Nearly half of Windows 7 installations are 64-bit
The transition to 64-bit computing has accelerated with the release of Windows 7. Figures published by Microsoft today claim that nearly half of Windows 7 installations—46 percent—are using 64-bit versions of the operating system. This represents a huge upswing in 64-bit adoption; Windows Vista, in comparison, had only 11 percent of its users running the 64-bit version.
The benefits of 64-bit Windows vary; for some users they will be substantial, for others, nonexistent. The 64-bit versions of the operating system have reliable access to larger amounts of physical memory than their 32-bit counterparts. 64-bit software similarly has easy access to more system resources. These factors can provide a substantial performance boost to heavy workloads like databases, but for other workloads—including common desktop tasks such as word processing or Web browsing—there is little advantage to be had.
