Many wonder what is the real difference between 64-bit and 32-bit computers. Is paying a little extra for 64-bit support really worth it?

I had been meaning to do a somewhat comprehensive review of SQL Server performance from versions 2000 to 2008 for both 32 and 64-bit on Data Warehouse type queries, with in depth examination of scaling in parallel execution plans.

Back in 2007, because of the ubiquity of 32-bit architectures, and the market's slow migration pace toward 64-bit computing, Microsoft announced that the next version of the Windows client, Windows 7, would be delivered in both x86 and x64 flavors. In the year of Vista's launch, and even after the general availability of Service Pack 1, 32-bit Windows continued to be ubiquitous, with the 64-bit gaining some ground, especially due to the release of x64 Vista, but failing to achieve sufficient traction to make x86 a thing of the past.

I, and most people use, a 32-bit (x86) version of Windows. “So what?” you may think, and rightly so. I’ve been looking into 64-bit (x64) Windows for a while now and I cannot see any advantages. Ed can, and his article has certainly made me think twice, but I can’t help think we’re not ready for it yet.Many have said that Windows 7 will be a 64-bit only operating system, supporting only 64-bit systems.

I have been telling IT Pros in my audience for about 2.5 years now that I gave 32 bit CPU's about a 5 yr life span. I predicted that by 2010, all consumer PC's would be 64 bit and consumers would have multi-terabyte storage capabilities and 8 gigs plus of RAM standard. I still think all of this will happen but it just might happen sooner than I thought.

Consumers have enjoyed record low memory prices for over nine months now in DDR2 memory. Over the past six months, even latest 4GB and 8GB kits have been finding new lows. We've seen a continued demand for DDR2, even with all of the DDR3 support that's been cropping up.

I was around during the days of the tech industry’s move from 16-bit to 32-bit computing. Although it was chaotic at times, I don’t remember things being quite as convoluted as they seem to be today. Of course, I could be remembering incorrectly! Today, IT leaders are considering mass migrations to new operating systems, new Office suites and to new 64-bit architectures. On the surface of things, answers to these questions may seem easy, but as you dig deeper, things aren’t quite so clear.

The 64-bit edition of Windows Vista delivers not only support for larger quantities of system memory, with the high-end editions supporting as much as 128 GB of RAM, but also some extra horse power hidden under the hood. Essentially, in terms of performance, x64 Vista manages to best all the alternatives available under the Windows client umbrella.

Trebuin: After seeing enough benchmarks out there that have been mis-run or talk without proof, I have finally finished benchmarking several versions of Windows to show the differences.

I already discussed the Vista x64 vs. Vista x86 question a year ago. Vista was just released and for the early adopters, the first decision to be made was which edition, i.e. 32-bit or 64-bit, would be the better choice. At this time, I was skeptical regarding Vista x64, mostly because the advantages didn’t outweigh the downsides. It is time now to reconsider this question since the main disadvantages of the 64-bit version (hardware and software compatibility) might not be such an issue anymore.

Washington - Crack open a new copy of Windows Vista, and you'll be faced with a decision you haven't had to make in the past: Should you install the 32-bit version or the 64-bit one? Both versions are included in the standard Vista retail package, but few people know what the difference is, or why you would install one version over the other.

Sometime ago, I published an article about a performance comparison between 64-bit and 32-bit editions of Windows. This post got quite a few hits, recently. Meanwhile, it has rank 8 of all posts here on 4sysops (see right sidebar). Obviously, many seem to be undecided which Vista edition they would like to use. In this post, I summarized the pros and cons of Vista x64 and Vista x86.

My benchmarking marathon last week seemed to generate more questions and requests for further benchmarking.  A popular request from you, Constant Reader, was to see Windows Vista 32-bit benchmarked against Windows Vista 64-bit.

With Windows Vista, Microsoft delivered both the 32-bit and 64-bit flavors concomitantly, a first for the company, whose Windows XP x64 Professional (April, 2005) was launched one year after Windows XP SP2 (August 2005) and four after the initial 32-bit Windows XP (2001). For the Redmond company and the PC-centered users, Vista is a natural step in the evolution from 32-bit to 64-bit architectures.

One thing that can't be denied about Crytek's demo of Crysis is that it's very newsworthy! A sharp eyed forum regular (cheers UTGeneral!) noticed that Legion Hardware had posted a brief comparison between how well Crysis runs in 32 bit and 64 bit modes. Their conclusion was that 64 bit was quite a bit better. Well that piqued my curiosity, so we gave it a bash too! Hmm, the results are... different...