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Re: 64-bit: More than just the RAM
I find it very hard to belive that a 64bit system is twice as fast as a 32bit system. In the old days when you went from 8bit to 16bit I could understand the computers getting faster quicker because of the maximum amount a varialble can hold in one memory location. The difference between 8 to 16 is more benificial than from 32 to 64 bit. Unless you are dealing with very very large numbers.
Let me explain. The largest number a variable can hold in 8 bit is 255
This is a low number so is used alot. This is why upgrading to 16bit was a good thing, the os doubled in speed because the variables can now handle a number up to 65535. This in its self is a large number.
Now you move to 32bit and the largest number there is 4294967295. This is a very large number and most (not all) programs will get this high.
Now 64 bit can handle numbers up to 18446744073709600000 or there abouts. If a 64bit system wants to use a number bigger than this it will take two clock cycles of cpu time not one. These clock cycles is where the main speed increase is. |