I am fond of gaming on my PC and since I currently have a 32-bit operating system, I occasionally run into compatibility problems. New PC games only support 64-bit systems so would you suggest upgrading to a 64-bit system? Also, if I were to buy a gaming PC or a console, which one would you suggest?

—Mr A

Dear Mr A,

I would definitely suggest upgrading to a 64-bit operating system. Remember that 32 and 64-bit are information sets that can only be utilised if both your hardware and software support it. So, for 64-bit support, you’ll need to install a 64-bit Windows and support for the 64-bit Windows comes from your processor. Don’t worry though, since most modern processors support 64-bit. If you have an i3 or above processor you should be good to go. The easiest way to check if your processor supports a 64-bit operating system is to open up System Information on your computer and see if there is an entry titled ’64-bit Compatible’. If this entry says your computer is compatible you should be good to go. If the System Information application does not provide you with this information, install an application called CPU-Z. After installation, open the application and inside the instructions text-box, look for EM64T. If this instruction set is available, your processor can run a 64-bit processor. I would recommend upgrading to a 64-bit operating system because your operating system will run faster and will also support 64-bit applications, like games written in 64-bit instruction sets; 64-bit operating systems are also backward compatible so all of your 32-bit applications and game will also work flawlessly on your 64-bit operating system. So there is no downside to upgrading to a 64-bit operating system. Regarding your other question about consoles and PC, the choice is actually very personal. I enjoy gaming on a PC because I like the preciseness of a keyboard and mouse but that should not drive your decision. Think about what type of games your play and think about what type of controls would go best with those types of games. Maybe you’d love playing games on your TV with a gamepad, if so, go with a console but if you want high-graphics and keyboard and mouse controls, go for a PC. This is a very personal choice to make so think about it and decide on your own, both platforms are equally good for gaming.

I recently updated my Windows from 8.1 to 10. Although I love the new operating system, what bothers me is that my Fifa 14 game does not work on it. I also upgraded from a 32-bit operating system to a 64-bit system, do you think this is the problem? The game opens up and gets to the loading screen and then crashes. I’ve tried re-installing the game but still it’s not working. What do you think is the problem and how do I fix it?

—Jordan Bomjan

Dear Jordan,

When updating your operating system, a lot of things can go wrong from the driver support for your graphic cards to improper registry settings. The registry problem should have been fixed once your re-installed the game, so I don’t think improper registry entries should to be blamed here. Try to install the latest drivers for your graphics cards and your motherboard. Also, try installing the full DirectX package, you’ll get the web-installer on the Microsoft website (it’ll take a long time to download and install). If this doesn’t work, press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard and type ‘msconfig’ on the dialogue box that appears. In this window, navigate to the services tab and enable the ‘Hide all Microsoft Services’ option at the bottom if it isn’t enabled already. Make a smart decision and disable all services that aren’t essential to the proper functioning of your computer; leave graphics, audio and motherboard services enabled. Disable BitGuard if you have that inside the services tab. Also, try running the exe file of the game in Compatibility Mode, if the game was running well on Windows 8.1, set compatibility mode to Windows 8.1. If nothing works, you might need to abandon Fifa 14 and install Fifa 15 instead. 

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