x64 or not?

[Smokey0066]

just curious about the benifits of running windows in 64 bit or not.

I have a dual core pentium d cpu. will i gain anything between the two versions of the OSes?

 

[John]

I think it's safe to say that you're a lurker. We were registered on AnandTech (once they switched from the old BB to Fusetalk) the same day.

Unless you want to use more than 4GB of memory there is no reason to use XP x64 IMHO. Hardware compatibility and lack of driver support is a real disappointment. Basically XP x64 and Win ME go hand in hand. Do a search and you'll see that is the general consensus.

However if you want to try XP x64 for free (120 days) to draw your own conclusion you can get it here.

 

[Smokey0066]

hey john, i'm not a lurker.. i'm just not up to speed on the technologies out there. This happens everytime I put together a new system. I ask a rash of questions and then I'm idle for awhile.

I guess I don't contribute much but you guys are sure helpful.

anyways thanks again for your help. I've been on here for awhile. I remember the value america days... do you?

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Smokey0066
anyways thanks again for your help. I've been on here for awhile. I remember the value america days... do you?

O yea, those were the good ole days. I'm not even going to mention how many VA accounts that I had with free valuebucks. :shocked: I was really disappointed to see them cease their e-tail operations.

 

[RyanGrob]

I noticed Windows x64 is a bit snappier than 32 bit. Hardware compatibility is it's major drawback. Needless to say, I went back to 32 bit.

 

[ProviaFan]

Windows XP 32 bit can address a 4GB memory space, but since your peripherals require some of that address space, you are actually limited to not much more than 3GB of RAM. Hence, even if you only have 4GB (not necessarily more than 4GB), XP x64 is required if you want to use all of your RAM. Of course, 32 bit applications running on XP x64 will still be limited in how much RAM they can address (2 or 3GB), but you can run multiple apps together which will be able to take advantage of all 4GB of your system's RAM.

If you don't have more than 3GB of RAM, then this is a moot point, and the driver support issue is something that would heavily bias my decision toward XP 32 bit instead of XP x64. With that said, all of my devices are supported (even obscure things like an Edirol MIDI interface for my keyboard workstation and a Gretag Macbeth Eye One Display2 colorimeter for color management), so I've been using XP x64 happily with 4GB of RAM for the past year.

 

[Nothinman]

Of course, 32 bit applications running on XP x64 will still be limited in how much RAM they can address (2 or 3GB),

Are you sure about that? From what I've read, at least on Linux, each 32-bit process gets the full 4G because the kernel no longer has to use addresses from that range since it now has 48-bits to address VM on the system. I would have assumed that MS did something simlar with Windows, but maybe they're still limiting you to 2G "just in case" you're running some applications that make extremely poor assumptions.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

Of course, 32 bit applications running on XP x64 will still be limited in how much RAM they can address (2 or 3GB),

Are you sure about that? From what I've read, at least on Linux, each 32-bit process gets the full 4G because the kernel no longer has to use addresses from that range since it now has 48-bits to address VM on the system. I would have assumed that MS did something simlar with Windows, but maybe they're still limiting you to 2G "just in case" you're running some applications that make extremely poor assumptions.

Photoshop supports slightly more RAM on XP x64 than it does on the 32 bit version, but the limit on x64 is still about 2.7GB for data (which probably comes from 3GB with 0.3GB reserved for something else). I'm not sure about other applications.

Edit: ok, that might be partially wrong, depending on whether plugins count as being a part of the Photoshop process itself... Scroll down to the "Allocating memory above 2 GB with 64-bit processors" on this page.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Please see this thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...hreadid=1750186&enterthread=y&arctab=y

 

[Nothinman]

Photoshop supports slightly more RAM on XP x64 than it does on the 32 bit version, but the limit on x64 is still about 2.7GB for data (which probably comes from 3GB with 0.3GB reserved for something else). I'm not sure about other applications.

There should be nothing reserved for anything else within the 4G range on a 64-bit system.

Edit: ok, that might be partially wrong, depending on whether plugins count as being a part of the Photoshop process itself... Scroll down to the "Allocating memory above 2 GB with 64-bit processors" on this page.

Most likely the plugins are loaded into Photoshop's address space and the link you provided says that photoshop will be able to use 3G for image data so that means the other 1G is used for photoshop and all of it's plugins.