Hi All I just downloaded the Window 7 build 7260 ready to install onto a 32bit machine and I just wondered what the difference is between a 32bit and 64bit machine. At the moment I have a brand new Acer Timeline 5810T which has 4GB RAM, 1.4ghz and 500GB HDD. How do I know if my machine is 64bit compatible. Sorry if this is a silly question but the 32/64 bit thing has got me confused
You have to check if notebook's cpu is a native 64 bit processor (like AMD Turion 64 or Intel Core 2 Duo or Centrino Duo). Simply run CPU-Z to see if your processor has 64 bit instructions or not. If yes, having 4 Gb RAM, I suggest you to install 64 version of your OS. Also, remember that, having 4 Gb RAM, a 32 bit OS will allocate only 3 GB maximum, as 1 Gb is reserved for peripherals and other things.
Hi buddy thanks for the reply. You mention that I need to run CPU-Z to see if my processor is 64bit compatible. How and where do I run CPU-Z ? Also, FYI the processor is an Intel Core 2 Solo processor SU3500 . If my notebook is 64bit compatible, which version will give me the best performance, 32 or 64bit? Many thanks Garry
just google cpu-z. I can tell you right now that processor is probably not 64-bit compatible and you also got screwed if it is a new notebook.
stick with 32bit... no need to hasle with x64 extra ram you get with x64 is spent on x32 support and bloted programming