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Should I run x86 or x64 Windows 7?

I am being given a computer (Dell Studio 1737) as a gift and, apparently, it can run x64 OS in addition to the standard x86. For those of you out there with some expertise, is there a real-world advantage to running x64? I understand that x64 is somewhat faster, but it requires programs written for the x64 architecture and, otherwise, will run x86 optimized software *more slowly* than an x86 OS.

For those of you running x64 Windows 7, do you have trouble finding x64 software? I've noticed that many programs do have x64 versions, but I haven't cared enough till now to see whether enough of them do.

What do you think? All help appreciated!
 
64. X86 software will run just as quickly on Win7 64 bit as it would on a 32bit OS. There is no reason to buy a 32bit Os unless you have a non 64bit compatible Pentium 4 from way back when.
 
x64, there is absolutely no reason to do 32 bit anymore (unless you have an original athlon 64 with an old mother board and old video card, even then, the native drivers are there)
 
Originally posted by: her209
If you're asking this question, then you don't need to run x64.
Click to expand...

Everyone should run x64 whether they know what it is or not, except for very, very rare 16bit compatibility. Pretty much all systems within past 2-3 years are CPU compatible with x64. Systems older than that might as well keep whatever OS they have already installed. Win 7 shouldn't have even been made with an x86 option, IMO.
 
64 bit so you can get used to it, word around the campfire is that the next Windows OS won't have a 32bit version
 
Depends on how much RAM you have. I wouldn't put 64bit on anything less than 2GB of RAM, because the 64-bit OS is slightly larger than the 32-bit version. 64bit is worth it for 4GB or more.

Cliffs: put 64bit on your PC if you are open to upgrading to 4GB of RAM or more in the future, or you already have at least 4GB of RAM.

I'm running 64-bit on my desktop with 4GB of RAM, and 32-bit on my tablet with 2GB of RAM. Both work equally well.
 
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