64 bit vs 32 bit

interestingly, win7 makes that less of an issue. suddenly 1gb ram is enough for a lot of people again, as win7 + browsing/office work works great on it. 2gb being the luxus for all those light users (which are the vast majority of the world), delivering all they need.

if you have only <=4gb ram, you should try out the 32bit version and notice there's no difference except for the placebo of "i'm running 64bit".

 

My system only sees 3GB of the 4GB installed. So I can gain 1GB extra using 64bit. I already have the RAM so I might as well utilise it.

64bit does run some software faster also. Granted with the extensions/enhancements (already discussed), then not all software will be double speed - but some do have a speed increase.

By going 64bit now, for me it means I always remember to get 64bit software now (rather than buying 32bit software that might not be compatible with 64bit next year).

However if I had to buy a new system (just for the sake of it) to go 64bit, then I would not. But if I was naturally/needed a new system anyway/now, then I would get one that is 64bit.

This ' hip' thing you talk about, looking at your NBR signature, I could make that case with your SSD.

 

no software can be "double speed" (you stated it again, and it's still false, technically not possible as it has NOTHING to do with speed gains per se. 30% is the MAX you can get if you have very special routines to compute.. 20% increase being actually great for real software).

and your 64bit os needs more ram, thus you don't just gain 1gb ram, but you lose, again, by having bigger memory pointers everywhere.


and no 32bit software is incompatible with 64bit, so i don't get that crap you state about buying 64bit software.

if i buy a system that needs 64bit (6gb, 8gb, 12gb ram or so), then sure, i get it.

well, the difference with my ssd compared to your awesome 64bitness is, i actually know it's uses, and require some of them, and like the others. tonight, my laptop will spend most of its time directly above a big subwoofer, while rocking the crowd. and, well, a hdd would not survive that possibly.

and the speed increases for an ssd are sometimes 100x, so i laught at your "2x faster", which technically can't even be.

 

Just on a side note - Wishmaker changed to a 64Bit OS and his computer still had roughly 3GB of RAM it could use (4GB actually there) - due to the graphics card most likely.

He did see an improvement in performance but that was in Photoshop - one of those few programmes that really benefit from 64Bit.

 

I have 4GB RAM and 1GB 9600M GT (on me laptop that is). However in 32bit I only see 3GB (the exact figure is 3065 MB my system sees). In 64bit I see all 4GB. A gain of 1GB using 64bit.

I am lucky since I have OEM Vista 32bit and a Pre-order Full Retail Windows 7 (32bit & 64bit) plus LINUX operating systems.

I am happy with the performance of Windows 7-64bit. Although I have noticed some general problems with Windows 7 as a whole.

 

Seeing... guess what, my 32Bit Vista Business sees 4GB of RAM too, it can only use 3.something though.
Maybe even a touch less, I'm not sure.. (other hardware taking address space?)

The question is how much is useable.

 

I know.

My system does only have available 3065 MB (to be exact) in 32 bit but does actually have available 4GB (a slight touch less actually) in 64bit. Windows 7-64bit reports 4072 MB available.

 

I am running Windows 7-64 bit Anyone else running it too? It would be good to hear views of other people who are also running Windows 7-64 bit too.

 

I run x64 windows pro 7. Fortunately, my laptop has x64 drivers for everything. i would love to get 8gb ram, but omg they are so expensive right now.

 

Cool Signature Darth Bane. Correct. Spot On.

 

Just curious, as this is turning into 64Bit Chitchat, does anybody feel like reviving the thread in my signature? if anybody has anything he/she would like to see added, I'd be happy to doc so

 

Running Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Excellent Driver support
Please add that pushl instruction is invalid for 64bit.
The stack has been replaced with a 64bit stack so you have to use pushq instead.

 

Who is that aimed at - me?
Or someone else... and what is "pushl"... ?

 

it's an instruction to push something on the stack. pushl is pushing a long value (32bit) onto the stack. pushq a quadbyte (64bit). or so.. i actually don't know, that's years back ^^

well, amazingly, some instructions changed. how is that noteworthy? that's the compilers job. question is, can the new default instruction set of the 64bit environment give a compiler chance for creating higher performing executables.

and the answer is, yes, by around 15 - 20% faster.
no, not 2x as fast, as sienna always states.

 

Aha, not sure I get all of it, but I still know more than before
Thanks Dave

 

low level understandings on how a cpu works is quite fun det we even build own transistors once in school. and then i went home and thought.. now how to create logical gatters.. and or, and all those. how memory.. a simple register + some way to feed instructions. step by step, a tiny mini-cpu evolves.

then learning asm is like learning, how the real cpu's are then build together the same way, just much bigger.

at the same time, more or less, i learned the x64 spec, too.. i knew every instruction in detail, and it's version on 32bit. and how there are performance gains due to more registers on 64bit, and losses, due to bigger binary code, and bigger memory footprint (all memory pointers are bigger).

all in all, nowhere there is 2x as fast

 

Its fun for a programmer
I don't think I want to bother - I'm happy Visual Basic works for my Maths Course - and that I actually understand it for a change but I think I'll only ever do as much as I need with respect to programming.

 

gaining knowledge is always cool. and understanding computers how they tick physically is a bit like biology nowadays. they're such a big part of our lifes today, it's nice to know them on every level.

it's not that i need to know that, but it helps f.e. to rapidly understand new technology, what is hype and what makes sence.

that's why 64bit, for me will be a slow update. there is no real need to quickly run towards it (but i'm happy for all that do, so they test it out for me, and find bugs ). quickly running towards ssds, on the other hand, was well worth it.

 

Well, I feel all I need to know is how to use them, how to set them up and how to fix problems
Some basic OS understanding is useful here

But things like how instructions work in the processor, that's too much for me

Who knows...maybe some day I'll have to learn it too... but if I don't have to, I don't want to go that far.

 

the fun thing is, it's not much. and not much use, but it gives some ease of mind.

it would be a .. day off with a piece of paper, and you would know everything.

then again, i had to come over to england for it..



and yes: me, davepermen, said, "piece of paper". i would tell this completely in analog ways!!

 

If we have a little NBR meeting in summer you can try - time to go still.

 

hm right