In the right pane, look at the System Type entry. For a 32-bit version operating system, it will say X86-based PC. For a 64-bit version, you’ll see X64-based PC.

To my surprise, I found that x64 was about 3 times faster than x86. I used VS 2012 Ultimate compiled for release and run as a standalone app without debugging. This is a WinForm application with a button and 2 text boxes. In the x64 version takes about 120 ms to complete, while the x86 build takes about 350 ms.

x86 refers to a 32-bit CPU and operating system while x64 refers to a 64-bit CPU and operating system. Does having more amount of bits in each operating system have any benefits? In addition, with a 64-bit system, it will be more efficient as it can process data in 64-bit chunks compared to 32-bit chunks.

It will run slightly slower as it has to be run through WoW64 emulation. The difference is probably not significant enough for you to notice, but it is there. In fact, some applications may run faster. The system itself will have more efficient drivers.

The main difference between these two platforms is the amount of RAM they can access. x86 has a physical limit of 4GB RAM (although Windows reserves the top 1GB, limiting this further to a maximum of 3GB). x64 can access more than 4GB of RAM – up to more than you’ll ever need.

How to Determine if Windows is x64 or x86

1. Click the “Start” button and choose “Run.”
2. Type in “sysdm. cpl” in the search box.
3. Click the “General” tab. If Windows lists “X64 Edition,” it is a 64-bit version of Windows, if it does not list an edition, it is a X86 32-bit edition. Tip.

2 Answers. x86 is the name of the architecture that it’s built to run on (the name comes from a series of old Intel processors, the names of which all ended in 86, The first of which was the 8086). Although x86 was originally a 16-bit architecture, the version in use today is the 32-bit extension.