Office 2010 32 bit vs 64 bit
- Why do you recommend the 32 bit version even when the OS is 64 bit Windows?
Answers
Why do you recommend the 32 bit version even when the OS is 64 bit Windows?
The main reason is app compatibility, which is why 32-bit Office 2010 is recommended even on 64-bit Windows. There are very few if any 64-bit add-ins for Office. For a more thorough discussion on the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit Office, please take a look at these docs:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee681792(office.14).aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee691831(office.14).aspx
Ted Way [MSFT], Program Manager, Microsoft Office PLEX Enterprise Licensing, Group Policy, and 64-bit Office- Marked As Answer byTed WayMSFT, ModeratorWednesday, November 25, 2009 10:03 PM
All Replies
- Hi dgh725--
I'm not aware MSFT or anyone else makes this recommendation--or at least in reading a lot of 2010 documentation, I haven't seen it. If you have a duo or multicore box, which would include any notebook or laptop from the past 3-4 years, I'd install 64 bit Office, and 64 bit Windows.
You can take advantage of the architecture of a multicore processor.
If there is any recommendation to install 32 bit Office, on 64 bit Windows, I'm missing something. I have not set up benchmarks on multiple machines for a lab comparison, but you will be fine installing the 64 bit choice on your 64 bit Windows which by definition wouldn't have installed on a box that couldn't accomodate both of them.
Good luck,
HKLM - I think the Microsoft website said this - I think its that the 32 bit version is more than likely much much more stable at this point in time.
Why do you recommend the 32 bit version even when the OS is 64 bit Windows?
The main reason is app compatibility, which is why 32-bit Office 2010 is recommended even on 64-bit Windows. There are very few if any 64-bit add-ins for Office. For a more thorough discussion on the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit Office, please take a look at these docs:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee681792(office.14).aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee691831(office.14).aspx
Ted Way [MSFT], Program Manager, Microsoft Office PLEX Enterprise Licensing, Group Policy, and 64-bit Office- Marked As Answer byTed WayMSFT, ModeratorWednesday, November 25, 2009 10:03 PM
- Some users report that the Office beta, and some other x64 apps too, are slower on PCs <4 GB.
- Ah! So it doesn't really matter that I couldn't find the 64 bit beta download by the looks of it. I was running the 64 bit tech preview, but despite ages of searching, 64 bit beta Office 2010 just didn't seem to be an option so I got the 32 bit.
- Hope this helps.Here is an article that explains it:There is a 64bit version but you have to do it differently. Here is the link for it: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=600c2142-abc3-4fea-9271-0c326c45dc8f&displaylang=en
This link is for the article below: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee681792(office.14).aspxArticle:64-bit editions of Office 201064-bit editions of Office 2010Updated: 2009-11-12
[This article is pre-release documentation and is subject to change in future releases.]
Processors that are 64-bit are becoming the standard for systems that range from servers to desktop computers. The 64-bit systems can use more virtual and physical memory than 32-bit systems. This lets users work with much larger data sets than they could previously, and to analyze and solve large computational problems. Microsoft Office 2010 introduces native 64-bit versions of Microsoft Office products to take advantage of this larger capacity. For example, this additional capacity is needed only by those Microsoft Excel users who require Excel spreadsheets that are larger than 2 gigabytes (GB). The 32-bit version of Office 2010 provides the same functionality and is also compatible with 32-bit add-ins. Therefore, the 32-bit version of Office 2010 is installed by default.
Office 2010 also provides support for 32-bit Office 2010 applications that run on 64-bit Windows operating systems by using Windows-32-on-Windows-64 (WOW64). WOW64 is the x86 emulator that enables 32-bit Windows-based applications to run seamlessly on 64-bit Windows systems. Office 2010 lets users continue to use existing Microsoft ActiveX Controls, Component Object Model (COM) add-ins, and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), which are primarily 32-bit because no 64-bit versions are available yet for many add-ins. Supporting 32-bit Office 2010 applications that run on 64-bit operating systems allows for better compatibility with controls, add-ins, and VBA.
This article applies to the current release of Office 2010. For a visual representation of this information, see 64-bit Client Installation of Microsoft Office 2010(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=168620), which includes supported scenarios, deployment considerations, and an overview of the Setup process.
.gif)
In this article:
- Supported Windows operating systems
- Architecture-specific folders and customization tools
- Supported scenarios
- Deployment considerations
- Setup process
Supported Windows operating systems
The supported Windows operating system editions for 64-bit Office 2010 client include the following:
- 64-bit editions of Windows Vista with SP1
- 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1
- Windows 7
- Windows Server 2008 R2
The following statements apply:
- The 64-bit Office client can be installed only on 64-bit editions of Windows Vista with SP1, 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2.
- The 32-bit Office client is supported as a WOW64 installation. This is the default installation on 64-bit Windows operating systems. The 32-bit Windows-based applications run on 64-bit Windows, which allows for compatibility with 32-bit Office applications and add-ins.
- Office 2010 server products (Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010, and Microsoft Project Server 2010) support the 64-bit edition of Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2, and Windows Server 2008 R2. For more information, see the following resources:
- For click-to-run scenarios, the supported version is Office 2010 32-bit (WOW64) on computers that run the supported 64-bit editions of Windows operating systems.
- Supported Windows operating systems
