32-bit vs 64-bit software

[jeffrey_dibartolomeo]

I am currently running windows 10. I frequently have MS Excel (multiple instances), Word, and PowerPoint open, with many animations in my presentations. I also use SAS. Previously, I had 32-bit Office installed and 64-bit SAS. Those two don't get along in some ways. My computer was having some random issues, so I did the Windows reset. Now, I have the choice of installing 64-bit (or 32-bit) Office and 64-bit SAS, which it is natively, or 32-bit "compatibility mode."

Are there really any downsides to installing 64-bit Office? I would rather install 64-bit versions of them both, but I'm curious about unforeseen issues I might encounter. I'm mainly thinking about going with the 64-bit version of Office because I read that it has better support for PowerPoint presentations with a lot of animations.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[scout_03]

if you office license permit to install the 64 bits and your os is one got for it .

 

[richardvday]

Well unless there is a compelling reason not to you should always use the 64bit version, its not double the performance as some people think but it does offer tangible benefits.

I do not use this software personally but there is a SAS® Add-In for Microsoft Office it seems also.
So by all means install the 64bit versions

 

[ss202sl]

Probably not an issue anymore, but many plugins were written in 32 bit and may not work in 64 bit versions of office. They've probably updated most by now, but it is something to be aware of.

 

[jeffrey_dibartolomeo]

Thank you all for the replies. And that's what I'm thinking. 64 bit all around would be better, but I'm wondering if there are any legacy things in Windows I'm not thinking about that we all use on a daily basis. Basically, the problem before was 64 bit SAS could not easily communicate with 32 bit Excel when importing data. There were ways around this, but they were cumbersome. I know it won't double the performance, and I'm not expecting it to. But I'm thinking that it may work "better" on my system because the OS is 64 bit, too.

On a side note, I remember when 64 bit seemed like such a cool and futuristic concept. Like, wow, we'll have flying cars by then. Now that it's here, it's a pain because it's not fully adopted! MS should have kept it separate, like the old days with Windows NT, until everyone was ready to implement 64 bit for mainstream use.

 

[richardvday]

ehh almost everything and everyone IS on 64bit now, 32bit is legacy mode

 

[jeffrey_dibartolomeo]

ehh almost everything and everyone IS on 64bit now, 32bit is legacy mode

I wish, not so true in academia where you're relegated to an office computer provided by the university, which is usually designed for compatibility.

 

[Eximo]

I disagree. I would say 90%+ of the software I deal with at work that utilizes Office requires 32bit versions most often. 64bit is far from standard. Most OEMs still ship computers with the 32bit version as well.

Though since Office is moving into an SaaS environment, not too sure how long local installations will be possible.

For the longest time Microsoft offered 64bit Office as a courtesy, and actively discouraged its use. I can't quite recall, but they skipped a 64bit version of 2010? I know that 2007 because I personally set that up for someone to interface with their also rare at the time 64bit database.

More annoyingly, even with the 64bit version of Office, many of its internal functions are still 32bit. Also still 2GB file size limits. All you really gain is the number or rows and columns that can be handled, pretty much everything else is still the same.

 

[jeffrey_dibartolomeo]

Well, the main reason I'm interested in 64 bit Office is for a better interface when importing Excel data into SAS. Like I said, it worked with 32 bit Office, but required extra steps.

 

[richardvday]

Well its not office itself that is the problem, the add-ins are the problem. If your SAS app will work with 64bit and you don't require anything that is only available on 32bit then install the 64bit version.
I do not use office personally( I write software not documentation or other office work no need for me) and really we strongly recommend people just go 64bit already and stop this nonsense. Same thing happened when 32bit windows came around. Interoperability issues abounded then also. You would think we learned from that but apparently not. Smart developers have been preparing their software for 64bit for the last ten years but some people are lazy 😛

So the answer depends on YOU and what you are doing it seems. Some software only works with the 32bit and some vendors apparently will not even support their software unless you have the 32bit version installed.