[QUESTION] Installed x32 on my laptop, but it supports x64

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benbalach

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I installed Windows 8 x32 on my laptop. It has 3 GB RAM and the processor is x64-based. I don't use my laptop for much other than e-mail, Facebook, YouTube. Here are my questions:


Is there any point to switch from x32 to x64?


Is there any down side? I read somewhere that I won't be able to run 16-bit applications (I don't even know if they still exist)?


Do I need to do a clean install, or can I use the Upgrade install option rather than the Custom (advanced) install option?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
With what you are using the Laptop for, there's no point to upgrade to X64 bit. Most applications are still in 32 bit and with 3GB of RAM, there's is no advantage using X64.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
topgundcp said:
With what you are using the Laptop for, there's no point to upgrade to X64 bit. Most applications are still in 32 bit and with 3GB of RAM, there's is no advantage using X64.
Click to expand...

I have x64 on 1.5 GB ram. No problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
benbalach said:
I installed Windows 8 x32 on my laptop. It has 3 GB RAM and the processor is x64-based. I don't use my laptop for much other than e-mail, Facebook, YouTube.
Click to expand...
Then you can stay with x32.

Is there any point to switch from x32 to x64?
Click to expand...
Yes. Large memory support (above 4GB ram) and increased programs performance (1-10% depending of task).
Better security in Win64: kernel protection, UEFI, secure boot...

Is there any down side? I read somewhere that I won't be able to run 16-bit applications (I don't even know if they still exist)?
Click to expand...
16bit will still be possible if you use DosBox.
And there are many virtualisation solutions like VirtualBox, VMware, Parellells, built-in Hyper-V (Win8 pro) where you can run any operating system side by side and any older program in its own window.

The real small downside on x64 is that each program (even some 32bit ones) use more ram memory; it can be considered a downside only if you run out of memory. I can live with 1.5GB ram only on x64 for internet usage only: all is OK. Depends what you run at the same time.

Give x64 a try if you are interested. The programs will work normally.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Is there a down side?, apart from the aforementioned lack of support for 16-bit applications - x64 files are a little larger than x86 32-bit files, so your windows install disk goes up from about 2.5 GB (x86) to 3.5 GB (x64) - when you consider the amount of reduplicated redundancy in a windows installation, and the implication of using 64-bit applications instead of 32-bit, as your installation matures, you may be looking at 1.5 times as much disk space needed for x64 than for x86. Still, hard disk sizes are increasing far beyond limits thought impossible 20 years ago, when we dreamed of being able to afford 500 Mb hard disks to put our Windows 3.11 systems on.

On the other hand, there is no likelihood that computing will ever embrace 128-bit mainstream operating systems (64-bit supercomputing still seems to be enough even for the most demanding boffins today, as it has been for many years) so 64-bit Windows is here to stay, and it runs 32-bit applications perfectly well, you might be best sticking with the present and future, rather than the present and past.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP COMPAQ Presario CQ57
    CPU
    AMD E- 300 APU with Radion HD Graphics 1.30GHz
    Motherboard
    inbuilt
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI
    Sound Card
    High Definition Audio on-board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    notebook
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST9500325AS
    Google drive 15GB
    Skydrive 25GB
    BT Cloud
    PSU
    external 20v
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    pretty good
    Keyboard
    inbuilt
    Mouse
    touchpad
    Internet Speed
    BT Infinity Unlimited - 80 up 20 down =70/16 really
    Browser
    Chrome Canary usually
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    no Start menu modifications
    Upgraded with no issues to 8.0 and to 8.1
fafhrd said:
Is there a down side?, apart from the aforementioned lack of support for 16-bit applications - x64 files are a little larger than x86 32-bit files, so your windows install disk goes up from about 2.5 GB (x86) to 3.5 GB (x64) - when you consider the amount of reduplicated redundancy in a windows installation, and the implication of using 64-bit applications instead of 32-bit, as your installation matures, you may be looking at 1.5 times as much disk space needed for x64 than for x86. Still, hard disk sizes are increasing far beyond limits thought impossible 20 years ago, when we dreamed of being able to afford 500 Mb hard disks to put our Windows 3.11 systems on.

On the other hand, there is no likelihood that computing will ever embrace 128-bit mainstream operating systems (64-bit supercomputing still seems to be enough even for the most demanding boffins today, as it has been for many years) so 64-bit Windows is here to stay, and it runs 32-bit applications perfectly well, you might be best sticking with the present and future, rather than the present and past.
Click to expand...

Good point.

Yeah, I forgot the HDD space. I don't even feel the difference because storage space is big enough.

The so called lack of 16 bit can be easily compensated:
You can add 16bit support by yourself using DosBox or VM's, seems like many people don't know about this yet.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
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