Some Athlon 64 questions...

[bob05]

Hi. My friend asked me a couple of questions that I couldn't answer. They were are the Athlon 64.

#1. How can the Athlon 64 run a 64-bit OS/Applications when its other hardware (like a Geforce 2 or a 56k modem) is not 64-bit itself? Does that mean that the Athlon 64-bit never will truly run in 64-bit mode?

#2. When will games be programmed in 64-bit?

#2.A. If games are programed in 64-bit, will they run, on say, a Pentium 4 at all? Will 64-bit programs make older 32-bit hardware useless?

#3. Would a Athlon 64 be worth getting for the the future? Will it run all future 64-bit applications to their full capablilities?

Thanks, and sorry if these questions have been answered before. :t

[Plaster]

Originally posted by bob05
Hi. My friend asked me a couple of questions that I couldn't answer. They were are the Athlon 64.

#1. How can the Athlon 64 run a 64-bit OS/Applications when its other hardware (like a Geforce 2 or a 56k modem) is not 64-bit itself? Does that mean that the Athlon 64-bit never will truly run in 64-bit mode?

They'll simply need 64-bit drivers. Current 64-bit cpus use today's cards in a 64-bit OS (eg. Linux) with 64-bit drivers and are still truly 64-bit.

#2. When will games be programmed in 64-bit?

Epic is currently writing a patch for UT2K3 (and 2K4 if I'm not mistaken) that will add 64-bit support. As for the entire industry? Probably a few years. That's why AMD made the chip backward compatible.

#2.A. If games are programed in 64-bit, will they run, on say, a Pentium 4 at all? Will 64-bit programs make older 32-bit hardware useless?

Only if they have two installs. One for 32-bit CPUs and OS's and one for 64-bit CPUs and OS's. A P4 can't run a 64-bit OS at all, so it's kind of a moot point. Once 64-bit becomes mainstream, 32-bit hardware will be pretty useless. That's at least 2 years from now.

#3. Would a Athlon 64 be worth getting for the the future? Will it run all future 64-bit applications to their full capablilities?

Sure it would be worth getting for the future. Really depends on how far into the future you're refering too. It should definitely run all future x86 64-bit apps to their full capability. It's a true 64-bit CPU.

[bob05]

Thanks Plaster, you were really helpful. I'll go tell him what you told me. Now I just have to wait for the price of an Athlon 64 to go down. :eek: Could anyone give me an estimate of what the price of one of these baby's will be by this time next year?

Thanxs :t

[causticVapor]

By this time next year? One of these "babies" will be <100, if AMD's pricing continues as it has. The 3200+ should be <$280 by February

[bob05]

Originally posted by causticVapor
By this time next year? One of these "babies" will be <100, if AMD's pricing continues as it has. The 3200+ should be <$280 by February

Really? That price sounds nice. And a 3.2 ghz CPU wouldn't be outdated for another 2 years.

Thanks all :t

[bonzai]

hmm, i wouldnt be so sure about that m8 ;) remember, AMD uses stepping. imagine a REAL (not clocked) AMD 3.2 GHZ CPU model name: 4500+

(for example) :)

[fizur2002]

So your saying that a 32bit proc can not run under a 64bit version of windows? And when the 64bit apps come out, i dont think they are going to have 2 total diff installs for one game, i believe that it will be one game, but that when you install, you ahve to go and get the 64bit version patch for it.

[Plaster]

Nope, a 32-bit proc will not be able to run a 64-bit OS. The P4 (barring Intel using x86 64) will never be able to run WinXP64. If it could it would be like trying to run the current XP on a 286.

As for games using 64 and 32, eventually they'll include both on the same DVD. I figure within a couple years games will be released on DVDs instead of CD's. This [*-deleted word-*] of 3 and 4 CDs to install a game is getting old. One DVD-R can hold up to 6 700MB CDs.

BTW, just in case anyone was wondering, you can install 32bit apps in a 64-bit OS, they just won't use the 64-bit codepaths. The x86 64 being backward compatible with 32-bit apps and not having to rely on 32-bit emulation will allow the apps to run at their full original speed. The Intel 64-bit CPUs are not backward compatible and will be dog slow in 32-bit apps.

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