Is there any advantage to using a 64 bit browser vs 32 bit?

[jnelsoninjax]

I have wondered for some time now if there is any real advantage to running the 64 bit version of the web browser as opposed to the 32 bit version? Is it anymore stable, faster, etc?

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

I have been using one for the last 2 years. I hear that it is more secure. I doubt that it is any faster but I like using one.

[Boo Berry]

Well, the main two that comes to mind first is that 64-bit browsers can access more memory (beyond 4GB) and can take advantage of better address space layout randomization (ASLR) to improve security, which is a major plus. Security is first and foremost the most important factor here.

 

The latter one alone is enough reason to use a 64-bit browser over a 32-bit one, in my opinion. The downside to using 64-bit browsers is they will use more system resources (e.g. memory usage will increase), which IMHO is a non-issue with newer PC hardware with adequate amounts of RAM. Also keep in mind macOS is 64-bit only now, along with some GNU/Linux distros considering or already have dropped i686 (32-bit) OSes altogether, like Arch Linux (this doesn't affect multiarch - you can still run 32-bit apps on 64-bit Arch Linux and will continue to do so).

 

It's also a matter of time Microsoft drops 32-bit Windows altogether. You can still run 32-bit applications on 64-bit Windows thanks to the WoW64, and I don't see this going away at all anything soon. It's also a matter of time you will start to see browser vendors phaseout 32-bit versions of browsers, as 64-bit browsers are pushed as the default choices and adoption increases.

Edited March 7, 2017 by Boo Berry

[erpster3]

Google has been offering 64bit versions of Chrome since version 37 (the first official 64bit edition of Chrome).

And Mozilla had offered 64bit versions of Firefox for 64bit mac & Linux platforms for a long time but finally offered an official 64bit version for x64 Windows starting with Firefox version 43 in December 2015.

[DevTech]

On 3/7/2017 at 7:31 AM, Boo Berry said:

Well, the main two that comes to mind first is that 64-bit browsers can access more memory (beyond 4GB) and can take advantage of better address space layout randomization (ASLR) to improve security, which is a major plus. Security is first and foremost the most important factor here.

 

The latter one alone is enough reason to use a 64-bit browser over a 32-bit one, in my opinion. The downside to using 64-bit browsers is they will use more system resources (e.g. memory usage will increase), which IMHO is a non-issue with newer PC hardware with adequate amounts of RAM. Also keep in mind macOS is 64-bit only now, along with some GNU/Linux distros considering or already have dropped i686 (32-bit) OSes altogether, like Arch Linux (this doesn't affect multiarch - you can still run 32-bit apps on 64-bit Arch Linux and will continue to do so).

 

It's also a matter of time Microsoft drops 32-bit Windows altogether. You can still run 32-bit applications on 64-bit Windows thanks to the WoW64, and I don't see this going away at all anything soon. It's also a matter of time you will start to see browser vendors phaseout 32-bit versions of browsers, as 64-bit browsers are pushed as the default choices and adoption increases.

32 bit Windows is more efficient on RAM and has an advantage on low-spec hardware and also in running a lot of VMs. So not sure they will get rid of it soon.

 

The main practical difference is RAM. The 32 bit browser will only access 2 gig or 4 gig RAM.

 

64 bit browsers are only limited by actual RAM in machine.

 

Makes a HUGE difference in number of TABS and Windows the browser can handle.