When Windows XP was first released it was the first Windows operating system to come with both a 32bit and a 64bit installation media.
So this meant if your PC had modern 64-bit architecture inside then you would have needed to use the 64-bit version of Windows XP.
On the other hand, if your PC/Laptop architecture was 32bit then you would have only been able to install the Windows XP 32bit version.
What Was The Minimum Requirements For Windows XP 32-bit and 64-bit
Windows had 2 versions of Windows XP which were home and professional like they have today with Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro.
Both these would require the same minimum hardware to run which we have labelled below.
Windows XP 64-Bit Requirements
- x64 PCs & Laptops
- 300MHZ+ processer speed (Recommend 1Ghz+)
- 256MB RAM (Recommend 512MB)
- 1.5GB hard drive space
Windows XP 32-Bit Requirements
- x32 PCs & Laptops
- 233MHZ+ processer speed
- 64MB RAM
- 1.5GB hard drive space
What Bit Is Windows XP Professional
Windows XP Professional came in 2 versions which were the 32bit and 64bit Windows XP so you just needed to install whichever version matches your PC’s hardware.
What Is The Max RAM for Windows XP 32-bit & 64-bit?
To get the best out of any Windows operating system it helps to have the most RAM you can especially when it comes to opening tabs on your web browser.
Every Windows operating system will have its own max RAM it can handle according to your PC specs such as motherboard max RAM allowance.
Windows XP 32-Bit Maxium RAM
The max RAM you could put inside a PC running Windows XP on a 32-bit PC was 4GB RAM.
This also includes the Windows XP professional too if you only have a 32-bit PC.
Windows XP 64-Bit Maxium RAM
With the 64-bit being more powerful and handling a lot more processes than the 32-bit the max RAM was much higher.
If you have Windows XP professional 64-bit and have all the 64-bit hardware then the maximum RAM you could install is 128GB.
See Which Other Versions Of Windows Operating System Are 32 bit & 64 bit.
What Was Windows XP x64 SP2?
This had nothing to do with the computer’s architecture (Bit) but was what was called a service pack 2 (SP2).
Service pack 2 is a cumulative service pack that provides you with all the latest updates, stability updates, and security patches at the time of the release.
The Service Pack 2 of Windows could have been installed on any of the following Windows operating systems:
- Windows Server 2003, x64 Editions
- Windows Server 2003 R2, x64 Editions
- Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition with Service Pack 1
- Windows Server 2003 Storage Server R2, x64 Editions
- Windows XP Professional, x64 Edition
Running Windows XP On VMWare
If you want to test both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows you can use a software called VMWare which is a virtualization software where you can install both the bit versions of Windows onto the virtual PC machine.
Final Thoughts
We hope we have cleared up everything you need to know when it comes to Windows XP professional being 32-bit and 64-bit.