Windows 7 64 bit 4GB vs. 8GB

[goatfarmer]

I have 4GB DDR2 800 memory at the moment and an E8400 processor and am running Windows XP Home 32-bit. I have Windows 7 on pre-order. My question is, will there be a noticeable difference in performance when I install Windows 7 64-bit if I get an additional 4GB of memory? Just wondering if it is worth the extra $75 to get 4GB more memory. I play older computer games, do internet tasks, have music streaming in the background, etc. Thanks for any opinions.

 

[Scotteq]

For your usage, I should think there would be little/no difference with the additional RAM.

 

[Carson]

I have 8GB of RAM and I use it all with XP64 and, on the same box, I use less than half of it with XP32. It would be hard to say that XP32 is just as fast—but it would also be hard to say that XP64 is truly faster.

Having 8GB of RAM is very nice if you want to justify your going to 64-bit. And having a 64-bit system is the only way to justify having 8GB of RAM.

I'm glad I have 8GB of RAM but I regard it as a fun & creative way to have wasted my money. Would I do it again? Of course I would!