Which is fastest: 32, 64 or 86 bits? Is it good for your PC if you install 64 bits on a 32 bit processor?

Answer

To answer the latter: it is impossible to install a 64-bit Windows version on a 32-bit-only processor. It simply won’t work. The reverse is possible: you can run a 32-bit Windows version on a 64-bit processor.

It’s a bit confusing, but the “x86” instruction set of processors has nothing to do with the number of bits. It is the name of a technology based on Intel’s first 8086 processor. Then they used to number each successive processor with a number ending in 86, and “x86” became the collective name for processors of that family, which later formed the basis for what became Pentium, and is now Core. “x86” is a type of processor, it’s naming, just like an Nvidia 9600 graphics card doesn’t run at 9600 MHz at all.

To see if your processor is capable of running a 64-bit version of Windows (or any other 64-bit operating system), look up your processor’s technical specifications. In it you should be able to find one of “x86-64”, “x64”, “EM64T” or “AMD64”. These are 64-bit extensions to the 32-bit base of x86-type processors. You need those extensions to use 64-bit operating systems. In the case of Intel, all Intel Core, Intel Atom, Pentium D and some Pentium 4 types have that support. AMD is clearer: their Athlon64, Turion64, Opteron, Sempron and Phenom processors all support 64-bit. You will need one of those processors to run a 64-bit version of Windows.

Whether you’re running a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system doesn’t really matter in terms of performance, but 64-bit systems have a big advantage: they can handle more than 3GB of memory. 32-bit systems are limited to 3GB of RAM, it is possible to insert more but it will not be recognized and used. If you ever plan to put more than 3GB of RAM in your computer, if you use a lot of intensive multimedia software, or if you often run a lot of heavy software programs at the same time, you will prefer to install a 64-bit system.

The disadvantage of 64-bit systems is that almost all software had to be rewritten, especially the drivers for hardware. This was a big problem in the early days of 64-bit systems, which is thankfully less common now, but still: if you have printers, scanners, webcams, or other internal or external devices in your computer that are older than 6 years, it pays off. it’s worth checking the manufacturer’s website to see if those devices have specific drivers for 64-bit systems. They may never have been made (because that was still too exotic at the time), but if those drivers are not there, you can often no longer use those devices on a 64-bit Windows version. Virus scanners and old games can also be problematic in that regard, and you should also check whether they support 64-bit systems.

In terms of speed, the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit systems is quite negligible, but recent Windows versions do have higher system requirements that you have to be able to meet.

Conclusion: if you have a fairly old system or relatively old hardware, it’s best to stick with 32-bit Windows versions for a while and not upgrade if you don’t need to. Do you have a fairly new system, do you want to upgrade in the future, or do you use your computer for heavy software (video and audio editing, for example), then a 64-bit system is now interesting with a view to the future.