Difference Between 32-bit and 64-bit Operating Systems
The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's processor (also called a CPU), handles information. The 64-bit version of Windows handles large amounts of random-access memory (RAM) more effectively than a 32-bit system.
To install a 64-bit version of Windows, you need a CPU that's capable of running a 64-bit version of Windows. The benefits of using a 64-bit operating the system is most apparent when you have a large amount of random-access memory (RAM) installed on your computer, typically 4 GB of RAM or more. In such cases, because a 64-bit operating system can handle large amounts of memory more efficiently than a 32-bit operating system, a 64-bit system can be more responsive when running several programs at the same time and switching between them frequently.
You're probably aware that 64-bit and 32-bit versions of your operating system exist, but apart from ascribing to a bigger-is-better philosophy, you may have no idea what separates the two. The question: Should you use a 64-bit version of Windows, and why?
More and more frequently, users are installing the 64-bit version of their operating system of choice over the less capable 32-bit version. But most people don't really have a full understanding of what the difference really is. Below, we're taking a look at the most important differences so you can better understand what you gain (and potentially lose) if you upgrade to the 64-bit version of your OS. (The post focuses on Windows.)
| S.N. | Difference | 64 bit | 32 bit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Comparatively | 64 bit OS is Faster than 32 bit (but you can’t see the difference, so you may experience the same speed.) | 32 bit OS is Slower than 64bit (but you can’t see the difference, so you may experience the same speed.) |
| 2 | OS for the Support. | Gamer, Graphics Designer, Game Developer, or a Programmer, Heavy Weight Programs. | Used for Non-Havey Weight Programs, and for Normal OS Work. |
| 3 | Maximum RAM limit | 64 bit OS: (2 ^ 64) ÷ 10 ^ 9 = 18446744073.709551616 GB of RAM. | 32 bit OS: (2 ^ 32) ÷ 10 ^ 9 = 4.29 GB of RAM (1 Giga = 10 ** 9). |
| 4 | Program Support | 64 bit OS Support both 64bit & 32bit Programs. | But 32 bit OS only Support 32-bit Programs. |
| 5 | RAM | A 64-bit machine can access 17.2 BILLION gigabytes of system memory, banishing any limits far into the future. This also means that your video cards and other devices will not be stealing usable memory space from the operating system. | In a 32 bit operating system, you are limited to 4096 MB of RAM simply because the size of a 32-bit value will not allow any more. On a 32-bit system |
| 6 | Support Application | The per-process limit is also greatly increased—on 64 bit Windows, instead of a 2 GB limit, each application has access to 8 TB of virtual memory without any special API, a huge factor when you consider applications like video editing or virtual machines that may need to use enormous amounts of RAM. | Savvy readers might point out that modern chips support PAE, a processor technology that allows the operating system to use a little bit more memory—up to 64 GB, but it also requires special application support that most applications don't have or necessarily need. |
| 7 | HARDWARE | A 64-bit processor includes a 64-bit register, which can store 2^64 or 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 values. Therefore, a 64-bit register is not twice as large as a 32-bit register | A 32-bit processor includes a 32-bit register, which can store 2^32 or 4,294,967,296 values. |
