11" MB-Air with 4GB RAM - 32 or 64-bit Win7?

Hi Folks,

Just got a nice deal on an 11" MacBook Air with 4GB RAM. Wifey needs a new travel laptop and this will fit the bill once I install Win7. I'm just wondering whether to go with 64-bit Win7 or 32-bit. The 64-bit version will use all the RAM, but will it really run any faster? Anyone had experience with both versions on 4GB RAM?

Since it's a MacBook Air and you can not upgrade the memory from the original 4 GB, I would install Windows 7 x 32 bit instead of the 64 bit version. Here's why: The 32 bit version will take up less SSD space and it runs a bit faster than the 64 bit version. The 32 bit version of Windows 7 will use up to around 3.5 GB of the 4 GB whereas the 64 bit version of Windows will use it all.

One caveat here... If you intend to run a Windows program that is 64 bit only, then you must install the 64 bit version of Windows 7.

Good point. 16GB for the 32-bit vs 20GB for the 64-bit. With just 128GB available, that 4GB difference isn't trivial.

Thanks.

Hmm, stuck with 64-bit as 32-bit Win7 is not supported with Bootcamp 5. Interesting.