64 Bit..

[iMackPro]

can someone explain what this means to the average user?

(If you're going to come say if i don't know what it means then don't worry about it then don't bother, i like educating myself.)

Ive been googling and so far all i have come up with is that it has to do with the CPU and the RAM, maybe its more efficient? Not sure, and is leopard 64 bit or 32? If its 32 then can it handle 64 bit applications since GCD is a part of all macs now?

 

[GGJstudios]

Snow Leopard 32bit vs 64bit - FAQ

 

[iMackPro]

Snow Leopard 32bit vs 64bit - FAQ

thanks GGJ! so if i do not use windows on my computer would it be in my interest to boot into 64 bit?

 

[GGJstudios]

thanks GGJ! so if i do not use windows on my computer would it be in my interest to boot into 64 bit?

Read the first post in that thread. It answers that and many other questions pretty clearly.

 

[iMackPro]

Read the first post in that thread. It answers that and many other questions pretty clearly.

i did. and i don't have any apps that are 32 bit besides iTunes.. soooo...

 

[GGJstudios]

i did. and i don't have any apps that are 32 bit besides iTunes.. soooo...

This pretty much answers it.

Yes, 64-bit kernel (K64) allows use of a very large number of RAM, 16 exabytes to be exactly, but do you have any apps that need more than a few GB of RAM?

Yes you are suppose to get higher benchmarks on certain artificial test for running K64, but in daily use you won't notice a difference for almost most users do on Mac OS X.

Booting into 32 bit kernel for OS X client is to ensure maximum compatibility. Until every single app and driver are updated to 64 bit, most people should run the 32 bit kernel, as many older apps / drivers are 32 bit.

 

[iMackPro]

This pretty much answers it.

what about boot times, it doesn't mention that. Are boot times faster ?

 

[GGJstudios]

what about boot times, it doesn't mention that. Are boot times faster ?

Marginally, if any. If you're like many Mac users, boot times aren't particularly relevant, since rebooting is rarely needed. Saving a few seconds on booting up every 3-8+ weeks isn't very meaningful. Unless you have a specific need for booting in 64-bit (which you would most likely know about), booting in 32-bit offers no disadvantage, but does offer the advantage of maximum compatibility.

 

[iMackPro]

Marginally, if any. If you're like many Mac users, boot times aren't particularly relevant, since rebooting is rarely needed. Saving a few seconds on booting up every 3-8+ weeks isn't very meaningful. Unless you have a specific need for booting in 64-bit (which you would most likely know about), booting in 32-bit offers no disadvantage, but does offer the advantage of maximum compatibility.

Word. well i have a class ( a very very weird and specific class) that requires me to use my computer during certain parts of the lecture but then in other parts no computers are allowed (strange i know) so if i can boot in 64 bit and save a few seconds here and there it really would be beneficial to me. if you could guesstimate do you think it would be like a two or three second increase? i already have a SSD. so if i could get my boot time down to about 8 or 9 seconds that would be awesome!!!!

 

[GGJstudios]

Word. well i have a class ( a very very weird and specific class) that requires me to use my computer during certain parts of the lecture but then in other parts no computers are allowed (strange i know) so if i can boot in 64 bit and save a few seconds here and there it really would be beneficial to me.

Why reboot at all? Just close the lid and use sleep mode. Waking from sleep mode is MUCH faster than rebooting, even with an SSD.

 

[iMackPro]

Why reboot at all? Just close the lid and use sleep mode. Waking from sleep mode is MUCH faster than rebooting, even with an SSD.

the professor is picky! we turn them on, we load the app. Use it. Then turn off, put back up in sleeve, and wait until the next task requires a certain app and so on. He tell us to turn them off, but maybe we don't really have too? i see everyone turn theirs off i don't want to be the oddball!

 

[GGJstudios]

the professor is picky! we turn them on, we load the app. Use it. Then turn off, put back up in sleeve, and wait until the next task requires a certain app and so on. He tell us to turn them off, but maybe we don't really have too? i see everyone turn theirs off i don't want to be the oddball!

Sleeping is fine. I'm sure the objective is to make sure that students aren't playing with their computers when they should be paying attention in class. If you use sleep mode and put it in a sleeve, it's no different to the class than turning it off.

 

[iMackPro]

Sleeping is fine. I'm sure the objective is to make sure that students aren't playing with their computers when they should be paying attention in class. If you use sleep mode and put it in a sleeve, it's no different to the class than turning it off.

okay, and now just for bragging rights think i could lower my boot time into single digits if i used 64 bit and im already at 11?!!?!

 

[GGJstudios]

okay, and now just for bragging rights think i could lower my boot time into single digits if i used 64 bit and im already at 11?!!?!

If you're so fixated on it, why not just try it and see? Honestly, it sounds like you just want to play with 64-bit or are trying to justify using it, rather than having a genuine need for it. So play with it!

 

[iMackPro]

If you're so fixated on it, why not just try it and see? Honestly, it sounds like you just want to play with 64-bit or are trying to justify using it, rather than having a genuine need for it. So play with it!

well its a NEED as of now. if im allowed to just close lid and not power my computer off its simply a WANT


thanks for everything, you're the man!

 

[jtara]

i already have a SSD. so if i could get my boot time down to about 8 or 9 seconds that would be awesome!!!!

Can you use Linux?

No problem. My Linux desktop boots in under 10 seconds (with a Corsair 80GB SSD), once the BIOS nonsense is past. The total will drop considerably once I finish copying stuff from my old SCSI drives and remove the SCSI controller, which adds considerably to BIOS time.

If you can, wait for Ubuntu 11.04, due at the end of the month. They've made even further improvements to boot time.

But do you have to shut the system down? Can't you just close the shell and let it go to sleep? Or at least hibernate to disk?

 

[iMackPro]

But do you have to shut the system down? Can't you just close the shell and let it go to sleep? Or at least hibernate to disk?

see thats what me and GGJ were discussing. His orders are too power off devices and i always have. i see people around me powering their pc's off but i haven't noticed if anyone just closes their lid. im going to try this tomorrow and see how it goes

 

[BobbyCat]

Sleeping is fine.

Excuse me, but sleeping doesn't clean up memory.

After hours on the Mac, depending which apps have been involved, there's a need for a restart.

Now, maybe that's not the case when you have 12 or 16 GB RAM, but if you have as little as 4 GB, no way to stay up for weeks without rebooting at least once a day.

 

[GGJstudios]

Excuse me, but sleeping doesn't clean up memory.

After hours on the Mac, depending which apps have been involved, there's a need for a restart.

Now, maybe that's not the case when you have 12 or 16 GB RAM, but if you have as little as 4 GB, no way to stay up for weeks without rebooting at least once a day.

That's not true. You're using Windows thinking. It's not necessary with Mac OS X. I have 4GB and routinely stay up weeks or months without rebooting, unless there's a software update that requires it. Plus, using sleep mode in class, as iMackPro was talking about, doesn't preclude rebooting at other times. Mac OS X manages memory quite well without requiring reboots.

 

[Dalton63841]

Excuse me, but sleeping doesn't clean up memory.

After hours on the Mac, depending which apps have been involved, there's a need for a restart.

Now, maybe that's not the case when you have 12 or 16 GB RAM, but if you have as little as 4 GB, no way to stay up for weeks without rebooting at least once a day.

Wrong. This may be the case on a Windows PC, but my 13"Macbook Pro spent six months of its life with only 2GB of ram, and the ONLY time I ever rebooted was for system updates that required it. OS X knows how to properly manage memory.

EDIT: Looks like GGJstudios was faster than me.

 

[BobbyCat]

That's not true. You're using Windows thinking. It's not necessary with Mac OS X.

Well, I've been using Macs since 1984 and I don't use PCs, so this is hardly any Windows thinking.
I do monitor my memory use, and I see clearly when I need fresh memory. Now that's my experience; I know OS X is supposed to handle that by itself, but my actual experience says otherwise.
Sorry to disappoint your theory.

 

[GGJstudios]

and I see clearly when I need fresh memory.

And what exactly do you see that makes you think that? By the way, there's no such thing as "fresh memory". Memory is memory. It doesn't get stale.

 

[BobbyCat]

And what exactly do you see that makes you think that? By the way, there's no such thing as "fresh memory". Memory is memory. It doesn't get stale.

Well, after lots of sound, video and other memory intensive tasks, obviously there's a point where there are many pages out and my Memory Monitor is full. Quitting the apps does free some memory but not all.
At the end of the day the wired and the active memory have gradually increased. At that point, I could still use the Mac for days, I agree with you, but it's a matter of time before a reboot is very much desired. And believe me, the state of the memory then has nothing to do with what it looks like in the morning after a fresh reboot. Since virtual memory significantly slows the Mac, I'd rather avoid it and start with good reserves before a long memory intensive session.

If this sounds like Chineese to you, just forget it. I've had a number of Macs through the years and that's just my experience, so feel free to think different, and no offense