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Originally Posted by MaDMaN_26
Interesting Blog Bobblehead... it has made me rethink the don't build it myself attitude I had going into this - maybe it would be worth it to build my own PC...
Does anyone want to explain the 64-bit O/S vs. the 32 bit O/S and how it pertains to gaming... does it matter, why woul a person install one over the other?
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It really affects things at a pretty low level (below the level of the O/S).
64-bit mainly means you can access MUCH more memory. 32-bit O/Ses have a limit of 4GB (and even then some motherboards will only allow windows to see less than that - it is a memory/OS mapping issue).
Also, companies that make hardware also need to write new drivers for the a 64-bit O/S. So things like video cards, audio cards, and so on often had issues when being run on a 64-bit O/S
Servers generally need lots of memory and only need basic peripherals, so that is generally who 64-bit O/Ses have been targeted at.
It has long been advised for most people to stick with the 32-bit version, although I have heard of many people now saying they are running the 64-bit version with rare issues.
Edit: BTW, I just read there is an issue with iTunes on 64-bit Vista, so there are still a bunch of Gotchas out there.