Windows officially has been churning out two versions of its operating systems since the time of Vista; the 64-Bit and the 32-Bit version. Although the two may look deadly similar to a common man's eyes, there exist some inherent differences that make both suit different procession needs and cater to a varied clientele.
Talking in the simplest terms, the difference between Windows 7 64-bit and 32-bit lies in the data handling capability of the processors; the 64-bit version can take care of a larger amount of Random Access Memory when compared to its counterpart and that too more effectively.
The major kinds of differences that underlay both these systems that decide the buyer's choice are as follows.
And talking of memory, with applications becoming more and more complex with each passing minute, they are becoming largely memory hungry at the same time. As such it cannot be ignored that 3GB RAM would become obsolete, as the applications would demand more capacity as a part of RAM to work efficiently.
The edge that 64-bit systems have over the 32-bit OS is that software and applications made for 32-bit OS can be run by the 64-bit OS as well (exceptions for some likes of anti-virus programs), but the reverse is not happening.
64-bit programs demand more and faster processing which is beyond the capability of 32-bit systems to handle.
This is a clear indication that sooner or later the 32-bit systems would turn obsolete as would be able to handle upcoming programs on their platform.
For instance, with inbuilt features like driver signature and Kernel Patch Protection, the 64-bit release of Windows 7 is considered to be somewhat more secure when it comes to the malware and rootkits on the table.
Thus it is worth an option to consider getting the 64-bit version upfront, at the same time it is not the very need of the hour as 32-bit releases of software are still coming and will do so for some time now.
Final Word; Windows 7 64-bit version not only has an edge over the 32-bit release but with a higher capacity to handle data, the software makers are also tending to move towards the platform for better and superior software performance. As such it is not wrong to say, that the era of 64-bit processing to totally dominate the scene isn’t far away.
The major kinds of differences that underlay both these systems that decide the buyer's choice are as follows.
Memory
The basic part as mentioned above is that 32-bit Windows 7 can handle only up to 3GB of RAM, which is very unlikely compared to the 64-bit version which can handle a whopping 192GB as Random Access Memory.And talking of memory, with applications becoming more and more complex with each passing minute, they are becoming largely memory hungry at the same time. As such it cannot be ignored that 3GB RAM would become obsolete, as the applications would demand more capacity as a part of RAM to work efficiently.
Performance
Although the 32-bit version of Windows 7 is more or less enough to carry out most of the major operations of a general consumer. But talking of specialized applications, the releases come specifically to 64-bit or 32-bit systems.The edge that 64-bit systems have over the 32-bit OS is that software and applications made for 32-bit OS can be run by the 64-bit OS as well (exceptions for some likes of anti-virus programs), but the reverse is not happening.
64-bit programs demand more and faster processing which is beyond the capability of 32-bit systems to handle.
Markets
As already said above the 64-bit programs demand more processing power, but they also can deliver superior performance. As such the shift to 64-bit versions in the case of software companies is quite visible now.This is a clear indication that sooner or later the 32-bit systems would turn obsolete as would be able to handle upcoming programs on their platform.
Hardware
One of the biggest drawbacks of having two separate versions is that the device drivers are not common. Separate drivers are released for both versions and this not only makes the deal cumbersome but also limits to the list of devices one can plug into both versions. As such it is a necessity to check for the driver version before picking up a device from the store.Security
Although most claims there are no major differences between the software architecture of Windows 7 64-bit and 32-bit besides the processing power; Windows did do a few tweaks and fixes to its 64-bit version making it a step ahead of its 32-bit counterpart.For instance, with inbuilt features like driver signature and Kernel Patch Protection, the 64-bit release of Windows 7 is considered to be somewhat more secure when it comes to the malware and rootkits on the table.
Thus it is worth an option to consider getting the 64-bit version upfront, at the same time it is not the very need of the hour as 32-bit releases of software are still coming and will do so for some time now.
Final Word; Windows 7 64-bit version not only has an edge over the 32-bit release but with a higher capacity to handle data, the software makers are also tending to move towards the platform for better and superior software performance. As such it is not wrong to say, that the era of 64-bit processing to totally dominate the scene isn’t far away.
