why does w7 32 bit cost more than w7 64 bit?

[Binkstir]

I'm working on a friend's laptop and with 1gb of ram (according to ms) I should go with the 32 operating system. It seems like it's about 25 bucks more.
Any ideas why this is?

 

[User0one]

Guess it just depends where you buy it. They were the same cost where I shopped. In fact the package came with a 32bit and 64 bit Disk where you had a choice of what to install.

 

[johnb35]

Get it from Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

That is for the 64bit version and the 32 bit version has been deactivated so it seems you can get 32 and 64 bit on the same cd possibly?

 

[jamesd1981]

yeah it is a trend, also most sites ive seen vista costs more than xp and windows 7

 

[Drenlin]

It won't hurt anything if you go with 64 bit.

 

[Okedokey]

Ensure you check your compatibility with Windows 7 using their tool first:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor

 

[Brucew0619]

Nothing special with Windows 7 64 bit.

 

[Okedokey]

Nothing special with Windows 7 64 bit.

except of course if you need to memory address more than 2^32 (4GB). I commonly use more than 5GB when encoding, mounting dvds to play or install, gaming etc etc.

I have a 1GB graphics card, 6GB RAM, 60Mb of sound card memory and other memory. The total is over 7GB. Using a 32bit OS would mean i would only be able to address 2.5GB system memory (RAM) for the OS. This is why a 64bit OS is recommended. Gone are the bad old days regarding drivers etc.

What this also means is that if i only have 2.5GB i will be relying on a thrashing hard driver or a slower ssd to get that info instead of RAM, this is not a good idea. 2.5GB doesn't take much to use if you are a power user. You never know when you might want to use more.

 

[The_Other_One]

That's rather strange... Where I work both versions are the same cost. Plus (at least with OEM, though I think it works with Retail) you can install x64 using an x86 key and vise-versa.