dwightdills Loc: Charlotte, Tn.

Just wondering, How would one upgrade to a 64 bit OS? do you have to make sure that all (CPU,Video card, Sound Card, Monitor,etc...) is for a 64 bit system or just certain pieces?

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

Microsoft Windows operating system come in 2 versions for WIN7 and newer. 32 or 64 bit. To upgrade, you just buy the program and replace your old OS. There's no other equipment to upgrade. However, if you have old programs that you intend to run on this new 64 bit OS, you may need ot download new drivers for all your peripherals and software programs.
Depending on what OS you have now and the age of your computer (BIOS) and bridge controller circuitry, Microsoft may have an upgrade package available but I strongly advise to get the disc OS version. Since Microsofty has farmed out their customer service to outside contractors now, they have a tendancy to try to sell you repair services for cleaning up your machine at outragious prices.

dwightdills Loc: Charlotte, Tn.

Thanks,
I didn't know if most of my programs would run on a 64 bit OS. But they are running just fine on Windows 7. Now after the initial upgrade will I be able to bump the ram up with out any problems as long as I go into BIOS and re-figure the memory?

donnz Loc: Auckland, New Zealand

add new chips switch the machine on and just works , mines at 12 now and will probably add more
Don

dwightdills Loc: Charlotte, Tn.

Great info guys appreciate the rapid returns.

IR Jim Loc: St. Louis

If you want to upgrade to a 64-bit OS you must have a 64-bit processor. You may need to upgrade more than the CPU however. The motherboard must be compatible with the processor you get or you have to upgrade that. Also you would want to upgrade to more than 4GB of RAM, I would say 8GB at the least.

What kind of computer do you have? Post the model number and I'll look up the specs. If you built it, post the specs.

As for programs, most should work with the exception of antivirus and device drivers.

dwightdills Loc: Charlotte, Tn.

I've got two that I'm still working on but the information was mainly inquiring info for other clients.

Here they are:

Building a computer


#1

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition ($295 list)
Motherboard: Gigabyte MA 790FXT-UD5P ($179 list)
Graphics Card: Nvidia Quadro FX 3800 ($800 list)
Memory: 4GB kit (2GBx2), Ballistix 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 memory module($148 list)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue HD (250 GB) ($79 list)
Optical Drive: Lite-On Internal 4X Blu-ray Drive ($55 street)
Power Supply: Antec Truepower 650W ($100 list)
Case: Rosewill Conqueror WSL Triple 120mm Fans Steel ATX ($60 list)
Operating System: Windows 7 Pro ($200 list)
Total about $1912.00

#2

MOBO: Asus P6X58D-E LGA 1366 - $229.99
Processor: Intel Core i7-930 2.8GHz 4x256KN L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W - $289.99
Ram: G.Skill PI 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 - $199.99 - But I'm ordering two (12GB total) for $399.98
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W - $89.99 *
Case: AZZA Solano 1000 ATX Full Tower - $59.99 *
Video card: MSI N465GTX - $234.99 *
System Drive: WD Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache - $74.99
Video storage drive (internal): WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache - $94.99
DVD/CD Drive: LG 22x DVD OEM - $24.99
Wireless Net Card: EDIMAX EW-7128G - $19.99
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM - $99.99
TOTAL: $1,619.88

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

Your comment (and I quote):
"If you want to upgrade to a 64-bit OS you must have a 64-bit processor. You may need to upgrade more than the CPU however"

This is garbage. All duel core CPUs from the slow pentiums onward will run 64 bit OS software. I agree that motherboards and BIOS has to handle the increased RAM, but it makes no difference as far as the CPU goes. PCI-16e bus would be nice but also not required to run the 64 bit OS. The old VISTA and WIN2000 OS only required 512 Meg to run but they functioned better on 1 Gig of RAM or more. Those motherboards could handle up to 2 or 4 Gig max depending on the MOBO model, and some needed upgrades of the BIOS chipset through Phoenix Software, but the newer motherboards have flash downloadable BIOS and software CMOS settings.
You also mentioned the differences in sockets for differing CPUs. Well, that problem was solved by AMD when they implemented the AM3+ socket that will accept all of their CPUs and is backward compatible. Intel has a different system for their second generation duel cores and newer and the 1155 socket may not be backward compatible.

IR Jim Loc: St. Louis

The author asked if there was any hardware that may needed to be upgraded in order to upgrade to a 64-bit OS. I said yes, you need a 64-bit processor. See below FAQs from Microsoft that verifies the information that you said is "garbage".

Windows 7
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/32-bit-and-64-bit-windows-frequently-asked-questions

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

This reference of CPU has to do with legacy processors that ran at under 1 GHz clock rates. All duel core CPU and above will run a 64 bit OS as long as there is sufficient RAM. The reference in the Microsoft FAQ sheet about "X64 version" has to do with the version of XP OS you are presently running.

Computer systems typically have life expectancy of about 5 years or so and then new software and peripherals will require new drivers that are not backward compatible.

IR Jim Loc: St. Louis

How did you come up with that? The article says nothing like that.


Unless you throw CPUs in a ring and let the fight to the death I'm sure you mean "dual". Also who said anything about running dual core processors? The author never disclosed what CPU he had.


Who said anything about running XP?


What are you talking about? What does this have to do with the topic in any way?

Bottom line: A 64 bit OS will not work on a PC with a 32 bit CPU, it won't even install. If you do happen to have a 32 bit CPU there is a probablity that your motherboard will not support a new 64 bit CPU.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

If you have to ask, the odds are your computer may be too old to upgrade. You can check with Microsoft Upgrade Advisor to see if this is the case: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor

If your computer is old, it is probably not worth the hassle to upgrade your existing computer's components and upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows 7. Just buy a new computer.

Either way you will probably have to reinstall the rest of your programs and migrate your data.

IR Jim Loc: St. Louis

Both #1 and #2 that you listed have 64-bit CPUs. The hardware is a few years old and the prices are outdated.

I haven't checked all the hardware but most if not all should have 64-bit drivers available. I did verify the Nvidia Quadro FX 3800 does.

OonlyBonly

Windows 7, 64-bit here. IF you have a 64 bit program it'll run just fine. I have many older 32 bit programs which run just fine but do not use the 64-bit capability.
If you do run into an older program which has problems with the 64-bit OS there is an option (Right Click Icon) which will run a compatibility test - giving you the option to run the program under various older M$ OSs........ Some want XP and work just fine that way.

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

WIN7-64 Ulitmate and PRO have a virtual 32 bit machine contained in them for legacy programs written in 32 bit format that require the old drivers. The drivers for VISTA, WIN7 and WIN8 64 bit, are all new and sometimes do not work for legacy programs.