My Computer overheats, and then freezes up.

[Subotan]

*Interrupts Conversation*

So, say, if I was purchasing a laptop with 4GB of RAM, I would need a 64 bit OS to utilise it's full capacity, right? But if most games/applications as you say don't have 64 bit versions, what's the point of getting a 64 bit OS, or even more than 2GB of RAM?

[Tellos Athenaios]

Speed & security. Speed because the 64bit OS (built for AMD 64 instruction set) can work with 64bit registers and assume more advanced uses for SIMD; security because the CPUs that run it offer things like killbits on memory which is used by the CPU to prevent execution of arbitrary data -- and these features are by and large inaccessible to a 32bit OS.

[Xiahou]

*Interrupts Conversation*

So, say, if I was purchasing a laptop with 4GB of RAM, I would need a 64 bit OS to utilise it's full capacity, right?

To get the full capacity, yes. You'd likely see around 3GB and change available.

But if most games/applications as you say don't have 64 bit versions, what's the point of getting a 64 bit OS, or even more than 2GB of RAM?

In short, because you could have multiple applications running- each using up to 2GB.

[Subotan]

Ah OK, thanks