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I'm running Win 8 x64, and I'm wondering which version of office to install, the x86 version or the x64? It seems to be me that an office app really shouldn't need more that 2GB of memory, so there's no reason to install the x64 version, as it'll just take up more memory than the x86 version.

Are there some advantages to running the x64 version that I've over looked?

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  • Microsoft still suggests x86 Office unless you have a specific requirement that needs it
    – Ramhound
    Sep 23, 2013 at 10:24

2 Answers 2

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You should install the 32-bit (x86) version unless you need to work with extremely large spreadsheets or documents.

This Microsoft page explains why.

The 32-bit version of Office 2010 is the recommended option for most people, because it prevents potential compatibility issues with other 32-bit applications, specifically third-party add-ins that are available only for 32-bit operating systems.

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    This is double true if you use a lot of ODBC connections.
    – Austin T French
    Sep 23, 2013 at 11:19
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64-bit programs in general will run faster than 32-bit ones (except for the ones that have too much pointer access because of the double pointer size) because they have more registers to calculate and store temporary data.

But for the case of office the increase in speed is often minimal so you may not feel the change. There's one advantage if you often open large documents or spreadsheets or use 64-bit add-on, in that case office x64 is recommended

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  • Sorry, but this information is misleading and almost totally incorrect. The only thing that you said which was correct was the very last sentence.
    – OJ.
    Sep 23, 2013 at 11:44
  • @OJ.: you can search for x86/x86_64 benchmark and see the difference. In most cases 64-bit version will run faster. You can also look at hundreds x86_64 related question in this site. The same result
    – phuclv
    Sep 23, 2013 at 12:12
  • Expect not all software is built the same and give the same code there is no guarantee it will be faster it actually very likely will be slower
    – Ramhound
    Sep 23, 2013 at 19:16
  • @Lưu Vĩnh Phúc: Any reference?
    – Nick Cox
    Jul 16, 2014 at 7:32
  • @NickCox phoronix.com/…
    – phuclv
    Jul 16, 2014 at 7:37

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