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Windows 7 64 bit or 32?

fenderbass146

fenderbass146

macrumors 68000
Original poster
I just got a macbook pro 13" and I want to put windows 7 on it in bootcamp, which version should I go with 32 or 64?
 
32bit Windows 7 will only see 3.3gb of system RAM, while 64bit Windows 7 can see...a lot more then your machine can support!

Otherwise, there's no difference.
 
Unless you have specific 64bit apps, that you need, I'd say go for the 32bit version. I tried both and found the performance was identical, and while 64bit flavor sees > 4gig of ram. Since you only have 4 gig (as per your sig), its really not worth it imo
 
maflynn said:
Unless you have specific 64bit apps, that you need, I'd say go for the 32bit version. I tried both and found the performance was identical, and while 64bit flavor sees > 4gig of ram. Since you only have 4 gig (as per your sig), its really not worth it imo
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What do you mean its not worth it? Bit of a silly thing to say imo, why not go for it if you're getting the extra ram (although tiny) why wouldn't you go for the technically better? You might one day use 64 bit software so its worth it to be future proofed
 
MrPeanut said:
What do you mean its not worth it? Bit of a silly thing to say imo, why not go for it if you're getting the extra ram (although tiny) why wouldn't you go for the technically better? You might one day use 64 bit software so its worth it to be future proofed
Click to expand...

For some folks the only reason to run Windows is to support older apps they already have, for them 32 bit is fine. It's just more compatible. (Slightly, but still more compatible).

If you buy the retail version, which is the only version licensed for end users, you will get both 32 and 64 bit anyhow. If you outgrow 32 bit, you can just reinstall the 64 bit version.

The OP didn't say what apps they intended to run under Windows....

B
 
It sort of depends on what you intend to do with it. x64 takes up a bit more disk space and uses a little more RAM but is slightly faster and can see above 3GB of RAM. If you are gaming, then I would recommend x64 as more and more games are coming out in x64 to take advantage of the better speed and bigger RAM footprint.
 
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