32 bit or 64 bit?

[Joe Ker1086]

OK, what exactly is the point of a 64 bit OS. I know windows makes it so you have to buy the 64 bit to utilize more than 3.3 gigs of ram but what does a 64 bit OS really do for me?

[audiomick]

Should be faster for apps that are resource intensive.
I use 64 bit, and am happy in the knowledge that I am enabling my computer to unfold its' full capacities, even though, in reality, it don't demand of it anywhere near its' maximum capacity:)
I'm more inclined to think in terms of what problems it could cause. I've only noticed things that are really minor issues for me, like occasional firefox plugins that don't work.

[Axos]

64-bit is only for people who actually need more than 3 GB of RAM. 64-bit doubles the size of all the pointers in a program. In programs which use a lot of pointers, this can dramatically increase the amount of memory they use. So with 64-bit you get less out of the memory you have. Of course, if you have more memory than you need, this doesn't matter.