Installing Windows 7 on cheap (low spec) laptop - x64 or x86?

[johnnytriplesix]

I am reinstalling Windows on two cheap laptops (T7250 CPU with 2 GB or RAM).
** PS- the specs are not going to be changing - ie: adding more RAM - for the time being, so please don't reply with recommendations on upgrading this or that They are kid laptops **

They currently run Win 7 Home x64

But after seeing the minimum specs for Win 7:

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

Question #1: Would I be better off installing Win 7 x86 (instead of x64) since it only requires 1 GB of RAM - leaving a little more RAM .... or would that not matter because regardless , the CPU is a 64bit CPU and will STILL require 2gb RAM?

Question #2: I was even considering WinXP to allow them even more RAM to be available... but wasn't sure if this would be a good idea or not in regards to compatibility issues, browsing, etc. It's not like they will be running Crysis 3 on this 😉

I just wanted to check what you guys thought about it (Win XP, Win 7 x86, Win 7 x64) ?

Thank you all for your input!

 

[USAFRet]

Not XP.
I have Win 10 Pro 64bit happily living on a 2GB RAM Toshiba laptop. Previous it was 8.1 Pro, and previous to that Win 7 Pro.

Runs just fine. Well...as 'fine' as a 6 year old low end laptop can run...

 

[SchizTech]

1) Memory requirement doesn't depend on CPU (other than the obvious fact you can't run 64 bit on a really old 32 bit CPU). As far as those min specs for RAM, MS never really enforced them. I've seen 7 run on 512 MB (that's a painful experience!) and there won't be as much as a warning during installation if you go under them. If you think you might be able to up the RAM In the future, go with 64 bit, otherwise you can use 32.

2) Since XP no longer received security updates, I'd be careful about that. Yes, you can use Firefox or Chrome as an alternative to IE8 but for an internet-connected PC I wouldn't recommend XP.

 

[glamdringfh]

1) Install the 64-bit OS. x64 will use almost same amount of RAM as the 32-bit version, and shouldn't incur a performance drop on your laptop.

2) Windows XP is no longer supported and a huge security risk if it has an internect connection. I would personally suggest Windows 7 as it has the simplest interface to configure and is still supported.

 

[johnnytriplesix]

okay great! Thank you guys for all of your responses! I appreciate it!

 

[glamdringfh]

You are most welcome.