Why own AMD 64 x 2's & Intel EMT64 Core 2 Duo's?

Question

The current marketing hype surrounding the two major CPU manufacturers, would have us believe that upgrading, or purchasing these latest chips is crucial, and that we will be able to do so much more.

And yet no one in the 'consumer' software industry seems to be embracing these technologies.

MS Vista, for all it's bells and whistles, is still only 32bit, with 64 bit available for a premium,(Price aswell as driver issues)

Pretty much the same can be said about the requirement to have Dual Cores.

So my question is, why bother to go 64bit dual core when there is hardly any software that will make use of it, outside Professional applications (AutoCad, & Adobe suites)?

PS. Just bought an AMD64 x2 3800 and not noted much difference over AMD64 3200.

Answer 1

Well let me take this piece by piece. First off as for the 64 bit aspect, that is where you probably have the best point. Though to point out, 64 bit Versions of Vista only require the $10 shipping fee to get the 64 bit disk sent to you by Microsoft after you have purchased the 32 bit boxed OS, and in fact the 64 bit disk comes packaged with the 32 bit when you buy Vista Ultimate, so there is no premium there. But your point is still correct, few programs take advantage of 64 bit architecture, so you aren't getting a huge advantage there.

Next is dual cores. This arguments is a little weaker, since while yes you are correct that only a few programs can access both cores at the same time, keep in mind that multitasking is helped tremendously by having a dual core processor. Also don't forget that even when you are running a sinlge program, you in reality aren't, because Windows has about 40+ things running at any given time in the background, and having a dual core will help in performance there.

Lastly, there is one thing you are forgetting. In addition to having 64 bit technology and dual core technology, these new generation processors are just plain faster than older ones. If you take one of the new Core 2 Duos, disable one core, and run it in 32 bit Windows, it will still easily outperform any Pentium 4, becaue of its faster FSB, better cache, and more Instructions Per Cycle. This is in fact the area in which these new generation processors truly shine.

Answer 2

hi there

64bit CPUs have been around for a while, but now they are really taking off. (look at your old CPU - AMD64 3200, a 64bit compatible CPU!)

the new system will allow more data to be sent to the cpu. this is because of how the computer operates. it works on a on/off basis, and there are 32bits sent in one packet for data. These bits have features to make sure that your data is sent correctly, and is calculated properly.
With this technology, we only get 16bits of OUR data sent, the rest is for the computer to recognise.

with 64bit processing, we can send 42bits! this means that our data is sent faster, and processed faster.


Dual core or X2 is basically sticking two single core CPUs together, and saying it is better. Well, you have to fill one before you can access the second one. Its very complex.

As for the software. these need to be developed to be compatible with sending more data, as it is basically talking in a foreign language. This does take time to sort out, and drivers are the most important, but yet take the longest to be released.

You will also notice that the high-end software is being sent out first, for the reasons mentioned above.

Also note that we had the same problems with upgrading from 16bit processing to 32bit!

Answer 3

The advantages the dual core processors offer is mostly for multitasking.

Sure, there are only a few singular programs that make use of the second core. But when you are multitasking is when the dual core processors really shine.

Take that 3200 and compare it to the 3800 x2 when you are running multiple processor intensive applications. That is where you will see the difference.

Granted, we don't need the latest and greatest processor to simply check our email and surf the web. But if you want to compile programs or render 3d models while you are surefing the web, the X2 is the way to go.

Answer 4

well it depends on what programs your running, since you need to be using some serious programs for the cpu to activiate the other core, eg by doing vidoe editting and encoding at the same time.
u can do this with just 1 core at least in real time.
yeah i agree with the 64bit comment, yeah there are very few programs that are designed to work in 64bit
but im sure they will get around to it, since software is about a year behind the hardware.

Answer 5

32 bit version of vista is actually more expensive than the 64