64 bit ? Question about software

[BadAss]

O.K. I am building a new computer and was thinking about it and I don't understand something about the 64 bit XP. So if I am running 8 gigs ram etc, etc. and 64 bit O.S. What is the deal on the software? Say Corel X3 or CS3 . If the software runs at 32 bit then why would it matter that the O.S.is 64. If the software can't run any faster than why would you spend the $ upgrading O.S. to 64bit? I just want to get some reasoming before I build...Thanx in advance guys.. I am sure WyldGFI knows the answers to this...

 

[Charlie J]

bump

i'd like to know as well

 

[WYLDGFI]

hahahah....actually I did the 64 bit due to RAM and being able to utilize upward of 4gigs of it!. I wanted to throw as much ram as I could at my rip and apps. Also using dual core, dual Xeon processors in this thing...it does sing to say the least. Look into http://moojohn.com/signs John has some interesting things to say about the computers and building them. Not sure what hes talking about with the 64bit OS compatibilty issues...I have not had any yet personally.

 

[Tony Teveris]

With a 64 bit OS you are allowed to execute both 32 and 64 capable applications. At the moment there are not many 64 bit applications to take advantage of 64 bits speed and other advantages. I know that a 3rd party library we use within Omega comes in both 32 and 64 flavors but for Gerber to offer and Omega version for either is a big job for our small group. Some functions like imaging would see big benefits and others not so.

I'm sure the likes of Adobe and Corel will pursue both platforms.

Hope this helps

 

[Checkers]

From Adobe.com...
When you run Photoshop CS3 on a computer with a 64-bit processor (such as a, Intel Xeon processor with EM64T, AMD Athlon 64, or Opteron processor) running a 64-bit version of the operating system (Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or Windows Vista 64-bit) and with 4 GB or more of RAM, Photoshop will use 3 GB for it's image data. You can see the actual amount of RAM Photoshop can use in the Let Photoshop Use number when you set the Let Photoshop Use slider in the Performance preference to 100%. The RAM above the 100% used by Photoshop, which is from approximately 3 GB to 3.7 GB, can be used directly by Photoshop plug-ins (some plug-ins need large chunks of contiguous RAM), filters, or actions. If you have more than 4 GB (to 6 GB), then the RAM above 4 GB is used by the operating system as a cache for the Photoshop scratch disk data. Data that previously was written directly to the hard disk by Photoshop is now cached in this high RAM before being written to the hard disk by the operating system. If you are working with files large enough to take advantage of these extra 2 GB of RAM, the RAM cache can speed performance of Photoshop. Additionally, in Windows Vista 64-bit, processing very large images is much faster if your computer has large amounts of RAM (6-8 GB).

The full story is here...
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb401088&sliceId=1

Checkers

 

[SignBurst PCs]

64 Bit and more than 4 GB of RAM

There are a few compatibility issues with 64 Bit Windows. Not as many as you think though. 64 Bit Windows has a 32 Bit "emulator" that allows most 32 Bit software to run. If you are building a design computer, there are a few tricks to get CS3 to run correctly though. Nothing to horrible though. CS2 runs fine without any mods. Corel seems to run fine as well. At least on our systems.

If you are looking for a high-powered system, consider us. Signburst.com

There are others out there, but nothing at this level of performance.

In any event, good luck! 64 Bit ROCKS!

 

[BadAss]

Thanx Guys,,, I will look into this a "bit" (ha ha) further... M*

 

[John M]

If you're just going to do design with the computer you won't have many issues. Many shops like to be able to do more with their big machine than just design though, and that's where incompatibilities come into play.

In another thread I've talked about how everything must be 64-bit before it makes a large impact on system performance. This makes for interesting reading:

http://blogs.adobe.com/scottbyer/2006/12/64_bitswhen.html


Since Photoshop is still a 32 bit executable, it has the same memory access limitations it has in regular XP. There are some benefits when you have more memory but most of that is a result of the 64-bit OS better managing memory demands than anything on the part of Photoshop.

As to any all-out claimes of "faster", I'd like to see some firmer proof than the statement "more cores = faster."

Also as I put in another thread, you can get the Sign Monster with XP 64 and 8 gigs of DDR2 for $2799. Faster memory, faster hard drive arrays, more storage space, and half the price too!

 

[SignBurst PCs]

Photoshop itself can take advantage of 64 Bit in a great many cases. Just do your homework before building your computer. Photoshop can use a max of 3GB of ram all by itself. The additional RAM is helpful in other ways. It gives the OS enough RAM so that you it doesn't start cutting into the 3 GB that PS can use. Plug-ins can take advantage of the extra RAM as well. I happen to know that Scott Byers (from Adobe), who wrote that article refrenced above, uses a 64 bit OS on his new computer. He is using Vista, but even I am not that brave yet.

 

[3dsignco]

Should Anyone be That brave to use Vista.. That borders on Suicide.

 

[Baz]

Allot of those specs were great a year ago. If you plan on buying a new pc a wise choice would be to go with a motherboard featuring a new chipset (x38 for intel), faster FSB, DDR3 memory, PCI-e 2.0.

You dont want to spend big bucks on a pc now and next year not being able to upgrade parts of it.