64 bit processors

[gh0st]

will there will be some mad exodus to 64bit, rendering the computer im about to get completely obsolete? is imparrative to get a 64bit cpu right now, and when will it begin to be the new standard in processors. also, will games that are 64bit be backwards compatible (to some extend) with 32 bit?

 

[ShinRa]

64 bit isnt anything amazing. its just another component to make comps that much faster. nothing ground breaking

 

[kickass2009]

Anyway i think 32 bit will be around for some time seeing as how intel didnt plan on making 64 bit cpu mainstream for desktops till 2009, 2010 (that what i heard some one correct me if im wrong). So its definiatly not imparritive to get one right now. Microsoft windows xp 64 bit edition didnt perform to well in gaming bencharks. AMD anthlon 64 is great its just that not all the peices are there. What i mean is ATI still doesnt have 64 bit drivers, the operating system hasnt been officially released, and not many programs actually support 64 bit. Anthlon does have the fastest cpu out ther right now so its definatly worth getting even if your only going to use it in 32 bit mode. And I am sure 64 bit will be backwords compatible with 32 bit games because I saw Halo running on xp 64. But i dont think games that are designed to run on 64 will run on 32. (someone please correct me if im wrong) Keep in mind a couple of months ago no games ran on xp 64. I think as soon as microsoft officially realeases the xp 64 it will defninatly be worth your money to get 64 bit cpu. In canada its the same price as buying a p4 3.2 ghz.

Half life 2 is sposed to have a 30% performace increas in 64 bit mode
And i think unreal 2004 will support 64 bit

 

[Asus]

Point:
32bit isn't leaving any time soon.
Ignore the words 64bit for now, not the CPUs.
If a Athlon 64 3*00+ and board is withing your price range then grab it.
Not because of 64bit.

Rambling:
Intel is coming out with AMD 64bit extentions in their Tejas (Pentium 5) CPU sometime in 2005 possibly.
They originally said that the desktop didn't need 64bit til the end of the decade but they changed their mind since everyone except them seemed to be jumping to 64bit desktop chips (AMD / IBM(APPLE)) plus HP and Dell customers have been pushing for it.

If your task runs better on certain 32bit only CPU then I wouldn't change to a 64bit Hammer just because of 64bit. You will buy a new machine later when you need a speed increase and it will be 64bit.
Having 64bit is just a bonus right now for most people.
Although those hammers (AMD64) do plow through apps better than most because of their design using hypertransport and on-die memory controller.
64bit allows for more flexability and a more efficent system but you won't notice it in performance in many applications. Just the ability to do bigger tasks or compute more numbers in one sweep.
Rendering, Encoding, Decoding, Encryption, Decryption and Scientific Calculations are the main places you will see an increase in performance.

The main thing gamers will love about it is having more addressing space for system memory,graphics memory and vitrual memory.
When gfx drivers are optimized for it or if a game comes out re-done in 64bit then you may see a bump in FPS.

 

[OCybrManO]

Yeah, we know the application has to be made for 64-bit. Valve is planning on releasing a 64-bit HL2 client that they say will perform about 30% better than the 32-bit counterpart. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen... but my next computer (which I will probably build after the next-gen games/cards/motherboards/processors come out) is definately going to have a 64-bit processor since I do a lot of CPU/memory intensive stuff.

 

[RandomPING]

Yea next generation is going to be a little different, BTX, PCI-X, 64Bit processors, it's gonna be a fun to throw together a new system in a few years.

 

[Zakat]

I wonder if I should get 64bit when I build my new PC in 2k5...

 

[Incitatus]

in 2k5 ? I think you'll have trouble finding a purely 32 bit proc. In fact I don't think you'll be able to, unless you go el cheapo

 

[gh0st]

maybe a better question is, how long would a computer that i get now [32bit] last?

 

[Asus]

The mainstream will still have 32bit for a long while so applications will probably have a 32bit and 64bit version out when 64bit enters the high end mainstream. Thats programs that are worth converting to 64bit...
32bit should be here til the end of the decade or til you buy a new PC again.

 

[Stormy]

you will get a 64bit one an then a week later a 128 one will come out tis always the way

 

[Asus]

haha riiight.
Did you upgrade from a 16bit cpu and buy a Pentium just recently?

 

[ComradeBadger]

I want my 16mhz Apple Mac back ;(

 

[Maxi]

oldsk00l!!!1

 

[ComradeBadger]

Damn right. I'm going back to Macs, it's my Old Skool nostalgia kicking in

(First compy I had was a Mac .. Oh how I miss it ;( )

 

[Maxi]

First computer I had was some kinda old laptop, orange screen, only text writing... was back in 94 or so iirc.

 

[RandomPING]

We sure have come a long way since then, considering our cellphones have more processing power than a high end system 10 years ago.

 

[Asus]

BTW intel says 64bit for the desktop in 2006.
Workstation/Server (Xeons) is what the 2005 figure is for.

 

[crabcakes66]

in 2k5 ? I think you'll have trouble finding a purely 32 bit proc. In fact I don't think you'll be able to, unless you go el cheapo

I doubt that . Im sure ALOT of 32bit budget cpus will still be manufactured.....as a matter of fact 32bit cpus will still be many times more numerous than 64bit in terms of total numbers produced.

 

[Asus]

I thought this was appropriate.
Link