32-bit or 64-bit Office

[bertopl]

which one are folks installing on their Surface Pro's. I believe both will work, any noticeable advantages from one to another? I know 32-bit offers more compatibility with some plug-ins but I haven't used too many plug-ins with Office in the past.

 

[seaham358]

I installed 2013 Office pro 64 bit and it is working fine.. Have not installed any plug-ins..

 

[J515OP]

The same thing applies to really any 32/64 software question, the only real difference is in the amount of memory 64 bit applications can access. 32 bit systems are only capable of accessing 4GB of RAM which is why you see this limitation for maximum installable RAM on older systems (64 bit can address about 17 billion GB of memory). This will not make a difference on the Surface Pro since it maxes out at 4GB of RAM anyway. So the only real difference is compatibility as you stated. Most people aren't going to have compatibility issues unless working in a corporate or legacy type environment. Unless you know you have certain legacy or compatibility issues there is no reason not to go with 64 bit programs all else being equal though you won't actually see much of a performance difference for most apps and machines with 4GB of RAM of less.

JP

 

[ArnoldC]

When you run a 32 bit application in a 64 bit Windows, it will use WOW64 and I personally don't prefer it.
Sent from my Windows Phone 8S by HTC using Board Express

 

[bosamar]

This 32-bit RT OS rocks!

 

[Garyjk]

nobody needs office x64 unless you analyze huge amounts of data. Microsoft will even tell you to install office x86. plus, if you happen to use some add-ins, it's hit and miss if they'll work in office x64.

 

[jnjroach]

I always use the x64 version of Office whenever possible because I use Excel with large data sets and large pivots, so if you do any BI work go for x64...

 

[bertopl]

looks like a mixed bag here. so there's no inherent speed difference between the two versions on a surface with 4 gigs of ram then?

 

[ArnoldC]

This 32-bit RT OS rocks!

We know that already :LOL: How about Office?

 

[bosamar]

How about Office?

IMO Office on RT was very well done. Kudos to Microsoft! It has it's limitations (http://www.surfaceforums.net/forum/...fice-home-student-2013-rt-regular-office.html) but those are well documented. Now we need Outlook RT.

 

[ArnoldC]

I did not use my Acer S3 for over a month purposely to see if I can survive with the RT, and I did and still do. I have lived with the Mail app up to now and it does not prevent me from doing my work. I also avoided Office 2013 on my Acer and been using Office RT exclusively (of course the bits and pieces on my Windows Phone 8 is a super nice complement) and I'm not complaining.

The Mail app *is not* a fail for me. It does what it's supposed to do, and well.

 

[bosamar]

The Mail app *is not* a fail for me. It does what it's supposed to do, and well.

The mail app is certainly not perfect but it works for me too. It's certainly not a 'fail'.