# 4gb Ram + Windows 7: Should i go x64 or x86?



## douglatins (May 2, 2009)

I never liked 64bits because of compatibility and I mess around a lot in my PC, with loads of software. But is 64bits a 1gb ram more is worth it?


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## BrooksyX (May 2, 2009)

Why not try both and see which one you like more. Since the beta's are free it won't cost you anything to give both a try.


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## Apocolypse007 (May 2, 2009)

Definitely go X64, especially with 4GB+ of RAM.  I have run it for years and had no compatability issues.


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (May 2, 2009)

How long ago did you even try x64?


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## LittleLizard (May 2, 2009)

some time ago 64 bit support was crap but now is pretty good as is the future, so use it.


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## Kursah (May 2, 2009)

x64, Vista x64 is great, 7 is built on that and improved a tad. I think atm Vista x64 is probably overall better and more polished in SP1/SP2 than 7 will be prior to release or any post-release patching. I tried version 7000 of both x86 and x64, I still preferred x64 even in Windows 7. XP is a different story, but Vista x64 drivers will work fine in 7 x64, some may need to be installed in Vista SP1 Compatability mode to run the installer exe.

I'm no longer on 7 due to small issues, like gaming performance in some games I play being degraded ( I was using wddm 1.x drivers back then...could've been part of it ), and PunkBuster issues with games like CoD4, FFoW, BF series that my clan and I play. I'll be staying on Vista x64 till I feel confident 7 is ready, which is going to be after initial release. I'm pretty happy with vx64, so I will recommend that to ya too. If you're still headstrong on 7, go x64 and enjoy!

Also on whether it's worth it or not, consider this. I have found at least in vista, x64 is a tad snappier, more stable overall, safer from viruses on core OS files (most virii are x86 iirc), utilizes all your ram up to a rediculous figure we can't even use yet, utilizes more of your CPU for x64 extensions, is compatible with about 99% of x86 stuff out there. The only program I can recall recently was HDTach which I ran in XP SP2 Compatability Mode and it worked fine after that. One thing you may notice if overclocking is some more headaches, because x86 and x64 OC stability is different, x64 since it's using even more of your hardware, needs to be that much more stable...especially ram. But I had only minor issues here, some have had serious headaches, most are fine though. Just some food for though.


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## erocker (May 2, 2009)

Really you have no reason to use a 32 bit O/S.  I doubt you will have any compatability problems whatsoever with either Windows 7 x64 or Vista x64.


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## A Cheese Danish (May 2, 2009)

Plus, all your system resources will be available in the 64-bit OS.
And there aren't many, if any at all, compatibility issues anymore.


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## Mussels (May 2, 2009)

douglatins said:


> I never liked 64bits because of compatibility and I mess around a lot in my PC, with loads of software. But is 64bits a 1gb ram more is worth it?



read the link in my sig. you're losing more than 1GB when gaming in DX9, due to mirroring - the 295 is a 2GB card, so you're losing 2GB to address space and upto 1GB when gaming. under x64, you'd only be losing (upto) 1GB from mirroring.

Going x64 would effectively give you 2GB of usable ram back.

edit: sorry, its 1792 MB. so you'd be getting 1800MB of address space (and therefore usable ram) back.


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