# x64 vs 86(32bit vs 64bit)



## DailymotionGamer (Apr 6, 2010)

I plan to upgrade to windows 7 ultimate x64bit with 12GB of ram on my Quad core once i buy my 5670 1GB soon and i was curious is gaming performance and overall computer performance faster vs 32bit/x86?


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## Loosenut (Apr 6, 2010)

I was using XP x86 before going to W7 Ultimate x64, bypassing Vista completely. I wouldn't go back to XP if you paid me. Better support, more eyecandy and stability. Gameplay performance  is great and smooth.

My only regret is buying Ultimate over Pro. Too many things in Ultimate I don't realy need or use.

*EDIT*: just realized XP was never mentioned in the OP. Sorry


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## Deleted member 24505 (Apr 6, 2010)

With 12gb of ram,there is really not much point using x86.X64 is plenty fast enough for gaming or general use,it has matured pretty well now,like a fine vintage wine.


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## Kreij (Apr 6, 2010)

Since the OS is using an emulator for 32 bit apps, there may be a slight performace decrease, but I doubt you are going to notice.


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## digibucc (Apr 6, 2010)

yeah 32 isn't really an option for more than 4gb, and imho 12 is kind of overkill unless you are doing hardcore video/audio rendering or some serious illustrator or something.

6 should be plenty.

and as krej said, you will not notice any performance decrease. most likely an increase.

yeah and as reefer mentioned, a 5670 with 12gb? that's totally mismatched.  and you do realize 12gb will cost like ... $400 USD right?


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## Reefer86 (Apr 6, 2010)

gaming performance with 12gb and a 5670??? why a 5670? you using the 12gb for something else rather then gaming?


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## Kreij (Apr 6, 2010)

Most people here at TPU do not understand the meaning of the word "overkill".


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 6, 2010)

Is anyone reading lol hahah, stop looking at my current system specs and read the thread, hahahaha thank you.


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## Kreij (Apr 6, 2010)

I read the thread. My first post answered your question.


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## digibucc (Apr 6, 2010)

u2konline said:


> Is anyone reading lol hahah, stop looking at my current system specs and read the thread, hahahaha thank you.



what are you talking about? who mentioned your system in specs? as far as i noticed, we were all referring to what you posted.


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## SystemViper (Apr 6, 2010)

u2konline said:


> I plan to upgrade to windows 7 ultimate x64bit with 12GB of ram on my Quad core *once i buy my 5670 1GB soon *and i was curious is gaming performance and overall computer performance faster vs 32bit/x86?



~!


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## a_ump (Apr 6, 2010)

Gaming performance may suffer in games that are strictly 32-bit, bc as was stated there's emulation going on.

We can't really answer your other question as you haven't stated what your using your comp for. For everyday use like browsing, e-mail, im'ing, multi-tasking, etc. no you wont notice a difference. But again, as someone stated, for video and audio editing/work the 12gb ram will come in handy and should show better performance than a 32-bit system as it can only use 4gb max.


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## Frick (Apr 6, 2010)

I assume you do other things as game, otherwise 12GB IS total overkill. Of course it would nice to have, but imagine how much beer you can get!


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## Super XP (Apr 6, 2010)

Definition of Overkill:

4 x AMD Opteron X6 CPU's at 3.80 GHz 
Quad-Opteron High End Motherboard
64GB of DDR3-1600
4 x ATI Radeon HD 5970 in CrossfireX
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Need I say more 

12 GB of DDR3 ram is fine. No such thing as overkill IMO.


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 6, 2010)

Ok hold up , you guys lost me   anyways. 



digibucc said:


> And IMHO 12 is kind of overkill unless you are doing hardcore video/audio rendering or some serious illustrator or something.


Actually i want to max it out, 16GB. 



digibucc said:


> Yeah and as reefer mentioned, a 5670 with 12gb? that's totally mismatched.  and you do realize 12gb will cost like ... $400 USD right?


Whats wrong with a 5670(Sapphire 1GB gddr5) and 16GB of ram?
Also, my rig came with 8GB DDR2 memory, ram sticks, from 2GB, to 4GB only cost 5-20 dollars where i go. 



Reefer86 said:


> gaming performance with 12gb and a 5670??? why a 5670? you using the 12gb for something else rather then gaming?


I am using my Sapphire 4670 right now, it works great with my quad, just plan to upgrade the ram to 16B total and buy a upgraded radeon card and i only use cards that do no require connectors, the 5670 is the best and only option. The 5670 is slightly faster over a 9800gt, which is cool with me. My 9800gt green edition is a beast , so having a radeon card on the same level + is awesome for my main gaming rig.


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## AKlass (Apr 6, 2010)

Most people with a system like that would want a better GPU for gaming. The 5670 is a budget GPU and for that system 5850 an up is the way to go


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## Super XP (Apr 6, 2010)

OK I see what you are talking about, I would at the very least go for the HD 5770, it provides much better price/performance. Of course HD 5850 would be the better choice


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## Frick (Apr 6, 2010)

Is this upgrade purely for gaming? If so, 12GB IS overkill!


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## Kreij (Apr 6, 2010)

SuperXP said:
			
		

> Definition of Overkill:
> 
> 4 x AMD Opteron X6 CPU's at 3.80 GHz
> Quad-Opteron High End Motherboard
> ...



You're right SupXP, 7 Ultimate is overkill. The hardware looks fine though.


On topic :
Okay now I'm confused. I thought the tread was about the 32 vs. 64 bit OS?
At least that what the title says.


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## digibucc (Apr 6, 2010)

u2konline said:


> Whats wrong with a 5670(Sapphire 1GB gddr5) and 16GB of ram?
> Also, my rig came with 8GB DDR2 memory, ram sticks, from 2GB, to 4GB only cost 5-20 dollars where i go.



i use my computer all day, for work and play.  i buy and play pretty much every new game, and do it on 3x monitors.  I use photoshop and illustrator, and dabble in video rendering sometimes. I have 6gb and have rarely seen more than 4 used.

start watching the performance monitor in your computer, and see how much ram you actually ever use, i doubt you even make use of 8.

however, if it really costs you so little, then there really is no reason why NOT to.  if it would cost me that little to upgrade, i'd do it whether it was necessary or not  no question 

as for the 5670, that really is the bastard child of the 5xxx series.  5770 is the lowest i'd recommend, but if you can push it a 5850 is the way to go.

so the two together are an interesting pair if the main thing you do is play games.  no game will use 16gb but they can definitely use more GPU power.  so if you have the cash put it towards an even better GPU upgrade than a 5670.


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## a_ump (Apr 6, 2010)

u2konline said:


> I am using my Sapphire 4670 right now, it works great with my quad, just plan to upgrade the ram to 16B total and buy a upgraded radeon card and i only use cards that do no require connectors, the 5670 is the best and only option. T*he 5670 is slightly faster over a 9800gt, which is cool with me.* My 9800gt green edition is a beast , so having a radeon card on the same level + is awesome for my main gaming rig.



http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_5670_1_GB/30.html

actually its not, the HD 5670 is roughly 10-15% slower than the 9800/8800GT


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## crazyeyesreaper (Apr 6, 2010)

ive only seen that much ram used when running Zbrush or Maya period and even then only when rendering at crazy high resolutions with ridiculous texture sizes or polygon counts ie 1billion polygons in zbrush etc so yea 12 or 16 gigs is overkill unless your using $20,000 apps on a daily basis

as far as 32bit vs 64 bit its simple 32bit your stuck at 3.2gigs of ram 64bit your not that simple


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 6, 2010)

a_ump said:


> http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_5670_1_GB/30.html
> 
> actually its not, the HD 5670 is roughly 10-15% slower than the 9800/8800GT



I really do respect benchmarks all over the web, but i made a thread i think on another forum about that subject. Benchmarks are inaccurate. I have a 9800gt 512MB Green Edition, and is using on my Intel e5400( getting rid of that rig btw for something else ) and gaming is perfect , however i notice that my GT240 performs better in certain games over my 9800gt. Even tho, the 9800gt is way more powerful overall. As for the 5670 being slower then a 9800gt, whatever that is the case or not, the 5670 is still way more powerful over a 4670 which is all what i am looking for.  



crazyeyesreaper said:


> ive only seen that much ram used when running Zbrush or Maya period and even then only when rendering at crazy high resolutions with ridiculous texture sizes or polygon counts ie 1billion polygons in zbrush etc so yea 12 or 16 gigs is overkill unless your using $20,000 apps on a daily basis


Overkilled? more like maxing stuff out, the more the better i think  Also whats the harm in having 16GB of ram? 

Anyways thanks for all the feedback, i am at the moment in the process of ordering a new cpu/mb/psu from newegg and building/upgrading a old rig to replace my emachine intel e5400, once i do that, i will look into buying the 5670 and the extra ram for my main computer. 
peace


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## n-ster (Apr 6, 2010)

u2k buys from newegg? since when ????????????

only thing that hasn't changed is that you always seem to go an upgrade route that none of us comprehend...


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 7, 2010)

n-ster said:


> u2k buys from newegg? since when ????????????







Buying that to replace my emachine Intel e5400 computer(taking it back soon ).  But i am replacing those items with other emachine pentium d 805 computer. So i just have to add the new Mb/CPU/Power Supply and i am good to go 
But yea i shopped at newegg about 2 weeks ago, i made a thread about it, you know those Sata cords and Sata power connector to go with my nEW sATA 500GB i bought. Only took 2 seconds to hook up lol. Building computers is easy, i always knew how to do it, but never had the patience to do so, now i do. 
Even tho ordering stuff is a pain waiting for it


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## ste2425 (Apr 7, 2010)

dude ur building a rig?!?! i remember reading a thread saying you wouldnt dare. im glad to hear your doing it now man


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 7, 2010)

ste2425 said:


> dude ur building a rig?!?! i remember reading a thread saying you wouldnt dare. im glad to hear your doing it now man


Well some things i don't mind dealing with. And whenever i buy a new rig, i always take it apart and put it back together( just to see what i have close up ) Also i shop at newegg now ( note: as a secondary place, best buy is still FTW ) and i plan to take back:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0326167

In a few days and get the stuff here: 




To put in this rig:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2726999&CatId=2648

I might have to do something with the case tho


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## n-ster (Apr 7, 2010)

ya know, if you live near a Microcenter, that is definitively the place to buy instead of best buy


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## WOG-BOY (Apr 7, 2010)

no such thing as too much ram


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 7, 2010)

n-ster said:


> ya know, if you live near a Microcenter, that is definitively the place to buy instead of best buy


I posted the link to the dual core i have now, meaning i bought it from microcenter. I am taking back the dual core i bought from mircocenter and order those items from newegg which i listed to build that rig.


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## ComradeSader (Apr 7, 2010)

u2konline said:


> Whats wrong with a 5670(Sapphire 1GB gddr5) and 16GB of ram?
> 
> i only use cards that do no require connectors



Sorry beforehand if this sounds mean, lol 

For gaming, that is - I really must say this - possibly the worst build you could ever make. As others have said, the 5670 is literately the bastard child of the 5 series, and something you shouldn't get for 'modern' gaming. 
There's nothing overly wrong with 16GB, except that maybe didn't you mention that it's only DDR2? I wouldn't bother going over 8GB with DDR2, though that's just me. Well at least you'll have plenty spare for when you eventually scrap this build I guess..

But why don't you get GPUs that require non-PCI-e slot power? Afaik all decent GPUs require external power now, if you don't want to buy cards that use that then just stay with your 4670, cause you won't be able to find much better that's worth an upgrade for gaming - especially if you've got the money to go AT LEAST a 5770, if not 5830/50. And if your PSU doesn't have the cables (what PSUs don't nowa-days though?), then just get a new one.


Also on the main topic; http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=91260


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## MN12BIRD (Apr 7, 2010)

WOG-BOY said:


> no such thing as too much ram



Yes there is.  Man I hate "too much RAM" because n00bs always think the more the faster.  Like they go from 1GB to 2GB and it does get much faster.  So then when they have 4GB they think going to 8GB is also going to be "much faster" but all they do is fucking surf the web and play the sims.  

GAWD!

Okay that might come from the fact I sell computers and people bring in these fliers from box stores "the PC in here has 12GB of RAM but this one only has 4GB" and meanwhile it's a fucking Acer with onboard video or something.  I mean WTF MAN!

But to the OP situation...

I've never seen a game use over 4GB of RAM on my machine.  Not Fallout 3, Not Crysis, Not Far Cry 2, none of these come close to going over 4GB when MAXED out. 

This guy has a 4670 (or 5670 w.e.) so he can't max high end games to the wall anyway.

He'll never even use 8GB.  NEVER.  So why does he need 16GB?

He doesn't.  

Besides he's saying that maxing out the RAM won't cost much more?  Has he looked at the price of 4GB sticks??  They are like 3 times the price of 2GB sticks!  Not a little more at all!  

It's going to cost at least $400 to max out to 16GB of RAM!

$400 on a mid-range (at best) gaming machine for RAM?  Yet it probably won't even make a noticeable difference compared to 4GB and definitely not a damn difference at all from say 8GB witch still costs WAY less. 

But hrmm...  gaming machine...  $400...  

Just half that on the GPU would make a million times better difference!!!

/rant


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## WOG-BOY (Apr 7, 2010)

what happens when newer x64 games come out that use more then 4gb ram???
id rather future proof my comp then to have the mainstream max but thats just me...


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## MN12BIRD (Apr 7, 2010)

Well I only have 4GB but your point is the reason I would accept having 8GB.  But for a normal user or someone playing games on a mid range rig to want 16GB is just ridiculous if you ask me.  Especially when 4GB sticks are so much more expensive.  It's not like they are just twice the price of a 2GB stick or something. Putting $400 in RAM on a low-mid range gaming rig is dumb.


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## WOG-BOY (Apr 7, 2010)

MN12BIRD said:


> Putting $400 in RAM on a low-mid range gaming rig is dumb.



yea more that i think about it putting that on a midrange rig is dumb, couldent u just get a slow speed 4gb ram? wouldent that be cheaper?


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## MN12BIRD (Apr 7, 2010)

Not really 4GB sticks are just expensive anyway you cut it.  I assumed he is running DDR2.  To get 16GB with DDR2 on newegg.com is like $480+ and up to $700+ for certain brands and speeds.  I said $400 being generous and assuming he can find a really good deal on it.


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 7, 2010)

*Just an update, i have 8GB worth of memory now, came with the rig. So i am just going to put the rest of the memory in soon, and have a total of my 8 GB of memory back. 8GB will be just fine  *

*Also Keep in mind, this 8GB is for my Quad core which i have now, not my new build for a Dual core. For my Dual core, i plan to use Windows 7 32bit , so 4GB is fine, well 3.5GB.*



Crusader said:


> Possibly the worst build you could ever make.


So replacing a Intel Pentium D 805 2.6ghz rig with a AMD Phenom II X2 550 Callisto 3.1GHz, is a horrible build? Just trying to see if i understand you correctly.  



Crusader said:


> As others have said, the 5670 is literately the bastard child of the 5 series, and something you shouldn't get for 'modern' gaming.


A 5670 is a great card, just leave it at that. Also keep in mind, i only game at 1280x1024 at max settings, either AAX2 or AAX4 in games, sometimes aax8 depending on the game, so the cards that i use is working perfectly in games as performance is concern. You may see the 5670 as not a good card, but i think its a great card. Better be glad i am using PCIE cards now, because if you knew anything about my past history, i was gaming with PCI cards from 2005 to 2009. ( my first video card was back in 2005 btw ). 

Please take into consideration to how i game. I don't game like the rest of yall at extreme high resolutions with high end video cards with high end computers and everything at extreme settings. I game at 1280x1024 , max in game settings(85% of the time in win7 , in XP i can game at 100% max in game settings )AF always set to X16 in games, and AAX2 all the time, or AAX4 or AAX8 depending on the game, only in XP tho. In Win7, AA4 is my limit, again depending on the game.  



Crusader said:


> But why don't you get GPUs that require non-PCI-e slot power?


Just don't feel like connecting my PSU up to my GPU, thats all. Even tho i recently bought a SATA thing to connect to my SATA HD. Just not into it cards that require connectors thats all. 



MN12BIRD said:


> Has he looked at the price of 4GB sticks??  They are like 3 times the price of 2GB sticks!


I do not buy memory sticks from retail stores unless they are sale. There is a shop near me , a good friend of mine, who has 2GB to 4GB of sticks for cheap, 1GB sticks are only 5-10 bucks, 2GB is 20, and 4GB is 30. I know alot of people.


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## MN12BIRD (Apr 8, 2010)

Yeah I work in a PC shop with the best prices in my City.  I can tell you if he gives you 4GB sticks for $30 they are stolen.  That or he just likes losing $100 on a stick. The biggest suppliers in the Country couldn't get them for anything near that cheap.  They cost me about $150 and we sell them as cheap as any online retailer or local store.  Stores have to stay competitive with online pricing or else they are going to struggle.  There isn't that much mark up in PC parts man.


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 8, 2010)

MN12BIRD said:


> Yeah I work in a PC shop with the best prices in my City.  I can tell you if he gives you 4GB sticks for $30 they are stolen.  That or he just likes losing $100 on a stick. The biggest suppliers in the Country couldn't get them for anything near that cheap.  They cost me about $150 and we sell them as cheap as any online retailer or local store.  Stores have to stay competitive with online pricing or else they are going to struggle.  There isn't that much mark up in PC parts man.



Its a computer/electronic shop , and he sells alot of stuff for low prices depending on the item. He has old dusty p4 and celeron d rigs for 40-80 bucks and other rigs for around 100-200 and i am good friends with him, so he kinda gives me good deals. If he stolen, that is something i don't know about it and if i did know, he will be in jail , because i will arrest him  On another note, if you work in retail, or your pc shop, i am sure there may be drug money coming into your shop by the customers, haha, so you know don't get me started on that hahahaah. 

But besides the point, i am just going to go with 8GB. I already have 8GB because it came with the computer.


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## ComradeSader (Apr 8, 2010)

u2konline said:


> So replacing a Intel Pentium D 805 2.6ghz rig with a AMD Phenom II X2 550 Callisto 3.1GHz, is a horrible build? Just trying to see if i understand you correctly.
> 
> 
> A 5670 is a great card, just leave it at that. Also keep in mind, i only game at 1280x1024 at max settings, either AAX2 or AAX4 in games, sometimes aax8 depending on the game, so the cards that i use is working perfectly in games as performance is concern. You may see the 5670 as not a good card, but i think its a great card. Better be glad i am using PCIE cards now, because if you knew anything about my past history, i was gaming with PCI cards from 2005 to 2009. ( my first video card was back in 2005 btw ).
> ...



Oooh right, I completely forgot about the rest of the build and only focused on the GPU  hahaha.

Ah low res'er then, fair enough then I suppose. I just prefer to have a more future proof setup - can handle high-end games/new releases with no issue and won't fall to bits if I get a bigger screen.
But each to his own right? Good luck with your build mate


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## TheMailMan78 (Apr 8, 2010)

I use 8gigs all the time. Some people need it. Maybe Uk2 is one of them. I doubt it but maybe.


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 9, 2010)

I have decided on using Windows 7 64bit on the system i am building now, so i have windows 7 64bit install right now. But i have a question, why do i have 2 program folders , one is normal , one reads program files(x86)

Also in dxdiag, there is a extra tab that says 64bit version
????????


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## TheMailMan78 (Apr 9, 2010)

u2konline said:


> I have decided on using Windows 7 64bit on the system i am building now, so i have windows 7 64bit install right now. But i have a question, why do i have 2 program folders , one is normal , one reads program files(x86)
> 
> Also in dxdiag, there is a extra tab that says 64bit version
> ????????



Its normal. Remember not all apps are 64bit. The ones that are 32bit will install into the x86 program folder and the native 64bit apps will go in the normal program folder.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Apr 9, 2010)

thats how it works x86 = 32bit its where your 32bit apps go the regular program folder is where your 64bit stuff is installed

damn mailman beat me to it


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 9, 2010)

Oh i see, interesting. Thanks


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## johnspack (Apr 9, 2010)

Because there are two layers running in x64 windows.  It doesn't as some people say,  emulate 32 bit,  it actually has a full 32 bit layer running in real time with the full compliment of windows dlls ect.  That is why you have system32(actually all 64 bit dlls)  and syswow64(all 32 bit dlls) folders.  Program files contains 64bit apps,  and program files(x86) is your 32 bit apps.  I find most of my 32 bit apps run just as fast or faster than on 32 bit windows.


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 9, 2010)

Well so far so good, all programs i have install so far worked perfectly. Guess moving to x64 wasn't such a bad idea. I am going to stick with using Win7 32bit on my Quad core tho  
pEACE


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## Kreij (Apr 9, 2010)

johnspack said:
			
		

> It doesn't as some people say, emulate 32 bit



From the MSDN site ...



> WOW64 is the x86 emulator that allows 32-bit Windows-based applications to run seamlessly on 64-bit Windows



Regardless, there are few problems with 32 bit apps on x64.


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## Super XP (Apr 9, 2010)

Windows 7 x64 ROCKS...
The one major benefit about PC gaming vs. Console gaming is the ability to play games at insane PQ. It's all up to you, this is why I recommended at the very least a HD 5770 or better yet the HD 5850 regardless what Res you plan on gaming with. But anyway congrat's on the 8GB memory, welcome to the club


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 14, 2010)

I seem to be getting double the performance in games using 64bit now. I could never play Crysis at 1280x1024 aax2 very high to high settings and still get past 35 frames. Even tho i am playing the game in 32bit mode. Or maybe the new PSU is doing it? even Jericho plays better at 1280x1024 no shadows, aax2, everything else on high settings(max) i am getting around 45-89fps. Games are just running so much better, everything is. And this is on a Intel pentium D 805 computer. 

Wonder how everything will perform once i get my new mb & cpu and a 5770 card.


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## D007 (Apr 14, 2010)

I recall being told to install programs directly to the C drive due to special restrictions being placed on the program files directory for vista and 7.
I've just been installing everything to the C drive in win 7 x64


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## MN12BIRD (Apr 14, 2010)

Umm dude the Pentium D isn't even a true 64-bit processor.  It's basically a Pentium 4 with 64-bit "emulation" added on the side.  I only say emulation because I can't properly understand it all myself.  Emulation might not be the most correct term but it gives you an idea.  Technically you can run 64-bit programs on it but they almost always run slower than in 32-bit mode.  Plus most games don't even support 64-bit.  Crysis is one that does but only if you run the correct 64-bit exe file to start it.  Otherwise like many games it runs in 32-bit mode.

Intel didn't have true 64-bit processor cores until the "Core 2 Duo" line.  Anything older isn't really 64-bit.  I did a quick search and everyone with Pentium D's says 64-bit programs ran much slower than 32-bit programs on their CPU.  

So perhaps there's some other reason things are running much better now?


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## FordGT90Concept (Apr 14, 2010)

No x86-64 processor is "true 64-bit."  A true 64-bit processor is something like IA64 or SPARC64. x86-64 is merely an extension to the x86 architecture which allows it to address more memory.  Pentium 4s with EM64Ts are as "64-bit" as Core i7s.  A few instructions have changed but overall, they work the same.  The implementation of EM64T on early Pentium 4s may have been bad but it will work, nevertheless.


As for the OP: 12 GiB is excessive.  I recommend:
dual-channel: 4 GiB (2 x 2 GiB)
tri-channel: 6 GiB (3 x 2 GiB)
quad-channel: 8 GiB (4 x 2 GiB)

Go up from there if you start running into serious virtual memory issues.

With the money saved by not getting so much memory, upgrade that 5670 to 5830.  Performance on x86-64 and x86 are virtually the same so long as memory usage doesn't exceed 3 GiB.  The farther past 3 GiB you go, the more useful x86-64 becomes (provided it has the RAM to keep up).


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## MN12BIRD (Apr 14, 2010)

Yeah I didn't really notice any difference in Crysis 32-bit to 64-bit on my Core 2 Duo.  

Is it true that 32-bit programs can't use more than 2GB of RAM by themselves (on top of the OS 4GB max addressable) or can a single program use whatever the OS has leftover like say 3GB if it was there?

You would think having 4GB of RAM that Crysis would improve just from having twice the memory but like I said I didn't notice much difference.


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## D007 (Apr 14, 2010)

MN12BIRD said:


> Yeah I didn't really notice any difference in Crysis 32-bit to 64-bit on my Core 2 Duo.
> 
> Is it true that 32-bit programs can't use more than 2GB of RAM by themselves (on top of the OS 4GB max addressable) or can a single program use whatever the OS has leftover like say 3GB if it was there?
> 
> You would think having 4GB of RAM that Crysis would improve just from having twice the memory but like I said I didn't notice much difference.



 I believe it's 3 gb of ram not 2 on a 32 bit os. On a 64 bit os you an surpass 3 gb.


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## MN12BIRD (Apr 14, 2010)

Oh I missed the fact he said "even though I'm running in 32-bit mode" when he said he is getting twice the performance with his games in a 64-bit OS.

I don't think he should have gained any performance from that.  In fact running 32-bit programs in a 64-bit OS would usually give a small decrease in performance compared to running them in a native 32-bit OS right? 

So how did he gain twice the performance?


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 14, 2010)

MN12BIRD said:


> So perhaps there's some other reason things are running much better now?


Maybe it was the new PSU , or the new 500GB SATA drive i have install now or using 64bit now, who knows. On another note, this is my CPU:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL8ZH





or maybe because i am using the 177.40 Drivers, some older drivers which seem to work really good in games for my 9800gt. 



FordGT90Concept said:


> As for the OP: 12 GiB is excessive.  I recommend:



Not sure if you know, but i plan to finish upgrading this computer with the following items:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103847
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...64&cm_re=Sapphire_5770-_-14-102-864-_-Product

Plan to order them early next month


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## FordGT90Concept (Apr 14, 2010)

MN12BIRD said:


> Is it true that 32-bit programs can't use more than 2GB of RAM by themselves (on top of the OS 4GB max addressable) or can a single program use whatever the OS has leftover like say 3GB if it was there?


Most 32-bit programs (99%+) will only use 2 GiB because they are not large address aware.  I made an application a while ago which edits the executable making them large address aware (works on most applications except those with heavy DRM integrated).  Enabling the large address aware bit on 32-bit executables allows it to address up to 4 GiB.  Exceptions are detailed on that page.

Even if you are gaming, it is a good idea to have 6 GiB RAM with a 64-bit OS so that the game, if need be, can be made large address aware which gives it access to a whole 4 GiB RAM.




u2konline said:


> Not sure if you know, but i plan to finish upgrading this computer with the following items:
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103847
> ...


I highly recommend getting an ATX motherboard unless your case is mATX.  They generally don't cost much more but they have more features.


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## DailymotionGamer (Apr 14, 2010)

FordGT90Concept said:


> I highly recommend getting an ATX motherboard unless your case is mATX.  They generally don't cost much more but they have more features.


Well i plan to replace the case , i plan to throw one in the cart before i order, someone already gave me a list. However, mAtx is just fine. Not sure what other features i need besides what the already mb has. I plan to go 8GB with my win7 64bit os and use a 5770 card. If you are talking about DDR3 memory as in more features, well i am sticking with DDR2, only because DDR2 memory from 1GB - 2GB is really cheap where i get it, talking abut 5-10 dollars dude. Also DDR2 works just fine in games, never had any issues with ram. 

Anyways, here are some crysis benchmarks. 

*Specs which i am running, as you can see AAX2 1280x1024 all very high in 32bit*








With AA:







NO AA










Seems to stay solid between 20-35 frames. It does go up to 40 depending on where i am at, of course with no real action going on. Not bad for Pentium D. I only play at 1280x1024 AAX2, all very high to high. I always put shadows and volumetic and post at high, because those 3 are performance killers.


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