Power Computing – Using 64 Bit Computers
There is still a degree of confusion in the market place as to what exactly 64 – bit computing is, where it fits in and what it is used for.
Whilst many processors are 64- bit ready unless you have a 64- bit operating system they are more or less redundant as using a standard version of windows XP or Vista (both of which are 32-bit) will not allow you to access the existing power in your Pc or Cad workstation.
This is not necessarily a bad thing however as a vast majority of users for the foreseeable future will never need to use the benefit of this technology.
Essentially they have a car that has all the fittings for a turbo but only a select few will ever need to buy one.
Let us explain a little further.
Your standard operating system used by a majority of the population has not been designed to use in reality much over 3 GB of ram at the very outside and for a majority of users 2 GB will be ample although many will be running with far less than this.
32-bit architectures theoretically address up to 4GB of memory. In reality, even if you have 4GB of RAM onboard and are using standard XP or Vista, you still can’t benefit from it all.
This is because in some instances your motherboard will not have been designed to utilise that much memory (see Computer Workstations) and even if it has, all of your hardware—your graphics card, your I/O cards etc. has to be mapped into that 4GB of memory space reducing the amount available to the applications (software) you use even further.
Most average users (non CAD and home users) will probably only have 1GB and in most cases far less in their machine and will not for the foreseeable future need to address massive amounts of ram, as the programs they use do not and often cannot use more than 1GB or 2GB of memory anyway.
If you have got less than 1Gb though it will be highly advantageous to upgrade your memory as this can give your system a much needed boost, even for a home users.
If you have a local friendly computer services and support company you can also ask them about memory upgrades as well if you don’t want to do one yourself
Even if you have a multi-core processors and have a number of applications (programs) running together, chances are high that you will not use much more than 1 -1.5 GB of physical memory.
So for the average user 64 – bit computing is a bit of a white elephant and something they have no need to worry about.
For more great computing advice and articles visit the Computer Support and Repair blog.
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