32 and 64 bit

[trentsimp77]

Hey guys I have been looking at buy a new computer and have been seeing a lot of stuff about 64 bit and 32 bit computer. I was just wondering what the difference is. Thanks

[JPMiller]

The main difference is the ability to use more than 3 gigs of ram/memory..
Nowadays there is NO good argument for using 32bit over 64 bit.

[Taxmancometh]

Being able to use more than 3.5 gigs of RAM is also depended on whether your mother board supports PAE (Physical address extension). So, if you have a 32 bit OS you could run more than 3.5 gigs of RAM. Physical Address Extension - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ShyguyXPC]

Microsoft Windows implements PAE if booted with the appropriate option, but current 32-bit desktop editions enforce the physical address space within 4GB even in PAE mode. According to Geoff Chappell, Microsoft limits 32-bit versions of Windows to 4GB due to a licensing restriction,and Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich says that some drivers were found to be unstable when encountering physical addresses above 4GB. Unofficial kernel patches for Windows Vista and Windows 7 32-bit are available that break this enforced limitation, though the stability is not guaranteed.

[Taxmancometh]

I'll have to find one of those "unofficial kernel patches."