Ron Schenone

64 bit or 32 bit Windows – Which Do You Use?

Posted by on Oct 23, 2008 | 12 Comments

Last evening I was at a social event and during the course of the conversation a question came up about 64 bit vs 32 bit Windows and other software. The question involved in what direction were consumers leaning and what was Microsoft doing to implement 64 bit computing? Good question. To which I did not have a definitive answer.

As many of you already know, I bought a new laptop computer. The CPU is 64 bit but the OS that came with the system was 32 bit Windows Vista. I am guessing that the 32 bit version of Windows was included to keep the price down. I saw some units advertised that came with 64 bit Windows Vista and the pricing was significantly higher than for 32 bit Windows.

But I haven’t seen a huge push by Microsoft for using 64 bit anything. It seems that Microsoft got to involved trying to convince the world how good Vista is. To much energy on silly commercials that no one understands. Now Ballmer says it is OK to skip Vista and go on to Windows 7. Which begs one to ask. What is going on with 64 bit Windows and other 64 bit programs?

Share your knowledge with us and let us know if you use 64 bit anything and what your experience has been.

Comments welcome.

  • Lovs2look

    I too have a 64bit CPU in my laptop, but only run a 32bit OS due to the (apparent?) lack of driver support for 64bit.
    I use my laptop primarily for entertainment and about 20% work related, so I want my webcam to work, my advanced sound system to work and a host of other standard peripherals that I have to work as well as they do in 32bit.
    At the moment, that just ain’t gunnna happen!
    Come on hardware manufacturers – lift your game. 64bit has been available for quite some time now and should be supported better than it is right now.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. This is my understanding as well. Driver support is still lacking for 64 bit stuff.

  • Jeff

    I still use windows XP 32 because my hardware is old, but thats because I’m too cheap to upgrade.

    Another angle is Software. I use a lot of older games and apps that have 16 bit installers – They do not work at all in a 64 bit environment, so I lose about half of my software base. Yeah, its old stuff, but for video games Quality beats age.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Thanks Jeff – I believe quite a few folks are in the same position as yourself.

  • http://www.tannerevans.com Tanner

    64bit Vista isn’t any more expensive than 32bit, it’s probably just the cost of additional memory or different hardware or perhaps additional labor if you’re buying a retail pc.

    I’ve had a 64bit Vista desktop for over a year now. At first I did have a few minor compatibility issues with some hardware, but those were quickly addressed. I’m sure it’s quite different with a laptop, where you have little control over what parts go in your machine. I have had issues with older software, but that’s expected when going 64.

    I think Vista was made for 64bit. It runs so smooth for me. Microsoft made a huge mistake by even releasing 32bit version of Vista. They had the opportunity to tout themselves as revolutionary 64bit OS, but instead it came across more like a repainted XP. Had they only released 64bit version, that would’ve pushed all the hardware makers to be more proactive in writing 64bit drivers.

  • joe garcia

    I could not care less if an OS were 2 bit instruction set or 64 bit ,,, Really ,,, I’m so sick and tired of having to wait for a system that can address ALL my RAM, utilize however many cores my system has, and do so with whatever app I’m using…

    Sorry to rant, am I asking for too much??

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Joe,
    I don’t believe you are asking for to much. I fee the same way.
    Regards, Ron

  • Prashanth

    My view and in many others its all about supporting the software’s and drivers which 32bit does and 64 bit bit lacks in that’s the only thing that slows 64 bit to progress

  • Mitch Featherston

    I would imagine that Facebook’s growth will slow a little over the next few months because of the fanfare Google+ is garnering. Google+ might actually cut deeply into time spent on FB and Twitter. In 6 months, it will be fun to see the numbers.

  • http://twitter.com/strangerealms9 Strange Realms

    What bugs me the most is that Google has copied a lot the open-source social network Diaspora to make Googke+, and while everyone is there talking that Google “innovate” the real innovator (Diaspora) is being forgotten. Diaspora had “circles” when it was launched in septerner 2010 and they still do, the sole difference is that they’re named “aspects” on Diaspora.

  • Anonymous

    People know only few social sites as facebook , linkedin , myspace, twitter and now g+. And as g+ comes with many advanced features than other social sites. So more people will use g+ in coming days so as this point google can topple other social site. But if people may know about social site diaspora then they will not go for g+ and google’s new project of social site might again be fall.

  • Sam Morris

    look at this GIF i made about g+ and FB https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kRXPSseI414/Tno7yZFIU0I/AAAAAAAAABw/T3wwM8aiwQs/s280/tmh.gif 

    (+sam Morris)