Windows 7 64 bit on a netbook?

[gordonaus]

Hi,

I just got myself a netbook for when i am out of the office. I intend to use it for a bit of web browsing, office 2010, corel draw and a bit of gmail.

I have both windows 7 32 bit and 64 bit. which one should i install on my netbook? some people say that 64-bit will draw more power, some say 64bit its more efficient bla bla bla, i think half the time nobody has actually tried and tested it.

Does anyone on here have any ideas?

(atom n450 1.66ghz, 2gb ram, 60gb vertex 2)

 

[molo9000]

The Atom N450 does support x86-64, so u could install 64bit windows.

I don't think it's really useful though. Few applications are available in 64 bit versions and and the N450 doesn't support more than 2gb of ram anyway.
U should have a look at the manufacturer's website first and check if drivers for 64bit Win7 are available.

 

[sminlal]

The main reason to install 64-bit Windows is to allow access to 4GB or more of memory. A lot of netbooks can't accept that much memory - if yours is one of them then there's no reason to use 64-bit Windows.

 

[gordonaus]

2gb is the max ram the netbook can take. So no benefit from 64bit there.

Can anyone think of a reason to install 64bit? i will install the OS at the end of the week so if anyone thinks of a definitive reason for which OS to use then let me know.

 

[sminlal]

The only reason I can think of is that 64-bit Windows lets large-address-aware programs access up to 4GB of virtual memory (32-bit Windows maxes out at 3GB). But this is really a nit since with only 2GB of RAM most of that virtual memory will end up on the page file anyway - I really can't see how that would be advantageous.

The other reason might be for commonality with another system you (or someone you give computer advice for) that uses 64-bit Windows. But I gotta tell you that the everyday experience of using either one is identical.

Other than those, I can think of no other reasons to put 64-bit Windows on a system that can't use 4GB or more of RAM.

 

[gordonaus]

i put on windows 7 32 bit in the end. Took me an entire night, switching off all the features i didnt need so that it ran fast on the netbook but all is well now.

 

[StevesPCTech]

Well, I think no one dared to try it so I went a head and did it. (Sorry if this is extremely late.) It works just fine on my Acer Aspire One D260...I have upgraded the RAM to 2 GB. (The least recomended but supported by 64 bit.) I then tested it and I am replying to you with this system. Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. I did the performance rating and this is what I got.

Processor: 2.3
RAM:4.6
Graphics:2.9
Gaming Graphics: 3.0
Primary Hard Disk: 5.5 (Upgraded HDD to 320 GB HDD)
This makes the base score 2.3 (Picks the one with the least score.)

I don't know what it is for 32 bit. I can't remember very well but I think the base score was 2.9 or something like that. (Please some one correct me so I have it right. Thanks in advance.) So its not that its not suported, its just not better with it.