So I have this AMD Athlon 64 CPU.
I wanted to know for what the 64 stands for and why there are 2 copies of Windows Vista. One is Vista 32 and the other is Vista 64.
What is the difference and which bit shall I go for?
Can someone please be so kind and tell me what that all means?
Thanks in advance
Dear Numb:
To better understand the internals of 32-bit and 64-bit computing, you first have to understand how a computer store and process the information. Computers uses a binary systems (0 and 1) so a particular value could either be 0 or 1. By using abstraction, computer uses a set of set of bits (8 bits) to form a byte.
To answer your question in layman's term, a computer has memory where it holds data. A 32-bit computer uses a 32 bits of data (four bytes) to access, and process data to-and-from memory. Whereas a 64-bit computer can use eight bytes of data to process information so obviously it is faster. One must understand that CPU uses memory to hold data. A 32-bit computer can access/store only 4GB of data in the memory where as a 64-bit computer is capable of using 16 exa-bytes of memory spaces (not that it actually does but it can).
So a 64-bit microprocessor will process data much faster than a 32 bit computer. In addition, you must remember that modern applications uses a lot of memory than their predecessors.
Hope it helped.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
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So it means that my computer is set to 64 bit and I should opt for Windows Vista 64 or do I have to change something manually?
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
dude nothing in manual in windows. Thats the only reason window is still surviving.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
Yes, you should opt for 64-bit vista.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
Numb: Point to remeber is Windows is NOT a 64-bit operating system but it uses a technology to expand it to 64-bit. I will not recommend using vista as it is relatively new and reported to have a lots of problems. If Windows XP works for you then stick with it and let Vista get matured. Remember it's Microsoft and you can't trust microsoft's new technologies.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
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really?
I want to format my PC and remove all the trojans and viruses. I used to format every 6 months or 3 months, but I haven't done this now for a year and my computer really running slow. I don't want to us a pirate copy anymore, I've been using something illegal - in my eyes haraam - for a long time so I wanted to order Windows Vista instead of Windows XP. I don't want to go for XP again. Please save me.
What to do? ahmadjee is saying yes, you are saying no.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
64Bit is great; however, there aren't many applications for 64Bit (yet)....
32Bit is a proven structure, and it's compatible with almost anything you throw at it. You may still be able to install applications on 64Bit but then you won't get the most out of your processor, and it would still operate at 32Bit because the application is not 64Bit compatible.
Example: Microsoft Fingerprint reader keyboard and wireless mouse combo:
Keyboard and Mouse will work on 64Bit, but your fingerprint reader will be left non-functioning because there is no 64Bit driver for it yet. And so on...so forth.
So do your research and then settle on 64Bit. I've tried 64Bit vista before but i'm on 32bit and quite content with it (for now).
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
Hey folks:
Don't get fooled by 64-bit computing and all. It was primarily developed for enterprise level applications. If you're a home user, 32 bit is just fine.
And also, there is no need to reinstall Windows every now and then. You can use some anitivirus software (like AVG, Norton, or Trend Micro) to protect. You can also you a software like Acronis to mirror your hard drive and/or files and folders.
Best,
Arazi.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
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I did that so many times, removing removing, but you cannot remove them all.
So what do you say? Vista 32 or 64? or XP :(
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
Numb: The message was clear....if you're a home user, XP is best. Wait for Vista to be more established and stable. Maybe couple of years is a good time frame. Vista uses a lot of hardware resources and it might not be good idea to jump on it at this time.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
I'd encourage you to go for Vista 32-bit... been using it on my home as well as office pc for over a year now and have had no problems to report. The key is having adequate memory to support your apps, and tweaking the optional interface (aesthetics) features that can bog down the system.
The problem with 64 but Vista is the unsigned drivers which aren't recognized (although I've heard of a workaround).
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
I own a Athlon XP 64 3500, 1 GB DDR-RAM. Enough? Or shall I put in more ram?
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
nope... 2 GB at least... I'm running 3 GB on my laptop and 3.5 GB on my desktop.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
will i have big problems with just 1 GB? I ordered it.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
depending on what apps you intend to use, it'll just be excruciatingly slow... I started with 2 GB and it took me only a couple of weeks to realize that I need more.
The good news is that it's pretty cheap to get another couple of GBs from your nearest computer store and upgrade the memory urself.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
What kind of special Software do you use? It's running sooo smooth on my Computer with just a 1 GB. Don't need to upgrade right now.
What kind of special Software do you use? It's running sooo smooth on my Computer with just a 1 GB. Don't need to upgrade right now.
give it some time until you start using your machine with all apps installed & background daemons running at full. I'm not saying that you won't be able to run vista, but the experience is much better with more memory.
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
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Sir,
I have another Problem.
I have a 230 GB Hard-disk. In Windows XP I could format a 'not intialized' Disk. In Vista it's not working. I was able to format one Partition while the other one I couldn't due to this message:
*On at least one medium is no space left to proceed with this task. *
Do you know any solution?
Re: difference between 32 bit & 64 bit
no one knows...?