KVR :: Computer Setup and System Configuration » WIndows 7: 32 bit (x32) or 64 bit (X64) for VST Synths / DAW ? [View Original Topic]
There are 18 posts in this topic.

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michaelmoye - Wed May 09, 2012 3:04 pm

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Greetings ^_^

I'm a Windows XP 32 bit user, new to Windows 7...

Moving from Windows XP to Windows 7, wondering to adopt 64 bit or remain at 32 bit
It seems to me that about 80~85% of VST's (freeware & payware) are still for windows 32 bit only.

I'm aware of 'jbridge' but never had to use it on x32.
Is that what's needed to use x32 VST's in a x64 VST host
- or- are there other workarounds, if so, what are they

ie. what is the general method of using x32 in x64 and vise-versa

Can I run simple freeware x32 hosts like SaviHost or VSThost on Windows 64 bit


* if there's already a post(s) adressing these, I appreciate any links to


Thanks for any advice.
M ^_^

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WOK - Wed May 09, 2012 3:10 pm

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64 bit makes only sense if you have more than 4 GB RAM and want to use big sample libraries etc. that need such amount of RAM.
Old 32 bit plugins can be used with wrappers, but may be half of them will make problems. And W 64 bit is NOT faster than 32bit - in fact it is a little slower.
Instead of more than 4GB RAM and W64bit you'd better go 32bit and spend the money for an SSD Harddisk - this will be a fast PC.

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fedexnman - Wed May 09, 2012 3:12 pm

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What VST host do you use ? FYI , you can use a 32 bit host with 32 bit vsts on a 64 bit windows7 install .

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michaelmoye - Wed May 09, 2012 3:40 pm

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Basic doodle around with H.Seib - VST Host and Experimental Scene - Dark Wave Studio.
( Thanks to both developers )

It's just that most new netbook/notebook/ultrabook/PC come with Windows 7/64 pre-installed !

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fedexnman - Wed May 09, 2012 3:58 pm

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You'll be fine with 64bit Windows7 !! You can just install your 32bit plugs,host, apps etc. etc. in c: program files (x86) . And you'll be good to go !!

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WOK - Thu May 10, 2012 2:20 am

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Yes, but then you have zero advantage.....

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Kaine - Thu May 10, 2012 7:40 am

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You can address the whole 4GB rather than the 2GB 32bit would restrict you too.

One of my systems is running 32bit Cubase on 64bit Win 7 for compatability with some old plugs and then jbridging Kontact & Reaktor (when it got 64bit support, it broke my install until I did this ) back into it, to take advantage of the memory outside of the inital 4GB. A bit long winded, but it all works for me!

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Sequent - Thu May 10, 2012 8:13 am

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I think definitely if you use Kontakt or sample libraries in general you're going to want to go with 64-bit. I think that's probably the main reason. Even if you're not sure but think you might want to explore that option in the future it is certainly something to consider. So you don't have to eventually upgrade twice!

As you probably know, the maximum on a 32-bit system is 4 gigs of RAM. If you're running a big orchestral template or some of the newer/bigger libraries you might find yourself wishing you had more RAM available. If you're not working with Kontakt and some of those big orchestral libraries then I'm thinking it's not as crucial.

The other thing is that even if you don't have more than 4 gigs of RAM now, but for whatever reason decide to upgrade in the near future if you already have the 64-bit os in place then all you need to do is pop in the new RAM.

It also depends on whether the hardware you're using has 64-bit drivers or not... especially if you have an older soundcard, older midi interface, controllers, etc., otherwise you're going to wind up having to replace some of those things.

Just a thought, but... since your machine currently has WinXP I'm guessing that it's an older machine. Is there a compelling reason that you need to update to Win7? Another option might be to just continue using what you have for now and save up and get a 64-bit machine down the road instead of going for the 'quick fix'. My general rule is: if it's working, don't touch it! Just saying...

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chj - Thu May 10, 2012 8:23 am

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Yes you can. The 64 bit Win7 operating system will run any software, 32 or 64 bit. All 32 bit hosts and 32 bit VST's will work on Win7 64 bit with no problem. So go ahead and upgrade to Win7 64.

The place you may run into a conflict is with your host/DAW and your VSTs. A 64bit host/DAW requires you to use 64bit VST's. A 32bit host requires 32bit VSTs. A bridge will enable you to use 32 bit VSTs in a 64 bit host or 64 bit VSTs in a 32 bit host.

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WOK - Thu May 10, 2012 1:56 pm

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The problem is using 32bit VSTs in a 64bit host - the bridging will only work on maybe half of the plugins.
Using a 32bit host will not give you memory advantage, and 32bit soft runs slightly slower on a 64bit Windows.
Using older hardware may also be a problem if not 64bit drivers exist.
Instead buying more than 4GB RAM better buy an SSD HD, believe me....

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DarkStar - Thu May 10, 2012 11:57 pm

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Somewhat related:

If you go for 64-bit Windows 7, make sure you have got the 64-bit drivers for your hardware.

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hibidy - Fri May 11, 2012 5:14 pm

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That's the key. Make sure you have x64 drivers. Might have already been mentioned but there are two folders under win7/x64. Standard program files and an x86 (or 32 bit) program files. So w/o trying to confuse you 32 bit apps work fine 99.9999% of the time.

I don't think there are many installing 32 bit win7 these days though of course many are still running 32 bit apps inside.

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Kaboom75 - Mon May 14, 2012 7:44 am

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Win 7 64bit runs 32bit apps the same as Win 7 32bit.

Many VSTs are now 64bit
Some DAWs are now 64bit to allow more than 3.2GB in projects.

Win 7 32bit can use 4GB RAM max

Win 7 64bit Home can use upto 16GB RAM

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Ashe37 - Tue May 15, 2012 1:49 am

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Well, functionally identical, but it does lose a small amount of processor to the 32/64 bit translation.

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michaelmoye - Tue May 15, 2012 3:32 pm

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Thanks ALL for your feedback & input.

^_^

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jdnz - Tue May 15, 2012 4:12 pm

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the cost/performance of SSD doesn't do it for me currently - I'm waiting for more hybrid drives like the sagate momentus XT to come out (something like the XT but in 3.5" form factor and with 2tb capacity would be perfect)

And even with 32bit >4gb can be useful since you can do the PAE patch (to allow win7 32-bit to use up to 8gb) and then also add the increaseuserVA option to allow each process to have up to 3gb (though if you host supports running plugins in separate processes the later isn't so helpful)

the thing that will drive me to proper 64-bit next time I rebuild with be the real memory hogs (photoshop espec - even with both those tweaks cs5 can struggle for ram on monster projects)

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Shangsean - Tue May 15, 2012 4:34 pm

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Pretty much what other people said. Look at what plug-ins you use and make sure you can get the 64bit version, plus the 64bit drivers for hardware.

From my own experience, I just recently had a hard drive die while I was running 32bit Windows 7 (had been running it for 3 years) and already had 6gig installed. Obviously I couldn't access all the ram, so I decided to install 64bit windows 7. For me it's been running great. I used to get a lot of crashes using Reaper, probably 3-5 crashes per recording session. I haven't had 1 crash since I updated to 64bit. Now, luckily most of the important plug-ins I was using have a 64bit version.

It's been good for me because I had so many free vsts sitting in my plug-ins folder that I barely used. Now I'm a little bit more restricted on what I can use, so it's made me concentrate more on my key vsts and it's improved my workflow.

I mainly use:
Ozone 5
Alloy
Guitar Rig 5
Absynth 5
EZmix
EZdrummer
Superior Drummer
Galaxy X + Epic World
DCAM Synth Squad (currently 32bit, but I'm running the 64bit beta version with no issues)
Kirnu
Camel Phat and Camel Space
Garritan Personal Orchestra 4 (haven't reinstalled it yet though)

The only paid vst I own that isn't 64bit at the moment is Circle, but they're working on a 64bit version. I've decided not to bridge any plug-ins because I really value stability at the moment, though it may work fine.

That's just my personal experience. It may be completely different for others.

By the way, my processor is an i7.

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ford442 - Tue May 15, 2012 5:00 pm

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Win 7 is GREAT for DAW work - no reason to limit yourself to 32 bits.

SSD is a MUST HAVE these days for building a fast PC - i had no idea - my next pc will have one for certain - it makes EVERYTHING lightning fast. installing, booting, launching, copying, saving, opening, loading.. it all goes incredible amounts faster with an SSD - i would say - test a pc running with 512mb RAM vs 12gb with no SSD and the 512 computer would boot faster, launch DAW faster and load all plugins faster..

so, i suggest that anyone who is upgrading should consider a relatively small SSD for OS, apps, and some samples then keep a traditional hard drive for storage purposes.. hard disks top out at around 100MB/sec i find - whereas today's SSDs are more like 500MB/sec and never have to spin up or seek for data.. take some of the money that you would have once spent on SDRAM and dedicated video and add an SSD!!!

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There are 18 posts in this topic.