 | By Ian “Gizmo” Richards The difficulties experienced by users of the 64-bit version of Windows XP and Vista cause most users to believe it’s too early to make the shift from 32-bit to 64-bit. However, the release of Windows 7 has convinced many people that this is the right time to change — but is it, really? |
Understanding the switch to 64-bit computing
Most PC users are confused about 64-bit computing, and I don’t blame them. The main source of confusion is that the term “64-bit” applies to three separate computing components: the PC processor, the operating system, and the software that runs on the operating system. So let’s sort this out.
In order to run a 64-bit version of Windows, your PC must have a 64-bit processor. If your PC is less than two years old, there’s a good chance it has a 64-bit processor. Netbooks are an exception; most use Intel’s 32-bit Atom processor.
If you’re not sure whether your PC has a 64-bit processor, the easiest way to find out is to download and run the free standalone version of Gabriel Topala’s wonderful SIW system-information utility, which you can download from Gabriel’s site.
The program doesn’t require installing, so you can run it directly from the .exe file. Click the CPU Info link in the left sidebar to see in the top line of the right pane whether your processor is 32-bit or 64-bit. (See Figure 1.)
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