Time to retire a 32-bit processor?

[alphaomega]

I have had 32 bit computers for a very long time, tried the first 64 bit years ago, but at the time there was no software to support it. My board died about ten months ago and I purchased AMD CPU and board since I had no boards available for my old duo Intel. It is a 64 bit CPU and I installed 8GB of high speed RAM with it. I updated Windows 7 to Professional 64 bit and run Photoshop CS5, which is natively written in 64 bit. The difference in speed is phenomenal. Since Windows 64 bit can handle more RAM, all other programs run better, because I have the RAM available for it. So overall the 64 bit is an improvement. If you can spend the money go 64 bit. If you can spend little more go Intel i7 4 cores. Runs much faster than AMD.

[TrafficProducer]

I have had 32 bit computers for a very long time, tried the first 64 bit years ago, but at the time there was no software to support it. My board died about ten months ago and I purchased AMD CPU and board since I had no boards available for my old duo Intel. It is a 64 bit CPU and I installed 8GB of high speed RAM with it. I updated Windows 7 to Professional 64 bit and run Photoshop CS5, which is natively written in 64 bit. The difference in speed is phenomenal. Since Windows 64 bit can handle more RAM, all other programs run better, because I have the RAM available for it. So overall the 64 bit is an improvement. If you can spend the money go 64 bit. If you can spend little more go Intel i7 4 cores. Runs much faster than AMD.

This will help me think about getting 64 bit hardware, if I ever get the cash to do this.

[deepsand]

Since Windows 64 bit can handle more RAM, all other programs run better, because I have the RAM available for it.

The greater gains come, not from an increased address space, but from:

• Larger register sizes, which increase op speed and support arithmetic computations of much larger values; and,
• Larger data buses, which increase throughput.

[alphaomega]

The greater gains come, not from an increased address space, but from:

• Larger register sizes, which increase op speed and support arithmetic computations of much larger values; and,
• Larger data buses, which increase throughput.

Of course, 64 bit pipe handles lot more data than 32 bit pipe. What is your background in IT deep?

[deepsand]

What is your background in IT deep?

From PENNSTAC (1958-59) forward.

[mikmik]

Is that you on the right, or left, deepsand?

[deepsand]

I'm off-stage, behind the curtain.

[Eric24]

I'd say that overall, we're still in a "transition period" for 32- and 64-bit processors. While 64-bit processors, even in laptops, have been common for years, and are almost the norm in servers, there is still a slew of software that has to run in "32-bit compatibility" mode when running it on a 64-bit system. Luckily, that happens transparently, so it's not something you really have to think about. As far as buying a new computer today, there's certainly no reason to not buy a 64-bit machine, but whether or not you should upgrade your 32-bit machine is really a question of whether it's working for you or not: for example, do you need more RAM (greater than 4GB, of which you can really only use ~3GB on a 32-bit system) or do you have some specific software that needs or could benefit from a 64-bit system?

[TrafficProducer]

Moore's law but for address and data bus

Moore's law, the empirical observation that the transistor density of integrated circuits doubles every 2 years

Just think if we had this...

We have had it to some extent 4bit, 6bits, 8bits, 16bits, etc..

but if Moore's law was true for address and data bus sizes shurely we would be at GigaByte address and data bus by now?

Also for Internat BandWith

[keyon]

...or do you have some specific software that needs or could benefit from a 64-bit system?

Well, it's been three months since I started this thread - and the 32-bit vs 64-bit issue still gives me trouble now and then. I did buy a new system (64-bit) because the software I needed kept telling me it wouldn't work properly on a 32-bit machine. So the new software is working fine. However, now I'm discovering that some of the older hardware devices (that I used with my old machine) are powered by drivers that are incompatible with 64-bit processors. Some of the manufacturers provide updated drivers (online)...some not. It's kind of a hassle either way.

I guess nothing lasts forever.