x64, Explained.

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

Can't see it generating much heat, and I wouldn't say it's overkill.

I might be biased though, since I'm buying 8GB of RAM sometime :p

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it. :)

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

Well, It depends on what you do. If you run virtual machines or CAD, the extra ram will help gratefully.

[SMELTN]

so after having my mobo/proc for almost a year now, I JUST realized it supports 64 bit... wow I feel like a moron.. (running a Gigabyte EP35-DS3L mobo and a Intel E6750 processor with 2gigs of RAM)

Now my question is, should I upgrade to 64 bit? I would like to try out the new windows 7 beta in 64 bit if you guys think I should upgrade to 64 bit..

Thoughts/Opinions?

[Dhilian]

so after having my mobo/proc for almost a year now, I JUST realized it supports 64 bit... wow I feel like a moron.. (running a Gigabyte EP35-DS3L mobo and a Intel E6750 processor with 2gigs of RAM)

Now my question is, should I upgrade to 64 bit? I would like to try out the new windows 7 beta in 64 bit if you guys think I should upgrade to 64 bit..

Thoughts/Opinions?

With 2 gigs of ram I would stick to 32bits, mainly because there is no real gain, actually you will end up using more ram than you would use with 32 bits. So the best thing is to get 4GB of ram frist if you are planning to keep x64 as main OS but if you just want to give it a try, why not?

[hdood]

I run Windows 7 x64 on a machine that has 2GB RAM. There is no reason why you shouldn't.

Also, isn't the Windows 7 RC the perfect chance to try it out for yourself? If you're not happy with it, you can change to 32-bit again when the time comes to remove the RC.

[SMELTN]

I run Windows 7 x64 on a machine that has 2GB RAM. There is no reason why you shouldn't.

Also, isn't the Windows 7 RC the perfect chance to try it out for yourself? If you're not happy with it, you can change to 32-bit again when the time comes to remove the RC.

exactly what I was thinking. I just didn't know if I should even attempt to do it or not.

I mean how will I know if it is running ok? I mean will it be enough that I can notice the difference in performance? Or is there a test I can run to compare?

[Zickar]

Very good post ... I'm still getting my toes wet in x64 , we just installed a x64 bit Vista at work and its brilliant , Up to 5x faster on most 3D max projects I render now , Not sure if its related to the OS being x64 or because its a fresh install

[TEX4S]

Very good post ... I'm still getting my toes wet in x64 , we just installed a x64 bit Vista at work and its brilliant , Up to 5x faster on most 3D max projects I render now , Not sure if its related to the OS being x64 or because its a fresh install

prob fresh install -

but - the ONLY advantage to x64 is being able to address more than roughly 3.4 Gb of RAM -

If youre still in the 20th century and have 2 Gb of RAM - there is absolutely no reason....none

What will happen if you do ? nothing, absolutely nothing

If you are planning on buying alot of RAM soon and want to do a clean install now - then I guess that would be the only scenario that would make sense.

But honestly - I know this thread started a long time ago - I find it hard to believe that 1.) people are just now thinking about trying x64 2.) only have 2 Gb of RAM

Or am I just living in a self-absorbed cloud of nothingness with a never ending supply of RAM ?

[ToneKnee]

prob fresh install -

but - the ONLY advantage to x64 is being able to address more than roughly 3.4 Gb of RAM -

If youre still in the 20th century and have 2 Gb of RAM - there is absolutely no reason....none

What will happen if you do ? nothing, absolutely nothing

If you are planning on buying alot of RAM soon and want to do a clean install now - then I guess that would be the only scenario that would make sense.

But honestly - I know this thread started a long time ago - I find it hard to believe that 1.) people are just now thinking about trying x64 2.) only have 2 Gb of RAM

Or am I just living in a self-absorbed cloud of nothingness with a never ending supply of RAM ?

That's not the only advantage. x64 can process more instructions as well.

Between 32bit and 64bit, 32bit applications will see little benefits because, well, they are 32bit applications, but, if you have 64bit applications, they can process information faster.

[SMELTN]

Or am I just living in a self-absorbed cloud of nothingness with a never ending supply of RAM ?

that pretty much sums it up. Considering most PC's still only come with 1gig.

[TEX4S]

that pretty much sums it up. Considering most PC's still only come with 1gig.

well I might be in computer royalty - but I know computers do NOT come with 1 Gig of RAM these days - seriously, where are you shopping man ?

Oh.... Alabama ...well that would explain it :)

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

And Texas wouldn't? :rofl:

[TEX4S]

And Texas wouldn't? :rofl:

LOL - I knew someone was gonna type that - JUST DIDNT THINK IT'D BE YOU !!

:)

[yanowhiz]

One thing I still don't get about x64 bit is this: Why did multi-core processors catch on more than 64-bit processors. I know the sales are about the same, but why does it seem like there are more programs that take advantage of multi-core processors than x64 bit processors?

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

because dual cores run both on x86 (x32) AND x64

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

And not every program will gain an advantage from being 64bit, but there are a lot that will get an advantage from multi cores (Not a massive boost of course, but allowing things they previously were sequential to run parallel increases performance)

[anthony]

4 years later, I've gotten around to updating this with slightly newer information.

[Tiago]

4 years later, I've gotten around to updating this with slightly newer information.

Thanks for the update.

But, I've been using XP 64 for 6 months and never had a problem.

Of course Vista and 7 are the way to go if you're planning on 64bit, but XP 64 its not a bad idea if you're waiting for 7 and don't want to install Vista.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

Ye, I run XP x64 on my server. I never got around to putting anything else on it.

[Guest Cziu]

I run Windows 7 x64 on a machine that has 2GB RAM. There is no reason why you shouldn't.

There is actually NO reason why you should! Or is that 25 bucks for an extra 2GB really such a HUGE investment for ya?

Btw, almost half of that 2GB is already used by the OS. If you prefer video editing, photoshopping and running the latest games in 1GB+, please go ahead.

Seriously... why anyone would sacrifice on the cheapest computer part, which actually has a major effect on performance, has always been a major mystery to me. :wacko:

[ahhell]

Btw, almost half of that 2GB is already used by the OS.

WRONG.

Why does no one understand how recent versions of Windows use memory?

:rolleyes:

[truba11a]

7 64-bit is decent

[hdood]

There is actually NO reason why you should! Or is that 25 bucks for an extra 2GB really such a HUGE investment for ya?

Btw, almost half of that 2GB is already used by the OS. If you prefer video editing, photoshopping and running the latest games in 1GB+, please go ahead.

Seriously... why anyone would sacrifice on the cheapest computer part, which actually has a major effect on performance, has always been a major mystery to me. :wacko:

I don't believe I ever stated that I did "video editing, photoshopping and running the latest games" on it. You made that up. Don't be so quick to assume that everyone has the same needs as you. $25 is wasted money if I have no need for it. More memory only has a performance benefit if you actually use it.

Also, Windows 7 does not need a gig of RAM. My guess is that you are under the impression that you can tell how much memory Windows actually needs by opening task manager on your 12GB system and looking at the memory use. Well, you can't. If you were to install it on a machine with say 512MB, you'd find it using 200 or so.

[JunkMail]

.... If you were to install it on a machine with say 512MB, you'd find it using 200 or so.

erm... i never got time to check this one, what was the min requirement for the installation? thought it was 1 GB? (this has nothing to do with your debate going up there :p )

EDIT: nvm, I'll google it! its an old post (didn't check the date)

[xendrome]

Here is another detailed site on the issue

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000811.html