64 bit windows what do i need to know please

sunnystaines

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since windows 95 up to w7 always had 32 bit.

looking to get laptop with 64bit w8, apart from it being faster do i need to do anything different. ages ago remember posts about browsers,flash, and some software had problems. I presume its just check its 64bit ok before downloading. anythink else i need to know please.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    w7

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
brink thanks, a good link, managed to read first 12 pages. better make sure my hp printer/scanner has a downloadable 64 driver.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    w7
Most of the worries about upgrading to 64 bit don't apply if you're buying a laptop with it pre-installed.

Win8 x64 won't run old 16 bit programs. Some old 32 bit programs may not install because they use 16 bit installation programs.

The manufacturers of some peripherals have made 32 bit drivers for them, but no 64 bit ones.

Most 32 bit software runs fine under 64 bit Windows. There may be more compatibility issues with the 64 bit OS than with the 32 bit version, though.

The 64 bit OS is unforgiving about installing unsigned drivers. (Probably not an issue for most people.)

All in all, you may never experience any problems with the 64 bit version. I haven't seen statistics, but due to cheap RAM (leading to having 6GB or more installed, which needs X64), X64 may be the commonest bit level sold at the moment. I wish that more 64 bit application software was available, but I suppose that situation will be changing soon.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    I7-3930k
    Motherboard
    Asus P9X79 Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Gskill DDR3-2133
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GTX 680
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster Zx
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus PA246Q
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Force GT 120GB
    WD Cavair Black 1.5TB
    PSU
    PC Power & cooling Silencer 750
    Case
    Silverstone FT02B-W
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14 w/ PWM fans
    Keyboard
    cheap Logitech USB wired
    Mouse
    old 5 button Microsoft USB optical
    Internet Speed
    6Mb cable
since windows 95 up to w7 always had 32 bit.

looking to get laptop with 64bit w8, apart from it being faster do i need to do anything different. ages ago remember posts about browsers,flash, and some software had problems. I presume its just check its 64bit ok before downloading. anythink else i need to know please.
Be sure and get enough RAM to take advantage of 64-bit--6 GB to 8 GB plenty generally speaking. Also, I'd be sure the laptop has proper UEFI; it should be UEFI v2.0+ compliant. Currently, you need 64-bit to run under UEFI.

I have two Win7 desktops running all sorts of software. So, while there are exceptions, you should not worry much about software options under 64-bit Win8. And, I am running quite a few both 64-bit and 32-bit programs. Check this site out WRT to some of the available 64-bit software.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
Most of the worries about upgrading to 64 bit don't apply if you're buying a laptop with it pre-installed.

Win8 x64 won't run old 16 bit programs. Some old 32 bit programs may not install because they use 16 bit installation programs.

The manufacturers of some peripherals have made 32 bit drivers for them, but no 64 bit ones.

Most 32 bit software runs fine under 64 bit Windows. There may be more compatibility issues with the 64 bit OS than with the 32 bit version, though.

The 64 bit OS is unforgiving about installing unsigned drivers. (Probably not an issue for most people.)

All in all, you may never experience any problems with the 64 bit version. I haven't seen statistics, but due to cheap RAM (leading to having 6GB or more installed, which needs X64), X64 may be the commonest bit level sold at the moment. I wish that more 64 bit application software was available, but I suppose that situation will be changing soon.

Using Easy BCD you can work around the unsigned driver limit.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Y520
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 7300HQ
    Motherboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Memory
    4GB DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (2)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1TB 5400 RPM
    Keyboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Proteus Core
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    PC:

    AMD Athlon X4 760K
    8GB DDR3-1866
    AMD Radeon RX 460
    Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM
since windows 95 up to w7 always had 32 bit.

looking to get laptop with 64bit w8, apart from it being faster do i need to do anything different. ages ago remember posts about browsers,flash, and some software had problems. I presume its just check its 64bit ok before downloading. anythink else i need to know please.
Be sure and get enough RAM to take advantage of 64-bit--6 GB to 8 GB plenty generally speaking. Also, I'd be sure the laptop has proper UEFI; it should be UEFI v2.0+ compliant. Currently, you need 64-bit to run under UEFI.

I have two Win7 desktops running all sorts of software. So, while there are exceptions, you should not worry much about software options under 64-bit Win8. And, I am running quite a few both 64-bit and 32-bit programs. Check this site out WRT to some of the available 64-bit software.

I am running x64 on 2GB of ram.
No performance issues, except windows 7
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Y520
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 7300HQ
    Motherboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Memory
    4GB DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (2)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1TB 5400 RPM
    Keyboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Proteus Core
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    PC:

    AMD Athlon X4 760K
    8GB DDR3-1866
    AMD Radeon RX 460
    Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM
Be sure and get enough RAM to take advantage of 64-bit--6 GB to 8 GB plenty generally speaking.
It shouldn't require > 4GB of RAM to run quite nicely. My laptop runs great on 4GB. However, the 64-bit OS will at least support the larger amounts of RAM, unlike the 32-bit OS, so that's nice if you want to run a RAM-piggy program (like photo processing software from Adobe).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7 / Win 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo T510 / HP ProBook 4540S
    CPU
    Intel i5-510m / Intel i3-3110m
    Memory
    4GB / 8GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6"
All you really need to know is whether or not your PC's processor supports x64. I personally stopped using 32 bit Windows right after Vista came out, and I honestly don't see much of a difference. But I think that's because all softwares aren't yet completely optimized for it yet. Hell, these days even netbooks can run 64 bit OSes. Not so a few yrs ago. Also, x64 wont do you any good if your PC doesn't have at least 4 gigs of RAM. I think 32 bit is capped at 3 to 4 gigs, max. And you need to know about the 16 bit programs not running on x64, as well as a handful of 32 bit apps. That's pretty much it. I've heard there isn't really a huge performance difference between x64 and x86/32 bit, but x64 is the way to go these days, it seems like nearly every modern PC supports it now. Cant wait for 128 bit to come out though, lol.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows Server 2012 R2 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G700
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM, 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    6 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA 720M, Intel HD 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 (max)
    Hard Drives
    1 TB HDD (5400 RPM), 1.5 TB HDD (5400 RPM) installed in a 12.7mm disc drive caddy
    Case
    Lenovo
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Laptop/notebook keyboard/touchpad
    Internet Speed
    It varies, since I'm mobile most of the time
    Browser
    Chromium (the open-source browser which Google Chrome is derived from)
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, Spybot, Privatefirewall
    Other Info
    I will add more information here later
thanks everyone for the tips. is waterfox just another name for 64bit firfox or is it a different browser altogether, any advantage with waterfox over firefox.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    w7
Be sure and get enough RAM to take advantage of 64-bit--6 GB to 8 GB plenty generally speaking.
It shouldn't require > 4GB of RAM to run quite nicely. My laptop runs great on 4GB. However, the 64-bit OS will at least support the larger amounts of RAM, unlike the 32-bit OS, so that's nice if you want to run a RAM-piggy program (like photo processing software from Adobe).
Yes, should run very well with 4 GB. And, as you probably are thinking, maybe OP wouldn't be able to take advantage of more RAM.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
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