View and vote on the article here: 64-bit Computing
64-bit Computing| Category | | | Summary | | | Body | ::-=64-bit Computing=-::
~np~
By now, many people have heard the reports about 64-bit computing. Apple was the first to offer a 64-bit processor with their G5 system. AMD has also released its Athlon 64 processor.~/np~
~np~A 64-bit component stores data in chunks of 64 bits. All computer processors are based on binary math because of the transistors inside the chips. To put things in very simple terms, a bit is either a 10 or 1 stored or processed by a transistor. The term often describes a computer's CPU, its buses or an instruction in the computer's instruction set, but it may also refer to any item of data. However, a computer architecture described as 64-bit generally has registers that are 64 bits wide and therefore can deal with 64-bit chunks of data. So what does this bit count mean?~/np~
~np~The bit rating of a processor determines the largest number that it can handle. The largest number that can be processed in a clock cycle is 2^bitrating. Therefore, a 32-bit processor can handle a number up to 2^32. A larger number will need more than one clock cycle to process. A 64-bit processor can handle a number up to 2^64. Therefore, a 64-bit processor is more efficient with large numbers. One of the other items directly affected by the bit rating is the amount of memory the system can access. Most CPUs are designed so that the contents of a register can store the address of any data in the computer's memory. Therefore, the total number of addresses in memory is determined by the width of the registers. A 32-bit register means that 2^32 addresses (about 4 GB of memory) can be referenced. However, by the early 1990s installations with quantities of memory approaching 4 GB appeared. In response, a number of companies released new families of chips with 64-bit architectures. A 64-bit register means that 2^64 addresses (about 18 billion GB of memory) can be referenced. This is well beyond what the memory market can even supply to computers at the moment. For most consumers, this won't make much of a difference because most home systems don't even come with 2 GB of memory, but for server systems this can make a huge difference.~/np~
~np~The change from 32-bit to 64-bit is a great one, as operating systems and other software must be modified to take advantage of it. The full use of a processor is only as good as the software written for it. Running a 64-bit processor with a 32-bit operating system will end up wasting a large amount of the computer's processing potential. While 64-bit architectures indisputably make working with large data sets in applications easier, there has been considerable debate as to whether they, or their 32-bit compatibility modes, will be faster than 32-bit architectures for other tasks. Theoretically, some programs could be faster in 32-bit mode. 64-bit instructions take up more space than 32-bit ones, so it is possible that some 32-bit programs will fit into the CPU's cache, while equivalent 64-bit programs will not. However, applications that use data in 64-bit chunks will be faster because the CPU is designed to process such data.~/np~
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~np~Written by: DJDValentine (29 September 2004)~/np~
~np~Member of CAU Knowledge-Bank Tutorial Writers~/np~
-----
{BACKLINKS(info=>hits|user,exclude=>SandBox,include_self=>0,noheader=>0)}{BACKLINKS} |
|
This article was imported from the CyberArmy University site. (original author: PixieLuv)
There are no replies to this post yet.
|