Article: Pros and cons of going 64-bit

Pros and cons of going 64-bit: ZDNet Australia: Insight: Hardware

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If you're planning to invest in new computers, it's worth considering whether to make the move to 64-bit technology. Does the extra scalability justify the expense? The wave of the future is undoubtedly 64-bit technology. 64-bit processors have been pretty common in high end servers since 2004 and now 64-bit desktop machines are being offered by most PC vendors. Since 64-bit CPUs can handle more memory and larger files, and 64-bit processors are backwardly compatible with 32-bit operating systems and applications, it seems obvious that 64-bit hardware provides you with the ultimate in scalability. If you're in the position of buying new computers in the near future, you may be wondering whether it's worth the expense to go 64-bit. Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons. What is 64-bit processing anyway? When we talk about "bits" as applied to computer processors, we're talking about the maximum-size number that the processor's registers can store and handle at one time. This means a 64-bit processor can handle numbers that are twice as large as those handled by a 32-bit processor. Practically speaking, what does this mean to you? (continued)

Hello,

My current desktop system has a 64-bit CPU (an Intel Pentium 4 650) but it is a single core processor. I am currently running the 32-bit version of Microsoft Windows XP Professional on it.

When Microsoft Windows Vista is released, I plan on using the 64-bit version and will upgrade my system with a new motherboard and dual-core CPU to take advantage of the new operating system.

I am less worried about device driver and software availability since I expect most third parties to ship 32-bit and 64-bit versions of their code for Windows Vista.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky