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Why win7 64 for a game machine; why not just win7 32

Y

you2

Diamond Member
Why do folks go with win64. About the only advantage I can see is 64 bit windows support more memory but win7 32 supports over 3 gigs; surely a single game is no where close to using 3 gigs of ram; so why do so many folks go with win7 64 ?

(the disadvantage of win7 64 is that some applications don't run well in 64 bit mode)
 
many games use a few gigs of ram... and most people have things running in their background, like their OS and maybe some IE/Firefox running 🙂
 
So since i run all my apps on linux (including firefox) should win 7/32 be fine for me ? (I'm still in xp 32; and planning to upgrade to win 7 this summer or so).
 
you2 said:
Why do folks go with win64. About the only advantage I can see is 64 bit windows support more memory but win7 32 supports over 3 gigs; surely a single game is no where close to using 3 gigs of ram; so why do so many folks go with win7 64 ?

(the disadvantage of win7 64 is that some applications don't run well in 64 bit mode)
Click to expand...

Sometimes I run 2 games at once so...
 
you2 said:
So since i run all my apps on linux (including firefox) should win 7/32 be fine for me ? (I'm still in xp 32; and planning to upgrade to win 7 this summer or so).
Click to expand...

Your better off with Windows 7 64 bit. You will be thankful when you need more than 4 GB of ram in the future. Even with just 4 GB 64 bit has an advantage depending on how much video ram your video card has.
 
you2 said:
Why do folks go with win64. About the only advantage I can see is 64 bit windows support more memory but win7 32 supports over 3 gigs; surely a single game is no where close to using 3 gigs of ram; so why do so many folks go with win7 64 ?

(the disadvantage of win7 64 is that some applications don't run well in 64 bit mode)
Click to expand...


Win7 x64 has better security too,btw gaming wise I have no issues with Win7 x64 even when playing old classics via DosBox like XCOM-Apocalypse,Ascendancy which are games back in the 90s.

As to applications well I have no issues with any of my 32 bit software,its amazing how much 32 bit software runs great on Vista/Win7 x64 OS so that's not an issue,even if you do find software that has issues,there's always an alternative that does run great with 64 bit OS so again thats not really an issue.

Remember you can run a lot of 32 bit and 64 bit software with Win7 x64 plus with DosBox even old 16 bit games.

I also have all 64 bit drivers for all my hardware.
 
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Under certain strenuous situation x64 is faster and slightly more stable.

If you heavily multitask or run very demanding application64 would server you better.

It also fashionable to run x64 because most of the other users run only x32.

On the other hand some games will not work with x64.

You can not go wrong with x32 so it is your call.



😎
 
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This is the answer I was looking for; some games will not work with x64 so for me it sounds like I am best off with x32. Note I only use my windows pc when playing games; I use the linux pc for anything but a windows game (including multi-tasking while playing games). If all my pc games ran great under linux I wouldn't use windows (I'm a command line multi-tasker sort of person).

It sounds very much like there is no advantage when it comes to game playing for using win 7/x64 and some disadvantages. I suppose one day most drivers will prefer x64.

to be honest I'm still debating if I want the head-ache of upgrading to win 7 but I know sooner or later (not sure if 6 months or 6 years is the time frame) stuff will stop working with windows xp due to lack of device support and security upgrades.


JackMDS said:
Under certain strenuous situation x64 is faster and slightly more stable.

If you heavily multitask or run very demanding application64 would server you better.

It also fashionable to run x64 because mot of the other users run only x32.

On the other hand some games will not work with x64.

You can not go wrong with x32 so it is your call.



😎
Click to expand...
 
Mem said:
As to applications well I have no issues with any of my 32 bit software,its amazing how much 32 bit software runs great on Vista/Win7 x64 OS so that's not an issue,even if you do find software that has issues,there's always an alternative that does run great with 64 bit OS so again thats not really an issue.
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This...honestly, you'll run into more problems with programs that haven't been written to work with UAC properly or some other Vista/7 quirk than incompatibilities with 32-bit software.

x64 is definitely better for audio/video/photo processing, if that matters to you at all.

It sounds very much like there is no advantage when it comes to game playing for using win 7/x64 and some disadvantages. I suppose one day most drivers will prefer x64.
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Depends on the games you're trying to play, I s'pose. I haven't run into a problem yet with any of my old games. I'm betting sooner than later games will be coded to take advantage of x64; especially now that x64 has become the standard off-the-shelf flavor you get when buying an OEM PC.
 
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I have yet to find a game that won't run on Windows 7 / Vista x64. Every 32-bit program I've tried to install runs perfectly fine.
 
I've heard that some of the older patches/install scripts et all for early win xp games (2000 era) won't start under win 7x64. Mind you I don't know if this is user error or limitation of win 7x64

PhatoseAlpha said:
What games do you suppose don't run on W7x64?
Click to expand...
 
An original install of Diablo 2 will not run on Windows 7 x64. You cannot even boot it up to patch it. However once you download the latest patch it boots up fine.

If you are using Windows to play games it's not going to be a matter of the fact you are playing games it's really a matter of what games you will be playing. If you play WoW for instance you should have a minimum of 2GB so 3 GB under the x86 is fine and dandy but with x64 you really get to see it's legs work with higher amounts of RAM.
 
Saffleur said:
An original install of Diablo 2 will not run on Windows 7 x64. You cannot even boot it up to patch it. However once you download the latest patch it boots up fine.

If you are using Windows to play games it's not going to be a matter of the fact you are playing games it's really a matter of what games you will be playing. If you play WoW for instance you should have a minimum of 2GB so 3 GB under the x86 is fine and dandy but with x64 you really get to see it's legs work with higher amounts of RAM.
Click to expand...


I can play Diablo 2 just fine on Vista/Win7 x64,btw a lot of gamers overlook keeping their DX9.0c updated in Vista/Win7 which does help some of those older games to run.

I do a lot of gaming plus beta game testing and to be honest I have not run into a game(especially if you use DosBox for very old games) I could not run or find a simple fix for .

I'll go as far and say I'll never go back to 32 bit OS for gaming or general use,64 bit OS like Vista/ Win7 x64 has been solid for me in all areas including gaming.
 
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Under win32 applications are limited to 2GB even if you have 3GB installed. Realize that just because you install x64 does not mean that applications now can use 3GB or more memory , they have to be written to take advantage of it.

A current game, Metro 2033 uses 3GB + memory if you have it. In fact the optimum config is listed as 8GB.
 
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