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this is general question about 64 bit

Z

zuffen

macrumors member
Original poster
What benefit does 64 bit processing have on the current list of applications used on a Mac.

And how does that relate to single and dual processor systems?

From what I read the G5 will run the older 32 bit programs. Does 32 bit mean the G5 will be running half of what it is capable?

Will there be a significant gain when these programs are rewritten to take advantage of 64 bit processing?

Or is the advantage there?
 
64 bit will not affect any current mac programs as none of them are 64 bit compatible. currently the OS isn't even 64 bit compatible. presumably its possible to optimize programs for 64 bit without needing a fully 64 bit OS, i don't know.

its got just about nothing to do with single or dual processor systems, other than the fact that the 970 is multiprocessor capable (which is part of its design, and has nothign to do with it being 64 bit)

it runs 32 bit program natively instead of through emulation. it doesn't mean its running at half of what its capable. 64 bit doesn't really work like that. 64 bit isn't always faster than 32 bit. it depends on what you're doing.

there will be advtanges for some programs when they are 64 bit themselves, in terms of speed. Most will benefit from the much larger amounts of ram that can be addressed on a 64 bit system.

for now, perhaps the most important benefit doesn't have as much to do with the 970 being 64 bit. its the high bandwith the system bus has.
 
Backwards compatibility?

Just another quick question on 64-bit programs: Will 64 bit optimized programs run on older 32-bit systems? I assume Adobe will be making all of their programs 64-bit optimized, so will there be two different versions, one 32-bit, one 64-bit? Or will a 64-bit run on anything?
 
Originally posted by Fender2112
Also, what are the RAM limits of 32 vs 64. How much more ram are we talking about?
Click to expand...

well considering theG4 processors can only handle what, 2 gigs? and now the G5 can handle 8....
 
Fender2112:

Also, what are the RAM limits of 32 vs 64. How much more ram are we talking about?
Click to expand...
64 bits can address billions of gigabytes.

MoparShaha:

Nope, 64-bit programs will not run on 32-bit processors because the 64-bit instructions won't be supported.
 
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