just a general question ive been wondering about. when using the x86 version of windows xp is the processor under-utilized? what i mean to ask is the 64 bit capability of the processor not used since u have to use the 32 bit versions of all applications on win xp x86.

Zo

YES. sadly, thats the way it is.

Kailas Shastry

3000+ Venice, A8N-E, 768MB DDR266, 160GB Barracuda, 380W Cooler Master

AMD 64's preform better overall in a 64bit enviroment then they do in a 32bit enviroment. Now the Core 2 Duo on the other hand believe it or not runs worse in some areas in a 64bit enviroment then in a 32bit enviroment.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ OC 2.7ghz
2GB Dual Channel DDR 3200
Nvidia 7900GT
SATA II 2x 300gig 7200rpm 16mb cache RAID-0
Gigabyte Nforce 4 SLI

Now the Core 2 Duo on the other hand believe it or not runs worse in some areas in a 64bit enviroment then in a 32bit enviroment.

like what?

Kailas Shastry

3000+ Venice, A8N-E, 768MB DDR266, 160GB Barracuda, 380W Cooler Master

so in essence getting a 64 bit processor and then running windows xp x86 on that machine will be wasting that 64 bit ability of your cpu? could u please explain how a 64 bit processor might run better in a 32 bit environment sabertooth? i was wondering cause i myself dont own a 64 bit processor but in the future if i want to upgrade i want to know if purchasing a 64 bit copy of windows is necessary.

Zo

It was either Xbit labs or anandtech website that had a huge article on the Core 2 Duo in 64bit mode vs. AMD Athlon 64 in 64bit mode not too long ago. It was really interesting article. I can't remember exactly what those programs are and why the core 2 Duo has a hard time in 64bit mode since I read it 3 months back and it was in depth, but If you go fishing around in one of those websites it should be under the cpu section. It will show you what programs the Core 2 Duo faired worse in a 64bit enviroment vs in a 32bit enviroment and why the architecture is better suited for 32bit enviroments

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ OC 2.7ghz
2GB Dual Channel DDR 3200
Nvidia 7900GT
SATA II 2x 300gig 7200rpm 16mb cache RAID-0
Gigabyte Nforce 4 SLI

Thanks for pointing it out. I'll starting digging for the article right away. And, am sure I will come across other interesting reads from both these places :)

Kailas Shastry

3000+ Venice, A8N-E, 768MB DDR266, 160GB Barracuda, 380W Cooler Master

Generally speaking, the x64 version of XP was a flop. The x64 version on Vista *should* be better. I wouldn't be any more concerned about lack of 64-bit ultilization as I would for lack of dual core utilization...lol

alright guys thanks. so as far as windows goes ill be stickign with he 32 bit version when upgrading. also ill look around for those articles. sounds interesting. its strange that 64 bit technology is still not fully utilized by operating systems even after 3 years of mainstream existence.

Zo

Didn't peek at this thread sooner..........

It's not so much about the OS not fully utilizing the 64 bit technology, as you know the OS is just a foundation layer. Without a doubt, there is a huge performance gain from running 64-bit applications within the 64 bit hardware & OS environment, especially with math intensive operations and it's really a shame that a lot more software hasn't migrated over to 64-bit level.

Frustrating as it is though, much of the demerits of running a 32 bit OS on your 64 bit hardware is absorbed by the lack of extensive application and hardware driver support, so you are loosing hardly nothing at the moment.

A speculative & quicker solution is probably to let open source programs go through a 64-bit development system, which could generate the 64-bit version in the blink of an eye. While this may not be that simple, but it sure allows others to make use of the existing foundations & probably achieve 64 bit final products with considerably less efforts.

And if indeed develop time was cut shorter and this had been the case two to three years, it is certain that we would already have a huge number of 64-bit programs. But there is yet another aspect to it: the 64-bit software, as a final product, is a different program, regardless of the fact that it has the same or a very similar source code. And as a different program it needs new product support resources, which brings up new problems. Thus, we can say that it is easy and not too costly to build on the existing foundations and produce 64-bit software versions, but product support is relatively very expensive since – compared to the 32-bit market – not too many are expected to buy 64-bit software.

This is why open source programs have an advantage in this respect: they come without product support. On the other hand, those who do not release the 64-bit version of their software may well find themselves lagging behind the others.