[gib88]

How can I tell if I've got a 32-but processor or a 64-bit one? I'm running Windows XP.

[Triple6]

Download CPU-Z and it will tell you all the info about your CPU: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

[Gr3iz]

I'm not sure if it tells you in the System Properties. Try holding the Windows key down and hit the Pause/Break key.

[tinsom]

or right click my computer
and go to proprties
but its pretty likely its running 32bit

[gib88]

I have a program called Belarc Advisor that says my CPU is "64-bit ready" - whatever that means. It's an Intel Core 2 Duo. Does this mean anything to anyone?

[tinsom]

well it means you can run a 64bit operating system but you need to sure all your applications are 64 bit or they wont run

[Leec65]

Originally Posted by tinsom

but you need to sure all your applications are 64 bit or they wont run

no this not true otherwise anybody running 64 bit would be looking at a blank screen as there are not but a few 64 bit app out

[gib88]

Someone from another forum showed me how to tell if my system was 32- or 64-bit. It's 32-bit. However, I have an application (Softimage XSI 7.0) which is 64-bit. I swear I had it running on my computer before I had to wipe the hard drive clean and then reinstall everything. Now it tells me I need to install the 32-bit version.

Is there any possible way my system might have been setup before to run some 64-bit applications?

[Triple6]

It could have been installed with a 64 bit version of Windows previously to being wiped.

[DoubleHelix]

Securable

[Mr Davo]

Hi All,

In order to determine whether or not your computer is capable of supporting a 64bit operating system it is necessary to determine whether or not your processor supports a 64bit instruction set.

The best way to do this is by downloading "CPU-Z" from

http://www.cpuid.com/

and looking for EM64T in the "Instructions" section of the program.

Once you know that your system supports EM64T your in a position to install a 64 bit operating system.

The advantage of a 64bit operating system is that it is able to see larger amounts of system memory. 32bit operating systems are limited to 4 Gigs of System Memory (by the way 4 Gigs is an estimate, the real value is 2 to the power of 32, which comes out around 3.x gigs!).

64bit operating systems have a theoretical maximum system ram capacity somewhere in the terabytes realm, so the real limitation is how much your manufacturers motherboard can support, typical values range from 4 - 8 gigs, however I have seen models that support 16 (and I am sure if you looked hard enough you would be able to find higher values).

Windows x64 (XP Pro x64, Vista x64 & now 7 x64) can run both 32 bith and 64 bit programs. However they are unable to run 16 bit applications (whereas XP 32 bit can generally still do so).

I have installed XP Pro x64 & Vista Ultimate x64, and generally found no advantage in doing so. My experience with 64 bit operating systems is that software (whether it be 32 bit or 64 bit) will only allocate itself a set amount of RAM. As a result most programs will perform the same way regardless of the environment they are in.

I believe the only true advantage to x64 is if you run an insane number of tasks simultaneously, e.g.: run Vista x64, then run XP (inside Vista) as a Virtual O/S, convert a movie, burn a different movie & play a game all at the same time!

On the subject of games I have installed Crysis (which installs as either 32 bit or 64 bit, depending on it's O/S environment) onto XP x64 & Vista x64. There was no improvement in the games performance and I saw some weird rendering issues. At one stage I was watching a jeep drive past and it had no back wheels! The jeep still behaved as I would expect, but the wheels just weren't rendered on screen!

My advise is to stick with 32 bit computing until it becomes outdated, and 64 bit desktop computing gets adopted in mass. Currently you will see little (if any advantages) and you will spend more time "fixing things that aren't broken".

I hope this helps.

Cheers

David

[BelarcGuy]

Hi gib88,

The Belarc Advisor shows that your CPU is 64-bit ready when it supports 64-bit computing (it uses the EM64T CPU chip flag to determine this). However, along with the CPU being 64-bit ready, you'll need to have 64-bit drivers for your motherboard and devices available. Those drivers are most frequently the bottleneck to using a 64-bit operating system.

The Belarc Advisor shows you whether your operating system is 64-bit using the Microsoft x64 marketing denotation in the operating system name. For example, Windows XP Professional x64 is a 64-bit install and Windows XP Professional is the more typical 32-bit install.

Originally Posted by gib88

I have a program called Belarc Advisor that says my CPU is "64-bit ready" - whatever that means. It's an Intel Core 2 Duo. Does this mean anything to anyone?

[gib88]

Thanks BelarcGuy,

What would happen if I purchased and installed a 64-bit OS - say Windows 7 - would I have any guarantee that I could find and install the right 64-bit drivers for all my hardware? I've had experience in finding drivers online for whatever hardware I have installed on my computer, but I've never had to decide between 32-bit and 64-bit version. Same with drivers for which I have the CD (I have an ATI Firepro graphics card, and I don't remember having to choose between 32-bit and 64-bit when installing it from the CD).

[BelarcGuy]

Hi gib88,

There are no guarantees that your hardware vendors will have 64-bit drivers (or even drivers for Windows 7). Your best bet is to go to the vendors web sites and see what they have.

[DoubleHelix]

No guarantees. There can also be issues with software. You may need separate 64-bit versions or there may not be a compatible version.