Running on 64-bit also gives you an increase in virtual memory, which could be mapped files, disk swap or physical ram.. something like ZFS would still likely benefit in such an environment, even if you had the same amount of memory installed.
It would be a significant downgrade if you migrate from 64-bit AMD Athlon's to Pentium 4 (which was well know for being poorly designed.. Intel's NetBurst architecture).
Intel's newer "Core" series went back to the older P6 architecture, which was used in the Pentium 2 and 3.
Just my opinion, however, the bulk of my collection consists of older computers.. P4's often feel slower when compared to AMD's equivalent of the time, even high end P3's.
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