What are the downsides of installing the 64-bit version of Windows 7?
I usually use the “Rob The Explainer” category of this blog to dispense technology advice to others. This time, I’m the one that’s got a question. It didn’t fit neatly into a 140 character tweet, so I’m posting it here, in the hopes that someone can set me straight in the comments section of this post.
I’m going to be upgrading the PCs in my house to Windows 7, My wife and I do alot of digital media work–Photoshop, Lightroom, After Effects, Premiere, etc. I’m leaning towards installing it as 64-bit for the better performance and greater headroom on RAM usage. In addition, Adobe has announced that future versions of After Effects and Premiere will only support 64-bit.
What I don’t fully understand is what are the drawbacks of going 64 bit? One I’ve heard is that there’s no Adobe Flash (yet) for 64-bit browsers, but that’s easily solved by installing the 32 bit version of browsers. Other than that, are their major drawbacks to installing 64-bit?
Also:
1) No snarky “well you should just get a Mac” comments, please.
2) I assume that you’re given the choice of 32 or 64 bit when installing Windows 7, correct?
3) Do most modern processors (Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, i5, and i7) support 64 bit?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
All modern Intel processors support 64-bit, even going back a few years. The most likely stumbling block will be 64-bit drivers for the hardware on your PC. Make sure you can get graphics and network drivers for Vista 64-bit at a minimum, preferably for Win7. Your PC manufacturer should have these on their web site. For the most part, you don’t need to worry about USB devices like the keyboard and mouse. Drivers for those are already in Windows 7.
For media intensive work, you will benefit greatly by installing the 64-bit version with 4GB of RAM or more. With RAM prices relatively low these days, it’s the easiest way to boost performance versus getting a whole new PC.
1. I use both and, frankly, prefer Win7.
2. Yes.
3. All modern processors are 64-bit, so that’s no worry.
There used to be drivers and what-not that didn’t work on 64, but unless you’re using an old printer or something, you might as well go 64.
Note that if your PC/laptop is a few years old, it may not be possible to upgrade beyond 4GB RAM, in which case there is no point to installing 64.
I’m not sure if this is helpful, but I installed 64-bit Vista 18 months ago and it was a disasterous mistake… about 30% of my laptop’s various drivers shit the bed. The minute I reverted to Vista 32-bit, everything was back to sunshine and songbirds… I would proceed with caution and make sure others out there aren’t facing similar problems with Win 7/64.
(Thanks for sharing the pics from the other day, Rob!)
I use 64-bit Windows 7 for most of machines, except for an old box where very old 16-bit apps (Magic School Bus, etc.) are installed for my three years old. Things are much better with 64-bit lately (including hardware drivers), but I do recommend running a test run with your essential tools and configurations (especially with hardware and/or old software). Get extra HDD for the test drive.
I should also note that you cann’t do straight “upgrade” from 32-bit installation to 64-bit, but you can use Windows Easy Transfer tool to transfer files from old computer to new one. I ususally prefer start clean for new computers, though it (the transfer tool) worked well when I was helping my parents’ old computer files (XP 32-bit) to new all-in-one PC that came with Windows 7 (64-bit).
It may not work well for your resource heavy projects, but Windows 7 natively support Solid State Drive (SSD). You’d be amazed how fast the system can be when it is running on the latest technology. SSD drives are still expensive, but it is becoming much more realistic these days.
Good luck!