title: Should I disable 'Prefer 32-bit'?
body: <p>When I check the build properties for my application in Release mode, then I found out that the 'Prefer 32-bit' is enabled by default:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/852R8.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/852R8.png" alt="Visual Studio build properties"></a></p>
  
  <p>I guess Microsoft thinks that 32-bit is best for most applications, but when I check my task manager, then I see most applications use 64-bit mode. I can see some uses for 32-bit mode (if the underlying architecture supports it):</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Smaller pointer sizes, so lower memory footprint.</li>
  <li>Allow using 32-bit unmanaged libraries (i.e. COM components).</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>The only advantage for 64-bit mode -that I can think if- is a larger address space, so you should only enable it for applications that require >3GB of memory.</p>
  
  <p>I work on a several service components (micro-service architecture) that require about 100-200MB per service, so it seems fine to keep it as 32-bit. It just feels weird to prefer 32-bit, when everybody screamed for 64-bit versions of webbrowsers (that typically use less than 3GB of RAM). What's the best option?</p>