|
Do I need a 64bit processor?
64-bit processors for mobile first appeared with the AMD Mobile Athlon64 in the first Acer Ferrari series. This is the only dual-channel coupled AMD platform ported over from the desktop Winchester CPU.
Following that, AMD has the Turion series of 64 bit-processors with some refinement from the old Mobile Athlon64 core with lower power consumption and a change in PR numbers.
Intel has joined in the 64-bit platform with the new Core 2 Duo processor.
There are differences between the 64-bit operations between them though.
The AMD x86-64 is designed from scratch as a 64-bit processor with legacy support for 32-bit programs while the Intel EM64T started as a 32-bit processor with extended 64-bit capabilities. The extended register size is also different, but doesn't matter to end consumers who are not into details.
A 64-bit processor is more future proof. HOWEVER, most softwares and programs does not supports 64-bit as yet. Even 64-bit drivers for peripherals such as audio, modem, NIC or graphics might not be fully available.
The only way to optimise these processors is to run Windows XP x64 or Linux where 64-bit applications will have an advantage. But for 32-bit applications in a 64-bit platform, there are no real significant advantages.
|
