Is Upgrading To 64 Bit Worth It Yet?

[barney_2k]

Is the jump from a 32 bit processor to a 64bit processor woth it yet?

or should we wait for more apps to take advantage of the technology?

what y'all think?

Barney

[RDL]

Sure it is. What is your current system specs?

[Scarlet Infidel]

Its not really in terms of using the 64-bit capabilities of the processor (assuming you dont use linux) but the athlon 64 processors are very fast anyway at 32-bit so will work great until 64-bit really takes off.

[BenW]

They have better memory interface etc aswell i think

[JimmyBoy]

i was pretty impressed when i went from a xp2400+ to a winchester 3200+
much faster

think of it more as just a performance upgrade rather than a 32 bit to 64 bit upgrade

[Rcb]

i was pretty impressed when i went from a xp2400+ to a winchester 3200+
much faster

think of it more as just a performance upgrade rather than a 32 bit to 64 bit upgrade

But is it worth it, say going from my 2800 XP to a 64 bit 3200 ?

[Lee H]

But is it worth it, say going from my 2800 XP to a 64 bit 3200 ?

yeap - thats like saying should I update my Triumph Dolomite and get say a Focus. Miles better really

Gaming wise - to see a perspective test comparing "pentium 4's" to AMD 64 check the following ;


http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...oc.aspx?i=2330

[Scarlet Infidel]

A litte more relevant
http://www23.tomshardware.com/index....el2=67&chart=1
Just choose the relevant 2800xp and 64bit 3200+ then choose which benchmark and it will highlight them making it easy to compare. The answer, as you will see, is a resounding yes. The amd64 thrases the xp. Also when 64bit is utilised itll be another 25% faster (maybe - wild guess based on nothing whatsoever)

[StormPC]

Is the jump from a 32 bit processor to a 64bit processor woth it yet?

or should we wait for more apps to take advantage of the technology?

what y'all think?

Barney

Worth it yet? Are you from a third-world country?

If you are serious you really need to read more.

[Kumagoro]

Do you mean using it with 64 bit winXP?

[Nox]

i would disagree, the performance gap isn't there yet for an upgrade. However, if buying a new system, I would definately say go 64bit. I would also say my 3.2 intel "feels" faster than my 3200+ athlon 64 in windows, games no noticable difference.

Nox

[noah]

A litte more relevant
http://www23.tomshardware.com/index....el2=67&chart=1
Just choose the relevant 2800xp and 64bit 3200+ then choose which benchmark and it will highlight them making it easy to compare. The answer, as you will see, is a resounding yes. The amd64 thrases the xp. Also when 64bit is utilised itll be another 25% faster (maybe - wild guess based on nothing whatsoever)

that table is fantasic, i had no idea the difference was that large, i need to go 64-bit now!!

[barney_2k]

cheers 4 the advice

getting a 64 bit processor for my new rig then

i only got a 1.2 celeron atm

Barney

[drunkenmaster]

that table is fantasic, i had no idea the difference was that large, i need to go 64-bit now!!

the 2800 + is running memory at pc2100, compared to pc3200 thats a BIG ass difference. also, kinda depends, but overclocked once t-breds were out i never had a chip that wouldn't do 2.4Ghz, the average overclock for an ath 64 is probo 2.5-2.6Ghz, not that much ahead. people forget that the ath xp isn't that much slower per clock than the ath 64 in a lot of situations, its deffo slower, but not by much. in a few apps where communication with gpu for instance is more important the onboard mem controller makes a reasonable difference. but games have always been heavily dependant on bandwidth. lets take far cry, 3000+ is 169fps, the 2800+ is 125, but if you ran that at ddr400, both cpu and memory at 200Mhz then that score would definately improve, not hugely, probably to 135 or so at a guess. theres still a gap there but as you ramp up quality and resolution, you can see the cpu can already support generating the required amount of fps, its the gpu at higher res that will cause the fps to drop dramatically. if you want to game and have a not high end gfx thats where the money is better spent. if you encode or do some high end design work the ath 64 will be quite a lot better.

from a 1.2cellery then, tbh, anything would be a pretty stonking upgrade. budget ath 64 939 system, £90 cpu, £45 gigabyte basic board and whatever gfx you fancy spending cash on will be hugely better than what you've got.

[noah]

fair points, and yeah any upgrade on that machine will be huge. as for mine, my 2600 will happily run with the ram at 400mhz giving me the same cpu as a 3200+ barton, but it would still be whooped buy one of the new venice/sandiego cores that has been overclocked, even a venice 3200 would fly past it on air when looking at the equivalent clock speeds of winchesters on there, and not forgetting the improved mem controller aiding it further.

now all i need is some money

[ArmagoN]

Just Yes