--- a/pandas/io/tests/test_parsers.py
+++ b/pandas/io/tests/test_parsers.py
@@ -3186,6 +3186,9 @@ class TestCParserLowMemory(ParserTests,
         self.assertEqual(result.dtype, ex_dtype)
 
     def test_precise_conversion(self):
+        import platform
+        if platform.architecture()[0] == '32bit':
+            raise nose.SkipTest("Known issue on 32bit platforms.  See GH #8646")
         # GH #8002
         from decimal import Decimal
         normal_errors = []
