And thats just the OS. There is hardly any 64-bit applications that I know of. Most of your 32-bit apps will run, but you will still have those bottlenecks (such as in gaming) because the software doesn't know how to work with the processor.
[If you have no prejudics at all, you don't seem to mind murderers, rapists, theives, terrorists, drug dealers, and other evil people, right?]
Intel does have a 64-bit chip called the "Itanium" but from what I understand, it's not compatible with x86 chipsets (meaning basically any other Intel or AMD processor).
64-bit processors are just that, single processors. The reason you see dual-processor configurations (and even more) most of the time when looking at 64-bit systems is that for the moment, 64-bit systems are used primarily in high-end computing (3D rendering, complex mathematical modeling, etc.) which requires greater processor power; hence, multiple processors.
AMD's 64-bit offering IS compatible with x86 chipsets, and from what I understand, Intel plans to scrap the Itanium to mimic AMD's 64-bit architecture.
It's probably going to be a few years before 64-bit computing becomes the norm...but give it time.
darksheer [ds] Customize.org Staff Business Development
AMD's 64-bit offerings run 32-bit applications as well as a 32-bit processor. No bottlenecks with AMD architecture. The bottleneck problem lies with Intel, currently.
It's a single processor, however. Yes, there are dual configurations as darksheer stated. That's sweet, though, dual 64-bit cpus. Wow.
___________________________ "Arguing over the internet is like running in the special olympics: even if you win, you're still retarded."
Im thinking on scrapping me notebook and building me first computer. What should i do: Buy a 64 Bit, buy 2 32 bits, or wait. Money's not too much of a issue.
If money's no object, buy dual Opteron 248s with a couple of gigs of XMS3200, throw in the latest hot ass vid card and write a check out for four grand.,
colossus72 [c72] Customize.org Staff I bet money just became an issue
PepeM4Y: 2 32-bit processors does NOT equal one 64-bit processor.
I could go into a really long, drawn-out explanation of what exactly the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit processing is...but I don't want to. There are plenty of resources online.
Basically though, it's how many bits are used for a standard INT definition...or it laymans terms, how big an integer a processor can understand.
For more in depth, look around google.
darksheer [ds] Customize.org Staff Business Development
One of many advantages, but a biggie: 32 bit CPUs have 8 registers that hold 32 bits each. This means they can't work with more than 4 gigs of RAM. A 32-bit processor can only work with 232 addresses, which multiplies out to 4 gigabytes of RAM. Upgrading to 64-bit registers lets the chip access 264 bytes, which I forget the # and i'm to lazy to do it for this thread, comes out to something in the BILLIONS of gigs of RAM.
