X64 or X86. which is faster?

[NexXxus]

Which version is faster at the moment?
I have a i5-2500k and Win7 X64

Cuz I remember that there were times where X86 were faster, or does it depend on the game?

[Shonumi]

Are you talking about Dolphin, OSes, or what? In general, I think x64, if the programmers take advantage of the architecture. It's a noticeable difference for me here on Linux. I haven't messed with Windows, but I imagine the devs over at Redmond have made sure that the x64 version of 7 is optimized well enough. For Dolphin, definitely x64 in my experience.

[NaturalViolence]

Unless an application runs out of memory (which it's more likely to do on x64) x64 is always faster. But that shouldn't be an issue considering how much ram modern PCs have.

64 bit dolphin builds can be anywhere from 5-40% faster depending on the game compared to 32 bit builds. On average I'd say it's around a 20-25% increase in performance.

[NexXxus]

yes I was talking about dolphin versions

[DefenderX]

x64 is usually faster. Get a x64 build if you have got a x64 Windows OS

[lamedude]

Not always NV. There's the theoretical 64bit pointers don't fit in cache scenario and more likely assembly that hasn't been ported. HQx filter's 32bit MMX assembly is faster than 64bit SSE C version (props to Maxim Stepin).