32-Bit versus 64-Bit Windows-10
As well as choosing your Windows 10 edition, you also need to decide between the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions of the operating system. This choice is available for all editions of Windows 10, including installation DVDs for each mode.
The 32-bit or 64-bit nomenclature refers to the memory address length that the processor can reference. This dictates the maximum amount of memory, which is 4GB for 32-bit mode (or more accurately 3.4GB, since some memory needs to be allocated for other purposes). For 64-bit mode, the maximum may be much higher, though the Windows 10 editions do not make full use of the potential. As well as more memory, the 64-bit mode will also be faster; typically about 10%.
Hot tip:
To check whether your version of Windows 10 is 32-bit or 64-bit, right-click on the Start button and click on the System link. The bit version is displayed under the System System type section.
However, you need applications that are specifically optimized for 64-bit processing to take advantage of the speed improvements and memory increase. Many games, for example, include the necessary enhancements.
Remember that choosing a 64-bit system means that you can no longer run 16-bit applications. This is only a problem if you use very old software (from Windows 3.1 days).
👉Read also: Windows-10 Sign-in Options
More importantly, existing 32-bit drivers for your devices will not operate in 64-bit mode, so you will have to locate 64-bit versions of the drivers. You may have problems with some devices, particularly the older ones.
You may also find that running 32-bit applications in a 64-bit operating system might actually be slower, due to the additional overheads imposed by conversion between the address systems.
In summary, if you have a 64-bit capable computer but use older hardware or 32-bit applications, you might do better to stay with the 32-bit version of Windows 10. With the latest hardware and drivers, and applications that are 64-bit optimized, for especially demanding applications such as video editing or image packages, the switch to 64-bit and higher memory would offer significant improvements.
It will not be long before 64-bit computing becomes the standard, and 32-bit operation becomes an optional extra, but for the present, there are still large numbers of 32-bit applications.
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