Choosing between 32 Bit and 64 Bit OS


Not sure between bits

Whenever we talk about OS (Operating System), we frequently come to hear the term 32 bit or 64 bit. In these situations people like me got confused about these two bits. For instance you might be prompted to install Windows 7 32 bit or windows 7 64 Bit. And you said the first one with eyes closed. The today’s post will guide you and bust the myth between these two bits.

Now first of all you must know the difference between a 32 Bit OS and a 64 Bit.
A 32 Bit version of OS, say windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit can NOT handle RAM more than 3GB. So if you are having 4GB+ RAM and a 32 Bit OS installed, then your OS can only utilize 3 GB out of it. This is due to the fact that a 32 bit OS can handle no more than 3 GB of RAM. 
But what should I do to utilize the full RAM?
This question can be answered as:
Install a 64 Bit version of OS. A 64 Bit OS can handle RAM up to 128 GB :0
Installing a 64 bit OS is recommended even if you have 2 GB of RAM or more. Every gaming PC should have a 64 Bit OS installed. A 64 bit OS can perform same task more efficiently and with superb speeds. Even I use 64 Bit OS after having 2GB DDR3 ram.

One more thing that is to be noticed while choosing between the correct OS is Application support.

We all started using PC using a 32 Bit OS. Even knowing the OS version was not necessary that time and almost all Desktops and laptops used 32 bit OS. This meant that Apps were developed mainly for 32 bit OS. But now the time has been changed. Nowadays developers develop applications for both platforms separately. A program built for 64 bit OS will be probably faster than the same program built for 32 bit one.

Now when it comes to compatibility,
A 32 bit program will work on 32 bit OS for sure and may work on 64 bit too. For eg. VLC Media player, all web browsers and games.
And when it comes for 64 bit apps, it will run ONLY on 64 Bit OS. For eg. Many Adobe products and iTunes are developed separately for both the platforms.

Please Note: A 32 bit OS runs on x86 architecture and a 64 bit OS runs on x64 architecture.
So whenever you are prompted to choose from x86 and x64, don’t get confused.