I'm kinda confused

[Kingofpain678]

About the benefits of using a 64-bit OS over a 32-bit OS.
From what I can tell, you don't gain any speed by using a 64 bit os and it uses more ram...
Am I wrong about the speed or are there only certain programs that you can only get in 64 bit or what?

 

[12milluz]

The major advantage is the fact you can use up to 2^64 bytes of ram compared to 2^32 bytes that a 32 bit OS uses. This comes out to 1.84467441 × 10^10 GB compared to the approximately 4 GB a 32-but OS can use. Of course, no chips are large enough to come near to the max amount of ram a 64-bit OS uses, but we are now making chips that are larger than the 4 gigs of ram that is the max for the 32bit. The extra ram allows you to run extra plug ins and such and is pretty useful in the recording world.

 

[suprstar]

I'm on 32 bit xp, 3.1ghz dual amd core cpu, 4gb ram, My drums are usually midi -> ezdrummer vst, so 12-16 tracks tops of guitar/bass/vox with an avg of 2 plugins on each track, and 8 tracks of vst drums. i havent hit the limits of my hardware once yet.. When I have the 'vst meter' going it's always under 20% even on my most complex projects. I think 32 bit suffices for most projects.

 

[Kingofpain678]

Ah! I see...
I suppose that 32 vs 64 bit thing is something for me to worry about at a later date.

 

[12milluz]

Yes- you can easily manage now. Just be careful and watch compatibility. There are often two versions of software/ drivers (one for each) so just make sure you get the right one!