There seems to be a common misconception that XP and Vista are 64 bit.
Not true.
There are 64 bit versions of both you can get, but what is included with 99% of all consumer versions is the 32 bit version. If the version you see says x64 it is 64 bit software; and (strangely enough) if it says x86 then it is 32 bit (x86 refers to the instruction set, not the number of bits). (**nerdy explanation, feel free to skip** remember the old pre-pentium computers that were call 286, 386, and 486? The instructions to run those computers processors was called the x86 instruction set. When 64 bit came along, it was initially called x86_64, but then that was shortened to x64)
Really, the only reason to get a 64 bit OS is if you need more than 3.2GB of memory, and unless you are doing professional autocad or rendering or something like that you won't need that much.
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