970, 64bit OS, and Pro Apps

[Kitano]

How will the impending release of the 970 and a 64bit version of OS X affect current Mac software, specifically "Pro" apps such as Final Cut Pro? Will Final Cut Pro run as well (i.e. quickly) under the 970? Do applications, or just the OS need to be coded for a specific processor? Suposedly, FCP has been optimised for use with the G4.

I don't know anything about coding software, but intuitively, it would seem that a minor software update (a .x release) wouldn't be enough to allow an app to take full advantage of a 64bit OS, let alone a 64bit processor. With that in mind, is Apple going to release 64bit versions of it's Pro apps, sometime after releasing the upcoming versions? Will I need to upgrade to FCP 5, within 12 months of the FCP 4 June release? And of so, will it be worth it? Will performance increases be that significant?

[Catfish_Man]

The 970 will be much faster in (by my guess) about 99% of cases. Recoding is not necessary, except for a few minor operating system tweaks. The few cases it would be slower in are ones involving a specific type of Altivec task (mixed complex and simple vector integer calculations) that fits in the L3 cache, but not the L2. Going to a 64 bit app will, in most cases, provide a 0% boost (it's different on x86 chips because they added other features along with the 64 bitness that only turn on in 64 bit mode. PowerPC chips, in a sense, have always had that feature, so going 64 bit just lets them use more than 4GB of ram) . For the few apps that use 64 bit integers, they will be faster, but they're quite rare. Optimized for the G4 (mostly) means that it uses Altivec. The 970 supports Altivec so things optimized for the G4 will also be partially optimized for it. Also, if Apple has been planning this, FCP may already be 64 bit clean (I know OSX is close, their other apps may be too).

[jholzner]

It's been discussed that perhaps Apples new line of Pro Apps that were released at NAB are already coded for 64 bit computing. Is this even possible? I mean, even if the 970 comes out really soon...followed by the actual shipping of these new pro apps...they won't be able to run on a 32 bit OS will they? Or does it just install the 32 bit version...and if that's the case...if 10.3 is 64 bit compat...when you upgrade...will the apps optimized for 64 bit but installed as 32 bit (since they were installed before 10.3) become 64 bit native??? I don't really even know what I'm talking about ;) :p :D