64 Bit Technology? - Page 2

yeah i have a compaq r3000z, its defitintly fast...and 64 bit is prolly better so u dont have to replace it as fast..u know how fast computers change

buying an amd64 so you can use 64bit os software is a joke, even after 64bit windows comes out there wont be anything useful on it for years. not to mention no many companies are going to make drivers for 64bit os for a long ass time, because they probably just dont care, theres no money to be made. by the time 64bit is useful, your computer will be so outdated it doesnt matter.

using some programs now amd might be a little faster than pentium 4, but for the most part pentium 4 kicks amd's ass for gaming right now. amd just isnt working right with the 9700 yet.

and you guys should stop suggesting the amd64 mobile like you have one, iv only seen one person on these forums who actually has one (that guy who got the ferrari) and i dont think he tested it that far. you should wait untill some people actually test the thing rather than reading the tech sheet...

yeah from Adams review the batt life blows, the HDD is slow its a flashy system with bragging rights but nothing concrete so far.

Hate to break the news to you, but AMD 64 is much better for gaming then a P-4. And as far as the software, I seriously doubt its going to take years. As soon as Intel releases their 64-bit and Microsoft gets their 64 XP, everyone will be jumping to release drivers. Granted it might be six months or longer till all the bugs are worked out. But in less then a year I am sure 64-bit will be everywhere.

its going to be alot longer than 6 monthes, switching to 64bit means new drivers for EVERYTHING. and compare the framerates of a good p4/9700 notebook to that of the amd/9700 voodoo 860, the only 9700/amd notebook that people seem to have in their hands, maybe theoretically the amd might be better for gaming, but its heating problems keep it from clocking the gpu very high, maybe future notebooks with the new mobile version wont have this problem, but we'll see, the only one out is the ferrari, and no more really seem to be on the horizon.

i disagree

my laptop (Compaq R3140CA) has a AMD 64 3000+. and is coupled with a Nvidia Geforce 4 go 420 and does pretty decently. and heat doesn't seem to be a big issue. since it throttles the cpu speed up and down depending on demand.

ie: 350-700mhz for web browsing, 1.5ghz for dvd playback and 1.8ghz for full blown gaming.

But are you certain the M:860's heating problems aren't attributable to some other factor, like bad case design, and not the AMD-64?

I remember when I first heard that the VooDoo M:860 was going to be based on the same Arima chassis as the E-Machines 6809. I went to Best Buy to see how I liked the form factor. One of the first things I noticed in handling the unit was that it ran pretty hot to the touch. IIRC (it's been 3 months since), there were no fans on the bottom of the case, just some exhaust vents on the back panel. I remember commenting on the VooDoo PC site that if they were going to upgrade the video card from 9600 to 9700, they had better add a fan or two to compensate for the additional heat.

I haven't seen the final product, but from what I've read, it doesn't sound like VooDoo modified the case at all. I wouldn't be surprised if their answer to the additional heat output of the 9700 GPU was to underclock it, rather than provide adequate ventilation.

uhmm the voodoo 860 is underclocked compared to p4/9700 systems by default, by 860 owners say that its like its closed close to max even at that, and overheats trying to oc it a little over default. and i dont think its just the 860, or its chassis, we would have seen many amd/9700s available if there werent any problems, as clearly if there was a good one they would sell.

i disagree

my laptop (Compaq R3140CA) has a AMD 64 3000+. and is coupled with a Nvidia Geforce 4 go 420 and does pretty decently. and heat doesn't seem to be a big issue. since it throttles the cpu speed up and down depending on demand.

i didnt say the amd has probelms, i said the amd coupled with the 9700 seems to have problems.

i guess we'll have to see how the acer ferrari is for heat...after SOMEBODY posts a review lol

This is untrue simply because of the architectural enhancments that were added to the x86-64 architecture over the prior IA32. By that I mean that the x86-64 specifies double the number of general purpose registers in the CPU compared to prior 32-bit x86 CPU's. So even if you aren't dealing in the realm of large memory space you should still see some improvement in performance of your software if recompiled for x86-64 using a compiler intelligent enough to use the aditional registers to reduce reliance on the stack.

How much performance increase is going to be determined by the kind of code being run, the quality of the compiler to produce good code to take advantage of the expanded feature set in x86-64, etc.

Cheers!
-Nathan

So let's list the possible causes for overheating:
MR 9700 GPU runs hotter than the GPU in a P4/MR 9700 unit
Given that it's the same GPU model in both, the thermal characteristics should be identical. So we can safely eliminate this theory.
AMD-64 CPU runs hotter than the CPU in a P4/MR 9700 unit
AMD-64 DTRs have a lower TDP than P4 chips by at least 5-10W. Tom's Hardware even indicated that AMD's published TDP numbers were significantly higher then the temps recorded during their testing. So that's one more theory down.
The chassis' heat dissipation solution is inadequate
Overcrowded layout; underpowered fans; poorly placed exhaust ports, and a host of other thermal sins. IMHO, this is the most likely culprit. However, this is the ODM's fault (Clevo), and not a flaw inherent in the AMD/Mr 9700 combination.

That's a non sequitur. There are many possible reasons why there aren't more AMD/9700 available on the market now; poor market research by the ODM, supply problems, manufacturing problems, design problems (including problems with heat), and shipping/customs delays, just to name a few. To date, the only explanation I've seen as to why the 470K is late is a note appearing on a 3rd tier vendor's website siting vague AMD/9700 issues. Again, this could mean just about anything.

I'm not disputing that there may be problems; I'm just trying to keep the FUD low until we hear what's really going on.

the question is, do you think windows appz programmers, or microsoft programmers are going to be smart enough to do this in the near future?

yes.

they select "optimize for AMD64" and click "compile" and voila...!

seriously, some software may need some more major changes (drivers for one). Anything that needs to have access to the Windows kernel in general will need to be rewritten.

As for most applications, they *should* take advantage of any architecture the compiler can understand. AMD64 compilers are out, so it really shouldn't be an issue.

The switch to 64bit will not be like the switch to 32. It will happen quickly, and for the most part smoothly over the next year. Within 1.5 to 2 years EVERYTHING will be 64bit. IMHO

So when Windows switches to 64-bit, will venders and manufactorers not make 32-bit programs anymore? If I were to purchase a Compal CL56 now, would I not be able to use it in 2 - 3 years, or what is the speculation with all of that?

lol

32 bit wont be obsolete in 2 - 3 years or even more for that matter

All this discussion about 64-bit is starting to get me a bit worried. Is it just going to be the next big thing, or is it going to be the ONLY thing?

Is it going to be like trying to find a program or hardware now that will work with Windows 98, or will it be trying to find a program or hardware now that will work with MS-DOS?

By the time it will become hard to find 32bit software, 32bit computers will be obsolete.

Remember, companies will sell whatever they can. If there is money to be made from anything that is still 32bit, they will milk it till it's dry.

Most stuff will still run on 98 and MS still supports it.

32 bit and 64 bit will exist side by side for along time. 64 bit will probably be for the power users and 32 bit for average Joe. Eventually, IA64 will make it down to the desktop too. Then we'll really see some whoopin's going on.

Remember, geeks make a small fraction of the market. Most people don't even know they're using a 32 bit processor NOW.

64 bit transition will probably happen more quickly, but it may not either. There's still a HUGE 32 bit base out there, people will want backward compatibility, and this stuff is going to have to coexist.

I don't think 64 bit's REALLY going to take off before 2008.

Super

my theory:

the voodoo m860 does not have 9700's under the hood, but rather overclocked 9600's and a hacked chip bios.

The 9700 should (and does) run cooler than the 9600 at a given clock, but this does not seem to be the case on the voodoo units, and this would also explain why there is NO room for overclocking on that chassis, despite the fact that with the same chassis (m6805) users are reporting excellent overclocks (coincidentally to 9700 levels and beyond).

Call me paranoid, but any company than can sell a $1500 laptop for $3000 with a straight face is not to be trusted.