Just re-installed a secondary OS on my main PC and decided to go with the 64-bit version of Windows 7. Been wondering that for the longest time, people have not really cozied up with 64-bit Windows.
It’s been like close to a half a decade now that 64-bit editions of Windows are available and yet it hasn’t gone mainstream (the x86-64 was introduced in 2003).
Before, the main concern is that even if the OS and the hardware is capable of 64-bit, majority of the softwares are compiled into 32-bit code so you don’t really get any significant improvement. Moreover, with the 32-bit Windows OS, it can only use up to about 3GB of RAM so even if you have 2 sticks of 2GB RAM (4GB total), your system can only see 3GB and the remaining 1GB is unused.
The biggest issue that’s causing the slow adaptation is because most device drivers aren’t compatible for 64-bit. If your printer, scanner, etc were manufactured before 2007, chances are they don’t have drivers for 64-bit OS (I have 2 USB WiFi dongles from LinkSys and they don’t have drivers for 64-bit Vista).
Maybe in a couple more years, we’ll see 64-bit take on a larger user base.
For now, I’m enjoying the speed bump running Windows 7 64-bit on an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 with a full 4GB of RAM. Firing up Adobe Photoshop CS4 64-bit is a joy (launch time: 4 seconds).
Anybody out there running a 64-bit Windows OS?
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