mb/mbp 64 bit chip?

[mattsajay]

please correct me if i am wrong: the present c2d is 64 bit chip.

what does this entail for the software, they have to be 64 bit compatible, right? the reason am asking this is as follows: i presently have an ibook with g4 chip which is 32 bit. i have software which is 32 bit. can i install the same on the new mb/mbp machines>?

 

[spork183]

please correct me if i am wrong: the present c2d is 64 bit chip.

no correction needed.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

please correct me if i am wrong: the present c2d is 64 bit chip.

what does this entail for the software, they have to be 64 bit compatible, right? the reason am asking this is as follows: i presently have an ibook with g4 chip which is 32 bit. i have software which is 32 bit. can i install the same on the new mb/mbp machines>?

The 64 bit chips throughout the PC/Apple line is backwards compatible with 32 bit software. Software for the Intel macs has to be specifically compiled for Intel processors for it to run so Apple invented what they call a Universal Binary. Pretty much all new software for Apples comes in the form of a universal binary. A Universal Binary contains the code for the application to run on any 32 bit or 64 bit Intel machine and any 32 bit or 64 bit PowerPC machine. If you want to run some older software on an Intel machine that has not been converted to a Universal Binary, i.e. is PowerPC only, then a core part of OS X called Rosetta translates the PowerPC code to Intel code on the fly. This is seamless to the end user although applications running under Rosetta don't run nearly as fast as if they were Universal Binaries.
In a nutshell, pretty much any 32 bit PowerPC software that you currently run on your iBook will run on a 64 bit MacBook Pro.

 

[mattsajay]

thanks for the concise answer! really appreciate it.......

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

No problem! Pleased to be of service!