Upgrading to 64-bit

[BlackBird.]

Hello,

I got windows 7 32-bit at the moment, with 3GB of RAM.
But when I make videos with Sony Vegas or Adobe After Effects it all goes reaallly slow. So Im thinking about upgrading to windows 7 64-bit, and buy 2 GB Ram so I have a total of 5GB ram.

Question: Will I see any difference? Or is it useless to get 64-bit.

(Dont say buy a new CPU, dont say buy 6GB extra RAM, dont ask how much I pay for 64-bit)

Thanks

~Bird.

 

[Fear Feathers]

Yes. I would say get 64-bit for that extra RAM.
Especially if you are getting into video editing.

 

[NullWolf]

Agreed. With Windows 7, 64-bit all the way. Since we started using Windows 7 here at the shop, we haven't had a single instance where we've installed the 32-bit version. The only time I've SEEN a 32-bit Windows 7 was from a branded manufacturer (Dell, HP etc...) LOL.

Video editing, rendering etc... is extremely memory intensive. With 5GB you'll notice the difference from 3GB for sure since there'll be less time paging files to the hard drive when it exceeds the size of your available memory.

 

[HackerJack]

I think it's important to mention that you should check your motherboard specifications to ensure that it can accept 2GB modules. Since you have 3GB it's possible that the motherboard won't be able to address or recognize the memory. I've never heard of *anyone* with 5GB of RAM so i'm not sure if that'll be doable.

Also, you should be aware that you'll have to do a clean install of Windows to be able to upgrade from 32 to 64 bit. Make sure to backup your user profiles and other important settings before you make the leap, but you won't regret using 64-bit!

Everyone is correct as far as adding memory goes, though. Video editing is extremely RAM intensive and the slowdowns are a result of the page file being used.

 

[BlackBird.]

Ok, thanks. I'll keep those things in mind. Also, Im planning on installing Windows on a Portable HD 1TB. You think thats a good idea, or will windows be slower because its not running through a hard drive?

 

[HackerJack]

Ok, thanks. I'll keep those things in mind. Also, Im planning on installing Windows on a Portable HD 1TB. You think thats a good idea, or will windows be slower because its not running through a hard drive?

I'd strongly advise you to avoid doing that. Windows would definitely be less responsive, as the maximum bandwidth of USB 2.0 is 480 Mbit/s, or about 60 MB/s. This is very low, about half as fast as IDE, which is slow as it is! Also, this bandwidth is shared among all the USB devices, so you'd be seeing lower real-world speed as your mouse, keyboard, etc. use bandwidth.

I'd recommend using a SATA or IDE hard drive if possible. If the hard drive is eSATA, ignore all of the above about USB, as eSATA would run okay.

 

[pillar]

Im not sure if you knew this, but im gonna go ahead & post it anyways, for those who may see this thread in the future & inquire about it. I myself was wanting to upgrade to 64-bit windows as well (previously had Win XP 32-bit). The problem with 32-bit software is that it limits your ram to only 3.5gb. The great news about 64-bit version is that it allows up to 16gb of memory (which is still rather ridiculous for a computer system right now, but your computer system will run amazing!) & when I had 32-bit XP, I had the same memory im using right now (check my sig).

Also, kinda going along the lines of what HackerJack said, make sure that your motherboard has 4 slots so you can do the necessary memory upgrade. While your at it, you might want to consider doubling your memory to 6gb. Depending on what the bus speed of your memory is will depend on how much you need to spend. You can determine the bus speed either by the original box that came with your current memory, or you can download the program cpu-z, which will tell you about your process & memory. The memory will state a certain # in mhz. For example, my bus speed is 800mhz. Cpu-z will always say the memory in half the # of mhz, so itll show 400mhz for me. More than likely, you have ddr2 memory, since your a video editor. My suggestion is to go w/ this memory (however, you can choose whatever memory you want): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

 

[HackerJack]

Im not sure if you knew this, but im gonna go ahead & post it anyways, for those who may see this thread in the future & inquire about it. I myself was wanting to upgrade to 64-bit windows as well (previously had Win XP 32-bit). The problem with 32-bit software is that it limits your ram to only 3.5gb. The great news about 64-bit version is that it allows up to 16gb of memory (which is still rather ridiculous for a computer system right now, but your computer system will run amazing!) & when I had 32-bit XP, I had the same memory im using right now (check my sig).

Also, kinda going along the lines of what HackerJack said, make sure that your motherboard has 4 slots so you can do the necessary memory upgrade. While your at it, you might want to consider doubling your memory to 6gb. Depending on what the bus speed of your memory is will depend on how much you need to spend. You can determine the bus speed either by the original box that came with your current memory, or you can download the program cpu-z, which will tell you about your process & memory. The memory will state a certain # in mhz. For example, my bus speed is 800mhz. Cpu-z will always say the memory in half the # of mhz, so itll show 400mhz for me. More than likely, you have ddr2 memory, since your a video editor. My suggestion is to go w/ this memory (however, you can choose whatever memory you want): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

Small correction, a 64-bit system can address up to 8TB of memory. The physical limitations of computer systems obviously set a much lower realistic limit, but anyone could install 24GB or more of RAM in a motherboard that supports it and have no problems at all.