Earlier this month we asked CyberNet readers, “How old is your primary computer?” Over 950 of you responded and as it turns out, 30% of you, larger than any other group, are using a computer that’s less than one year old. Coming in next was 21% of you who said that you are using a computer that’s 1-2 years old. In all, over 50% of you have a computer that’s between less than a year, and two years old. Judging from the results, it looks as though many of you do what you can to keep up with the latest technology.
Now it’s time for a new Poll and the idea for this one came from a Tip from Asgard (thanks for the tip!) who thought it might be interesting to find out how many people are using Vista 64-bit compared to Vista 32-bit. In the message, he said “Guru3D had poll like that some time ago and it gave very interesting results. Over 80% had 64-bit. It would be nice to see if it’s just graphics fanatics who have or is it more common. Also it would help people to be less afraid of 64-bit systems because 64-bit Vista really has advantages over 32-bit.”
We thought it was a great idea, but decided to extend the poll further to include XP and Linux because there are 32-bit and 64-bit versions of those operating systems available.Some of you may not even know the difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit processor, so we thought we’d give a quick explanation of that first. We found a great explanation over at “Build Your Own Computer Tips“:
A bit is short for “binary digit.” It is basically how a computer stores and makes references to data, memory, etc. A bit can have a value of 1 or 0, that’s it. So binary code is streams of 1’s and 0’s, such as this random sequence 100100100111. These bits are also how your processor does calculations. By using 32 bits your processor can represent numbers from 0 to 4,294,967,295 while a 64-bit machine can represent numbers from 0 to 18,446,744,073,709,551,615.
There are several benefits to using 64-bit processors and one of the most popular is the ability to use more than 4GB of RAM in your computer. Computers with 32-bit processors are limited to 4GB of RAM while those with 64-bit processors are “limited” to 17.2 billion GB of RAM which is about 16 exabytes.
For our new poll, we’re taking a look at how many of you are using 64-bit operating systems to take advantage of the capabilities that your processor has to offer.
Which are you using, if any:
- 64-bit Vista
- 32-bit Vista
- 64-bit XP
- 32-bit XP
- 64-bit Linux
- 32-bit Linux
- none of the above
Cast your vote in the sidebar or if you have Flash enabled you can vote right here:
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Tags: Polls, Linux, Processor, Windows Vista, Windows XP
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32bit Ubuntu on both desktop and laptop for now, but I am planning on switching over to 64bit soon.
64-bit XP:) The familiarity of XP, with the speed benefits of 64-bit.
I would point out that due to certain architecture limits most 32 bit Windows systems are limited to between 3.25 and 3.5 GIGs of memory. This varies and there are some workarounds that MAY extend the usable memory to 4 GIGs but to be safe, go 64 bit if you want 4 GIGs.
32 bit on vista and 32 bit xp on my spare
Ryan:
Excuse my ignorance, but where do I have to look to find if I have a 32 or 64 bit system?
Thanks,
So sounds like 64bit is certainly the superior OS type. Are there many program incompatibilities or other serious problems with it?
This polling system appears to be flawed.
I was able to vote multiple times just by refreshing the page.
@netster: only if programs are hard coded to a folder. 64-bit has 2 Program Files folders: Program File (x86) [for 32-bit] and Program Files [for 64-bit]. iTunes (in XP 64-bit) goes in Program Files (x86) due to it being 32-bit, but it is coded to run from Program Files. There are work arounds (easiest of which is get a different app:D) You also need 64-bit drivers, 32-bit ones don’t work.
@JK: I have the same problem. If everyone can do that, then indeed it is a flawed polling system.
I wish I could use 64-bit, but when I tried I had too many problems getting good drivers and core programs to work. Granted, it was almost 2 years ago since I last tried, so maybe I should try again. Using XP 32-bit now.
Thanks for the poll :). Seems that the results are becoming quite different than in Guru3D. It’s sure that almost all XP users are 32bit-users because you really don’t need 4Gb memory with it. Vista is different. Even with 8Gb you will see a huge performance gain especially in application loading times. SuperFetch really works
Omar Upegui: In case of Vista: click “Computer” in your desktop or start menu with right mouse button. See “System type”. If you don’t know you have almost certainly 32-bit.
netster007x: It depends what programs you use. System drivers, antivirus and firewall MUST BE 64bit versions. Almost any other program works in 32bit. So in these days incompatibilities are very small problem after all.
Hi,what is the point of having 64 bit OS if there are so not many programs that uses a 64 bit feature?
Thanx and greets from ZeroOne
sorry Asgard first post
ZeroOne
There is much form me to learn .I hope i shal be given time for it. LOL
What about users with multiple OSs?
I have XP 32 bit, Vista 64 bit and Linux (Ubuntu) 64 bit installed on my primary PC (4GB RAM). My laptop has all of these plus Mac OS X, my HTPC runs XP MCE 32 bit, Vista 32 bit…
Which one should I choose? How about a multiple choice option?
There are _some_ compatibility problems with 64-bit windows. Some are driver related, which can be split into two categories: drivers for actual peripherals, and drivers for things like copy protection.
There’s also a few application incompatibilities; some are (again) because of software protection, some are because programmers are stupid and hardcore things, and some are other interoperability things. Fortunately, if you have problems getting your (legally purchased) copy protected games to work, finding a crack will usually eliminate the copy-prot driver issues.
Shell extensions can also be a problem - you need 64-bit versions for them to work on a 64-bit explorer.
*Generally*, there isn’t much of a speed difference between 32- and 64-bit windows. You can have some advantages from lots of memory, even if you’re running 32-bit apps, and there’s some applications that can benefit a good deal from being ported to 64-bit. But generally, you don’t notice much difference. And there’s even some performance problems - 32bit foxit reader is extremely slow on 64-bit windows.
PS: XP64 user here.
Many do. AV/ Firewalls now come in 64/32 bit (for the most part). 32-bit apps run as fast as they normally would. but 64-bit ones (especially cd ripping, encoding or memory/cpu intesinve tasks) run faster. If you can find your drivers with 64-bit (many are) then you’re set.
I’m running Vista 64 bit on my MacBook Pro
If you go to your system properties, it’ll show your processor speed, your RAM, and then it’ll show your system type. That’s where it says whether it’s 32 or 64-bit. Chances are, you’re running 32-bit because most people that have a 64-bit chose it on purpose.
That would be a mistake I made when creating the poll, I didn’t check the box to block repeat voters. It’s fixed now though.
There’s an interesting pattern that I’m noticing in the votes thusfar. Most people using XP have decided to stick with the 32-bit version (maybe their computer doesn’t support 64-bit?). But when people get Vista almost half of the Vista users are going with the 64-bit version. I actually didn’t realize that so many were adopting the 64-bit operating systems now.