Jaimes Conda wrote:I know 64bit OS is available right now and that some chess software is available which will function on 64bit OS.
However I believe the standard/norm at this moment is 32bit.
The reason for the question is,the price of 32bitOS multiple core computers is dropping and a 4 core machine would be nice.
But how long before 64bit becomes the norm?Is it worth waiting for?
Jaimes
all that is being made is 64 bit processors. So they are already the "norm".
Just because vendors sell 32 bit O/S systems pre-installed, doesn't mean the processor is not a 64 bit processor. The 32 bit O/S just cripples the processor and doesn't use the longer data word lengths, and extra registers.
Thanks for the reply. I am right in saying that not all chess software is compatible with 64bit? If so this is a problem and it is best to continue wth a 32bit O.S.
Jaimes
There are no programs that are incompatible with 64 bit processors, but you need a 64 bit executable. However, you can run 32 bit applications on a 64 bit O/S (I do it all the time on my linux laptop) but those applications do not see the extra registers...
32 bit O/S versions will soon become extinct, just as the 32 bit processors are fading away...
Thank you very much for replying to my post.As you can see computing is not my area of expertise.
Thanks for the reply. I am right in saying that not all chess software is compatible with 64bit? If so this is a problem and it is best to continue wth a 32bit O.S.
Jaimes
No no no.
Under XP64 all 32 bits programs run as well at their normal speed (they just do not benefit from the 64 bits OS).
... and 64 bits programs run at their full speed !
Installing a dual boot system is really not that difficult and there are a lot of utilities you can use. But really the MS one is quite easy to use provided you do the installation in the right order. If you use Vista then Vistaboot pro is a free and extremely easy to use utility that can allow you to run several OS's together.
But I agree with Marc regarding a dual installation ... it is really not necessary since almost everything today runs well on 64 bit XP or Vista 64. You will still find a rare instance where some old Scanner or other periphereal or even some much older software does not have support for 64bit ... but this is nowadays a rare case that is getting rarer by the day. The future is 64bit and every processor that comes out today from AMD or Intel supports 64bit. I find that although I have several dual systems ... the 32bit systems are redundant and since updating my scanner to a newer model, i don't have any incompatibilities anymore.
M ANSARI wrote: You will still find a rare instance where some old Scanner or other periphereal or even some much older software does not have support for 64bit ... but this is nowadays a rare case that is getting rarer by the day.
I disagree. BBC iPlayer is fairly new and so is Channel 4 Video on Demand. Two very recent applications a UK user would most likely want to run. Neither will install on XP 64-bit. Furthermore neither company is the slightest bit interested in providing support for XP X64. It will never come. They're more interested in Mac and Linux users, who are higher in volume and who complain more loudly.
