Windows x64 over 32?

red_ice

hi guys, i have a question with regards to windows 64..

Does it use more or less resources than 32, or the same?
whats the difference between internet explorer x32 and internet explorer x64
Does windows x64 contain any networking advantages?
What advantages over windows 32 does 64 have?

I play alot of games and i cant decide which os to use.. i didnt really notice much of a difference between windows x32 and windows x64... maybe a 5 fps drop, but nothing spectacular.. I dont use internet explorer either, i use firefox, those questions have been in the back of my mind for a while lol

Cheers!

reddy

HomunQlus

There is no difference in the operating system versions. The only difference to XP/64 is, that it requires a 64-bit processor to run as it uses 64-bit processor commands. These cannot be executed on a 32-bit processor, thus the 64-bit versions of Windows cannot be run on a 32-bit processor.

With 64-bit a whole lot more information can be processed and calculated. For games, this will have a significant effect on performance.

However, no game on the market today is written in 64-bit codebase - all games there are, are written in 32-bit code.

Thus, it doesn't make any difference to run a game on Windows XP 64. It will run, probably they way you're used to it, but there's no difference at all.

We'll see this when the developers start to write the games in 64-bit code. But they will only do that when a 64-bit processor is the standard - and it's still a long way ahead until every one has 64-bit chips in their computers.

SouperComputer

TBH, gaming is out with x64 ATM. To get your machine running with the correct drivers is a bit of hassle. You can still run x86 apps, but I would say gaming would be a major pain in the arse go get running nicely.

Depends on how much you feel liek messing around I guess. But a dual boot is definately reccomended.

red_ice

Lets pretend we have 2x AMD 3500+, one with x32 and one with x64

would for example, 3d studio max compile faster in x64 than x32?

3ds is a 32bit app... but it running with windows x64 would mean it would compile it faster yea? (im kicking myself for not knowing this)

MrPinK

In general, a 64-bit app running on 64-bit XP will be faster than a 32-bit app running on 32-bit XP. This is because the 64-bit code has access to a load of extra general purpose registers on the CPU. The more you can stick on the chip, the less you have to load/save back to/from memory, which always slows things down.

A 32-bit app running on 64-bit XP will probably be slightly slower than a 32-bit app running on 32-bit XP. It doesn't have access to the extra GPR's, and it has to deal with longer memory addresses than before. However, what complicates things here is that large apps often tend to use external libraries and drivers. These will be 64-bit versions, which can speed things up again. New drivers might not be fully optimized yet though, and might not speed things up at all. Until everything is switched over and matured a bit more, performance can be bit 'hit or miss'.

SixShot

Good Exsample of a 64bit system is a Apple G5 PowerPC as the apple OS is a 64bit OS & the G5 chipset is a 64bit system Programs Like 3D studio Max & Photoshop run like a Dream & well Fast on the G5 systems. as for gameing The AMD 64 is the Best for that