A common question amongst Minecrafters is if they should run 64 bit Java or 32 bit Java. The short answer is that you should run 64 bit Java whenever possible. This is because of a number of reasons. Running a 32 bit version of Java limits you to only be able to use a maximum of 4 GB of memory and runs slower which is especially noticeable when rendering the world in Minecraft. 64 bit Java on the other hand allows you to access 17.2 billion GB of memory so Java won't hinder your ability to use super RAM intensive programs such as an instance of heavily modded Minecraft. Although 64 bit computers running 64 bit operating systems can run 32 bit applications, 32 bit computers can not run 64 bit applications.
How can I tell if I am already running 64 bit Java?
You can tell if you are running 64 bit Java by opening up a console emulator (Command Prompt on Windows and Terminal on Linux or Mac OS X) and typing "java -version" (without the quotation marks). The outputted text will tell you if you have 64 bit Java installed. Note that you can be running 32 bit Java on a 64 bit system.
How can I tell if my computer is running a 64 bit operating system or a 32 bit operating system?
If you don't know if you are running a 64 bit operating system or not, you can easily check.
On Windows, you can determine if you are running a 64 bit or 32 bit version of it by either opening Explorer, going to the computer icon, and right clicking on the area inside the window and clicking properties or by right clicking on the computer icon on your desktop or start menu and pressing properties.
This should bring up a window that looks like this:
In the screenshot the red circled area shows that the system which the screenshot was taken on was 64 bit.
On Mac OS X you can tell if you are running a 64 bit system by entering the Apple menu in the upper left corner, going to About My Mac and checking if you are running Mac OS X version 10.7 or newer. Mac OS X 10.7 and above is 64 bit only. If you are running a version of Mac OS X that is older than 10.7 then it may or may not be 64 bit. Alternately, you can use this guide from Apple to tell if your Mac is 64 bit or not.
On Linux you can tell if you are running a 64 bit system by opening up a terminal window and typing "uname -r" (without the quotation marks). If it is 64 bit you should see "amd64" in the outputted text.
Now that I know if my computer is 64 bit or not, where do I get 64 bit Java?
If you are running 64 bit Mac OS X or Windows your easiest option for getting 64 bit Java will be to download it from Oracle here. If you are running Linux your easiest option will be to download it from your software repository.
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