whats the speed difference between a 32 bit and 64 bit processor.

[Muneeb Ahsan]

Hi every one,
can someone please tell me the speed difference between a 32 bit and 64 bit operating system. I read somewhere that 64 bit is double in performance than of 32 processor is that true?

 

[Tradesman1]

No, it will vary, there is no set difference, the 64bit OS deals with things in bigger chunks, but all to many programs out there are still 32bit....is it faster, Yes, how much depends on what all you do....if you multitask and use 64bit apps, you'll see a large difference, just doing single apps, email, etc not so much speed wise

 

[jaguarskx]

Nope. In general there is no difference in performance between a 32-bit and 64-bit OS. For most people, the basic difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is that a 32-bit OS generally limits you to around 3.2GB - 3.4GB of usable RAM. The theoretical RAM limit for 64-bit OS is pretty high, but it is generally limited by the motherboard and it's chipset. I think the highest I've seen supported is 32GB, but I have not been looking very hard. I believe mobos for servers can go beyond 32GB. I think most mobo's are limited to 16GB, but I haven't really bothered verifying that myself since most people including gamers do not need more than 8GB.

 

[Muneeb Ahsan]

you mean to say , we get no performance boost, just get the ability to have more RAM in our system which is limited to 3.2-4.3 gb in 32 bit systems. i think 64bit can support upto 16hex of ram but obviously i dont think so is there any chipset which can support that amount of RAM as no one need.

 

[Muneeb Ahsan]

No, it will vary, there is no set difference, the 64bit OS deals with things in bigger chunks, but all to many programs out there are still 32bit....is it faster, Yes, how much depends on what all you do....if you multitask and use 64bit apps, you'll see a large difference, just doing single apps, email, etc not so much speed wise

o.k but is there any difference between theoretical speed if processor can access large chunks of data, this will not increase speed of system? please explain reall thanks for answering

 

[Tradesman1]

Yes, it's definitely faster, both due to the fact it runs bigger chunks of data but also can use more DRAM.....to be honest, I don't even remember the last time I built with a 32bit OS, less than 2 years ago the bulk of all prebuilt desktops were 32bit, today it's 64bit with an ave of 6GB of DRAM (rapidly rising to 8GB)....Adding DRAM has been a mainstay of increasing performance going back to the 90's and the 386 CPUs....not as much these days, but definitely helps from 4 to 8GB

 

[jaguarskx]

Here are a few performance benchmarks between 32-bit / 64-bit Win 7.

http://blog.tune-up.com/windows-insights/32-bit-vs-64-bit-more-bit-more-performance/

The biggest "real world" performance increase is when compressing a 1GB file.

 

[Tradesman1]

And 4GB of DRAM doesn't unleash the power of 64bit, which is why most want the 64bit OS to use more DRAM and turn it loose

 

[Najam Gondal]

The main difference between 32-bit processors and 64-bit processors is the speed they operate. 64-bit processors can come in dual core, quad core, and six core versions for home computing (with eight core versions coming soon). Multiple cores allow for increase processing power and faster computer operation. Software programs that require many calculations to function operate faster on the multi-core 64-bit processors, for the most part. It is important to note that 64-bit computers can still use 32-bit based software programs, even when the Windows operating system is a 64-bit version.

Another big difference between 32-bit processors and 64-bit processors is the maximum amount of memory (RAM) that is supported. 32-bit computers support a maximum of 3-4GB of memory, whereas a 64-bit computer can support memory amounts over 4 GB. This is important for software programs that are used for graphical design, engineering design or video editing, where many calculations are performed to render images, drawings, and video footage.

One thing to note is that 3D graphic programs and games do not benefit much, if at all, from switching to a 64-bit computer, unless the program is a 64-bit program. A 32-bit processor is adequate for any program written for a 32-bit processor. In the case of computer games, you'll get a lot more performance by upgrading the video card instead of getting a 64-bit processor.

In the end, 64-bit processors are becoming more and more commonplace in home computers. Most manufacturers build computers with 64-bit processors due to cheaper prices and because more users are now using 64-bit operating systems and programs. Computer parts retailers are offering fewer and fewer 32-bit processors and soon may not offer any at all.