Windows 7: The 64 Bit Question
I often get questions from readers who are considering upgrading to Windows 7 about whether they should choose the 32 bit or the 64 bit edition. The number describes the width of a processor’s registers, which affects how much data the processor can process per clock cycle. Wider registers means the CPU can handle more memory and larger files.
As most computer users know, more RAM usually results in better performance. 32 bit Windows only supports up to 4 GB of RAM. There was a time when this was more than enough for any home user and most business desktops, but with today’s memory-hungry applications and huge video files, that’s no longer the case. In 64 bit Windows 7, memory support depends on the edition, as shown in the table below:
| Home Basic | 8 GB |
| Home Premium | 16 GB |
| Professional | 192 GB |
| Ultimate | 192 GB |
That extra memory can also come in very handy when you’re running multiple virtual machines, as more and more people are doing these days.
NOTE: The amount of memory you can actually install and use also depends on your system’s motherboard.
Hardware vendors have been making 64 bit capable computers for years. Intel shipped its first 64 bit processors (Itanium) in 2001 and AMD introduced the Opteron and Athlon 64 lines based on the x86 architecture in 2003. Windows XP Professional came in a 64 bit edition, released in 2005, but there were a number of issues that prevented it from being adopted on a wide scale. Drivers were scarce and there were still many old 16 bit programs in use, which wouldn’t run on it. All of Vista’s edition came in 64 bit, but driver compatibility was still a problem and vendors sold most systems with the 32 bit version installed.
Now, with Windows 7, for the first time since the initial emergence of 64 bit processors in the early 1990s (MIPS and DEC Alpha), the 64 bit architecture has finally gone mainstream. Most desktop systems are being sold with 64 bit Windows 7 pre-installed, and drivers for add-on peripherals are much easier to come by. Consequently, high end systems routinely come with 6 or 9 GB of RAM, and may support 12 or 24 GB.
Even if you only have 4 GB of memory installed, the 64 bit version of Windows allows the OS to fully utilize all of it, whereas 32 bit versions only use about 3.5 GB of it.
Of course, the amount of RAM is only one factor that affects your computer’s performance, as illustrated by the Windows Experience Index (WEI) score shown for the system above. A closer look at that rating shows that in this case, it’s the graphics card that’s the bottleneck:
The processor and memory, on the other hand, rate close to the top of the scale.
In order to fully take advantage of 64 bit computing, not just your operating system but your applications as well need to be 64 bit versions. However, the good news is that most 32 bit programs (with the exception of hardware drivers) do run on 64 bit Windows. The 64 bit editions of Windows 7 include both 64 bit and 32 bit versions of Internet Explorer 8. You may have to use the 32 bit version for some web sites, because there is no 64 bit version of Flash available yet. Mozilla offers a 64 bit version of Firefox, too. And the newest version of Microsoft Office, Office 2010, will come in a 64 bit version.
Bottom line: You can reap many performance benefits by making the switch to 64 bit, especially if you also run 64 bit apps. Memory is relatively cheap now, and those who run multiple virtual machines, memory-intensive graphics/video software or who multi-task heavily will benefit most from the support for more RAM. However, if you need to run ancient 16 bit applications, note that they will not work on your 64 bit system (you may be able to work around that by installing Windows 7 XP Mode, if you have the Pro or Ultimate edition of Win7, and running those apps in the VM). Older hardware devices such as printers or scanners also may not have 64 bit drivers available and thus won’t work.
- Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MVP (Enterprise Security)
deb@shinder.net www.debshinder.com
Jeff Shultz on December 09, 2009 at 12:26 PM
About that whole virtual machine thing... why is it that I can run VirtualPC 2007 under XP or Vista (actually works very nicely under Vista) but it isn't supported under Windows 7 Pro?
I tried to install the version that is supposed to work under Windows 7 and (as the compatibility test had warned me), my Core 2 Quad based HP apparently doesn't support Hardware Virtualization - nor does it seem to have any way of turning it on in the BIOS (which has about the most brain damaged config I've ever seen).
So... will Virtual PC 2007 run reliably under Windows 7?
Aric A. on December 09, 2009 at 12:43 PM
@Jeff: Good question. Virtual PC will run under Windows 7 but any virtualization program requires a CPU that supports Hardware Virtualization--it really is down to the CPU. If the CPU doesn't have a virtualization option, no software running on it will be able to provide that function.
Jeff Shultz on December 09, 2009 at 02:47 PM
Then why did Virtual PC 2007 run Win7 under XP without difficulties (albeit a little slowly) on the exact same hardware that I have installed Win7 on... and which it's version of Virtual PC (not 2007) refuses to run, claiming no hardware virtualization?
Aric A. on December 09, 2009 at 03:05 PM
@Jeff: Ah, sorry I misunderstood what you were saying the problem was. In that case:
1) Are you running a 64-bit version of Win7 when your XP was 32-bit?
2) Is the virtual machine you're trying to run 32-bit or 64-bit?
3) Are you trying to run XP Mode or another guest OS?
This table may help in explaining the cross-compatibility: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Virtual_PC#Table_of_supported_operating_systems
If all else fails, I recommend using Sun's VirtualBox instead. It's a free VM app that works extremely well.
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