64Bit Drivers

[Asus]

Remember how whenever you saw benchmarks between 32bit and 64bit drivers in games that the 64bit version always was really behind and were very immature?

Review
Imagine that.

Both ATI’s and nVidia’s drivers had game compatibility issues, although we certainly saw more of these issues on the nVidia side, which is surprising considering that nVidia’s 64-bit drivers have gone through several revisions while ATI are on their first. We can’t be sure if our random lockups and crashes were caused by the immaturity of the graphics drivers, or perhaps the immaturity of the 64-bit DirectX 9.0 API, or even the immaturity of the operating system itself. Whatever the case may be, the drivers on both sides aren’t quite there yet, although ATI appears to have leapfrogged nVidia in terms of 64-bit driver/game compatibility.

Interesting...

 

[blahblahblah]

I remember reading a while back that ATI wouldn't release 64 bit drivers until they felt they were quality. Looks like they just did that.

Anyways, I believe we won't see great 64 bit performance until we have a 64 bit OS, 64 bit drivers, and 64 bit games (the thing we are missing). It still sounds like its going to be a long while before 64 bit becomes mainstream. I really hope Microsoft makes 64 bits a standard part of Longhorn.

 

[blackeye]

still a lot of work to do i think. Doesnt the game have to support 64 bit instructions to have the rumored 10-15% performance increase.

 

[Asus]

This 64bit switch over isn't ment to be all at once but as it's needed. But at the same time we need the 64bit platform ASAP. Any longer and we will run into pretty big problems down the road with advancing the PC.
Some things benefit a good deal from 64bit, some have a slight gain and others apps could care less. The idea is to hurtle 32bit Virtual memory limitations as a platform with 64bit CPU, 64Bit OS and 64bit Drivers which could lead to a ~1-5% increase. (10%+ if we are talking Divx encoding and Compression/Decryption)
64bit apps should add ~1-10% on to that. Again, that depends heavily on the app.

Being that WinXP64 is coming this year (Q4) and AMD is switching production from AXP's to A64's this year. Intel could be releasing an iAMD 64bit compatible desktop chip within a year. That means that in a rather short time most new sytems will be 64bit compatible with the option for WinXP 64bit.

I think this will be 'mainstream' just like P4's and AXP/64s CPUs are today, sometime durring 2006. Of course the majority of the public will still be buying 'celerons' or 32bit systems, which is the true mainstream, until Longhorn. hehe

 

[blackeye]

Intel could be releasing an iAMD 64bit compatible desktop chip within a year

I read somewhere that intel is releasing 64 bit prescot on augaust 1st. It seems like intel is playing catch up with AMD. Intel didnt plan on making 64 bit chips for a couple years. If prescott does have 64 bit support why wouldnt intel just do that from the start instead of 6 months after the initial launch.

 

[Asus]

Prescott has 64bit instructions but not completely compatible and never will be exposed. Just like the P4's before the 800FSB P4's had HT but they never were exposed.

The 64bit CPU they are going to release in August is a Xeon. No Pentium 4's.

 

[jonbob]

It seems like intel is playing catch up with AMD. Intel didnt plan on making 64 bit chips for a couple years. If prescott does have 64 bit support why wouldnt intel just do that from the start instead of 6 months after the initial launch.

It's quite possible that Intel were seeing how AMD's processors would fare before deciding to use their design - which Intel is allowed to do quite freely - or come up with of their own. Of course Bill stuck with AMD and so it looks as though Intel will use the AMD design after all.

 

[psyno]

Asus, can you provide a link to the source of your quote in the first post? Thanks.

:cheers:

 

[Maxi]

AFAIK Longhorn won't be 64 bit.