In this age of rapid development of high technology, sophisticated PC users are very careful in choosing their iron "friend". A modern computer must meet a number of criteria: it must have good technical characteristics, reliability and, first of all, of course, high performance (the processor is responsible for the last point).
Modern CPUs are divided into 2 types: 32-bit and 64-bit. Before we find out whether 32- or 64-bit system types are preferable to use, let's first understand what these numbers mean. Without going deep into the basics of computer architecture, we can say that the bit depth is the number of bits of information that the system can operate at a time. Indeed, Windows 64 bit can use up to 16 GB of RAM, while x32 is limited to 4 GB. It is logical to assume that the 64-bit system is twice as fast as its "old" 32-bit predecessor, which means that it is better, however, this is only at first glance. In fact, this is a very controversial issue.
Firstly, when using the x64 processor in "home" conditions, there are special benefits forthere will be no user. The reason for this is that this system does not realize its full potential in this mode of operation. The fact is that processors of this type were originally developed for design institutes, enterprises and financial organizations (to work with super-large data arrays).
Second, the biggest problem with 64-bit computing systems is software incompatibility. The fact is that many programs and drivers for them were originally written for 32-bit types of processors, and when you try to use them on new generation systems, they either simply do not start or give error notifications. However, it is worth noting that most developers are currently adapting their applications to the x64 version.
So how do you know: 32 or 64 bit? Which of these types should the average user choose? If you are not going to develop 3D graphic prototypes, but only plan to communicate in social networks, work with text or listen to music, then a regular 32-bit processor will cope with all these tasks quite tolerably.
And how do you know if you have a 32 or 64 bit system? Information about this can be found in the "My Computer" menu, by going to the "System Properties" tab (or simply by pressing the "Win + Break" combination). If you have, for example, Win XP 64 installed, this must be indicated, but if you did not find any information about the bitness of the CPU in the system properties, then most likely it is 32-bit.
Based on the technical characteristics of the computer, you should choose the type of operating system to be installed. At the same time, it is important to remember that Windows x32 will work smoothly on a 64-bit processor, and a 64-bit OS will never run on a 32-bit computer.
By the way, at present, most computer equipment manufacturers are gradually switching to the release of exclusively 64-bit systems as the most promising. Therefore, soon, as you might guess, the question of how to find out whether 32 or 64 bit is better will disappear by itself.
