Will I get better performance using a 32bit guest on a 64bit
Posted:
Mon Feb 02, 2015 9:53 amby sreelakshmi
Should I run a 32bit or 64bit Linux guest on my Windows 7 Professional 64 bit? Will I get better performance? Software compatibility is not really an issue for me.
Re: Will I get better performance using a 32bit guest on a 6
Posted:
Mon Feb 02, 2015 6:30 pmby Vipin
Hai sreelakshmi,
This is kind of subjective as there are a lot of variables at work. What may be the case on one machine may not be the same on another. First of all, what software will you be running in your guest and what is its purpose? Further, what sort of virtualization tool will you be using, for example, VMWare Player, VirtualBox, qemu, etc.? Also, how do you define "performance?"
It also depends upon your physical hardware. For example, older Intel processors without vmx capability will not run virtual machines nearly as well as those with it. That is just one very specific example. As another example, my hardware will let me run a 64 bit guest on a 32 bit host in VMWare Player which is not valid on all hardware. With that said, you should find out what processor can and cannot do and proceed from there.
Your performance will also be affected by other hardware, such as graphics, usb emulation, and the like. If your definition of performance means "how responsive will my full desktop environment be in my virtual machine?" then there are many other factors to consider, especially the case of the rogue desktop environment that *requires* 3D acceleration out of the box.
If you are instead referring to more quantitative benchmarks, again that will depend on your specific hardware and the method of virtualization. Ultimately this will come down to a matter of personal preference. You'll have to do some trial and error and see what works best for your purposes.