x64 has 16 general purpose registers, while x86 only has 8 general purpose registers. So even with the extra overhead of 64-bit pointers, x64 code still ends up

x64 has 16 general purpose registers, while x86 only has 8 general purpose registers. So even with the extra overhead of 64-bit pointers, x64 code still ends up being faster. In terms of speed, it's: 1. x64 with compressed pointers 2. x64 3. x86 In terms of actual production usage, it's: 1. x64 2. x64 with compressed pointers 3. x86 So x86 is the slowest and the least used among the three. And frankly it would be very difficult to hire talent in 2020 if you're targeting the x86-64 platform but chose to use the legacy x86 mode for whatever reason.