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You are here: Home / Tech Questions & Answers / Q&A: Should I install Windows 8.1 in 32 bit or 64 bit mode?

Q&A: Should I install Windows 8.1 in 32 bit or 64 bit mode?

Posted on July 20, 2015

windows-8-1Question from Carolyn S.:  Hi Rick. I have a 4 year old HP Desktop computer running Windows 7 – 32 bit.

I bought the Windows 8.1 DVD but I don’t know whether I should install it in 32 bit or 64 bit mode.

This computer has a 64 bit CPU but just 4GB of RAM that I plan to upgrade at some point. I’ve heard that the extra RAM won’t do any good unless I install 64 bit Windows.

If that’s true, do you think it’s worth installing the 64 bit version? What do you suggest?

Rick’s answer:  Carolyn, your computer is capable of running 64 bit Windows, and that’s what I strongly recommend for several reasons. The biggest reason is the flexibility it gives you when upgrading your PC’s RAM.

If your PC only had 2GB and that was all you ever planned to have installed, I would say stay with 32 bit Windows. But since you already have 4GB and plan to install more in the future, installing the 64 bit version of Windows 8.1 is definitely the only way to go in my opinion.

There are other advantages to installing the 64 bit version of Windows as well, but I won’t go into them here. The flexibility of being able to add more RAM is reason enough in my humble opinion.

I hope this helps Carolyn. Good luck!


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