32-bit and 64-bit OS

The term "Windows 32-bit" is known to all of us, but we never really think of what "32-bit" actually means. Infact there is also another version called "64-bit". A 32-bit operating system uses 32-bits for data transmission, while a 64-bit uses 64. There is only one major difference between both of them. A 32-bit system supports upto a maximum of 4 GB RAM. So, if you have a 32-bit operating system and 4GB of RAM installed you will only be able to use 3.00-3.25GB of RAM since the system reserves 1GB of RAM for PCI devices ( Eg. Graphics cards ). On the other hand a 64-bit oeprating system supports upto 128 GB of RAM. Thus the major differnce is the memroy support. Other issues when compared between both systems are only minor improvments. Also remember that if you are planning to install a 64-bit operating system, make sure that the processor that you have supports the same. Some processors only support 32-bit.