August 4, 2008 4:00 AM PDT
Could 64-bit Windows finally be taking off?

Posted by Ina Fried 28 comments
If you build it, it appears they will come, eventually.
Such is the case with 64-bit computing. Advanced Micro Devices launched 64-bit chips for the desktop back in 2003, hoping the fact that it was there and didn't cost extra would convince consumers.
"Our industry, right now, is hungry for another round of innovation," AMD chief Hector Ruiz told the crowd at the San Francisco launch in September 2003. Not that hungry, apparently.
Of course, the hardware wasn't much use without a 64-bit operating system. After several fits and starts, Microsoft finally released a 64-bit version of Windows XP in the fall of 2005.
"64-bit versions of Windows will begin to find their way into high-end gaming notebooks, which increasingly are being used as high-end notebook workstations as opposed to strictly gaming systems."

--Richard Shim, analyst, IDC

Still, several factors have held up adoption of 64-bit computing, long after the operating system was available. First of all, there wasn't a lot of need for it. The primary advantage of 64-bit computing is the ability to use more than 4GB of RAM, and until very recently most PC buyers had little need for that much memory. Also, to connect to a computer running 64-bit Windows, printers, scanners, and other peripherals need to have a special 64-bit driver.
But it appears the benefits are starting to outweigh the drawbacks.