Quick Question about 64-Bit CPUs

[SpeedFreak03]

I am wondering something. What is the point of buying a 64-Bit CPU now? Will the current XP run 64bit? I don't understand! Is there even any 64bit programs/drivers/etc? Thanks in advance.

-Josh

 

[Nothinman]

The only reason for 64-bit is to get access to >4G VM space, there are other benefits like 1-2M cache and a lot more general purpose registers that aren't related to the fact that the chip is 64-bit though. And current processors can do math with more than 64-bit precission with SSE already.

nVidia produces drivers for IA-64 and AMD64 architectures.

All of my Linux programs and drivers are already 64-bit clean (well probably not all, but most and more get cleaned up all the time) because it's been running on Alphas and UltraSparcs for years. As for Windows, it'll be a while before everything is cleaned up I'm sure and there's almost no 64-bit apps right now, not that it really matters other than for specialized apps like 3D renderers and databases that need access to huge amounts of memory.

 

[SpeedFreak03]

Oh! I get it lol! Thanks a lot for the reply! Gotta love linux (I run Slackware9 and Jamd 0.0.6B)! I am upgrading to a Barton 2500 soon, and I was considering 64Bit, but I did some research and found that I would have 0 use for a 64bit CPU, but I thought of that question lol. So thanks again bro!

 

[jhu]

it's useful for showing off the size of your computer...

 

[imported_Phil]

Don't forget that the number of registers in the CPU increases as 64-bit mode is enabled, which translates to a bit more speed too.

 

[chsh1ca]

Originally posted by: DopeFiend
Don't forget that the number of registers in the CPU increases as 64-bit mode is enabled, which translates to a bit more speed too.

This is only true of an Athlon-64, an Athlon-FX, and Opterons. This is not true of Itaniums, or any other 64-bit processor.

 

[CTho9305]

Originally posted by: chsh1ca

Originally posted by: DopeFiend
Don't forget that the number of registers in the CPU increases as 64-bit mode is enabled, which translates to a bit more speed too.

This is only true of an Athlon-64, an Athlon-FX, and Opterons. This is not true of Itaniums, or any other 64-bit processor.

Clarification: IA32/x86 provide 8 registers (6 usable). x86-64 (opteron/athlon64) allows for more registers in 64-bit mode. Itaniums use IA64, which is completely different from IA32, and gives you LOTS of registers. MIPS, Sparc, and so on already had lots of registers, and have been 64-bit for a long time.

 

[chsh1ca]

Originally posted by: CTho9305
Clarification: IA32/x86 provide 8 registers (6 usable). x86-64 (opteron/athlon64) allows for more registers in 64-bit mode. Itaniums use IA64, which is completely different from IA32, and gives you LOTS of registers. MIPS, Sparc, and so on already had lots of registers, and have been 64-bit for a long time.

Indeed. However, if you read DopeFiend's post, he was obviously talking about the x86-64 processors which have the capability of 'enabling' 64-bit mode. No other desktop or server processor has that capability to my knowledge.