC), and AppleTalk are not supported in Windows x64.
Benefits of Microsoft Windows x64 Editions
Article published on August 10, 2010
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August 10th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
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August 23rd, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Judging from your post on the pros and cons of 64-bit windows, I’ll probably go with the 32-bit windows for its very much compatible with any drivers.
August 30th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
Your post about 64 bit windows is really good but i think 32 bit is more popular then 64 bit and it is very user friendly and it compatible for every software
September 12th, 2010 at 8:49 am
I agree with Loadrunner. Yet 32-bit machines are more popular among most countries. Here, in Egypt, it’s very difficult to get 64-bit Windows editions. Moreover, it’s impossible to get a 64-bit application from a software vendor. x86 compiled apps work well with 64-bit Windows versions but it doesn’t utilize the features of 64-bit machines.
September 27th, 2010 at 2:24 am
er uh, I was waiting for the punch line to your “More Memory” point, and was surprised that you actually said it with a straight face…
“It’s better because it can address 8+ Gigs of memory” ????
and laptops now must come with this absurd amount of memory — because the ms os is such a huge bloated pig that it actually needs that much memory… eee gads… and nobody even blinks an eye?
Okay, name me one end user app that was not written by the elephant factory that actually needs/uses that much memory. I mean it is just colossally absurd. The only thing that even comes close to legitimately using that much memory is video editing.
But having said that, yes, clearly, 64 bits is the future, but not because we ~need~ that much, but only because the hardware has become so mind-bogglingly cheap, that it becomes affordable, so why not get it?
October 25th, 2010 at 1:49 am
You are exactly right. And Mohammad does have a point. I am from the states and have a 64-bit and love it. However, I live abroad right now and it is extremely hard to find software that is compatible with it. Works great in the states, but if you are working abroad and plan to stay for a while I’d have a back up 32.
November 6th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Mohammad does have a point. I am from the states. If you want to find the better solution then go to IT support blog.
February 2nd, 2011 at 8:37 pm
I agree with you man , I have windows 7 64 bit and it’s the best windows i have … so for me 64 bit windows is the best !!
July 9th, 2011 at 5:42 am
I like your article i think 32 bit is more user friendly.
September 18th, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Windows 7 64 bit is the best until now , but i think windows 8 will be much better .