Can a Athlon 64 X2 3600+ run a 32 bit o.s.?

Question

The 64 scares me, and I have never had a dual core so this is the cheapest one I can get, If I do get one I will be overclocking to at least 2.6ghz.

Answer 1

Yes, it is capable of running a 32 bit OS. All 64 bit chips are backwards compatible with 32bit OS's as far as I've tested. I would actually recommend using a 32bit OS versus a 64bit OS until you're really familiar with what you're doing.

Answer 2

A 64 bit OS can run 64 or 32 bit applications.

Answer 3

Yes, all of the AMD Athlon 64 processors are backward compatible with 32 bit software.  A 32 bit OS just won't be able to take full advantage of the 64 bit processor.  Most of the new CPUs these days are 64 bit.  Operating systems and software still have a lot of catching up to do.