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Will CM run on machines using the Athlon 64 FX processor?


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64-bit processors don't really add a whole lot for most of today's programs. They'll predominantly remain 32-bit code since the majority of CPUs will be 32-bit. With Windows going to a 64-bit version, the OS may be a bit faster itself, but most programs will remain 32-bit. This can drag on performance since the processor may have to go to a 'mixed-mode' supporting both 32-bit applications and 64-bit OS services.

The AMD Athlon 64 is probably the best bet for a 64-bit processor right now since its 32-bit performance is fairly good (but possibly not quite as good as some of the top end 32-bit processors). The Intel Itanium does a fairly poor job with 32-bit code (from what little I know about it). It's best used with OSes that are fully 64-bit along with their applications (such as the various flavors of UNIX and bits of LINUX).

In my opinion you're not really going to see a big speed boost going to a 64-bit CPU right now. You'll be considered an 'early adopter' with all of the headaches and pining for change that goes with that moniker. Apple went through the recent pain (over the last year and a half or so) with moving to OS X - a major change for them. However the change was for a much more improved OS (eventually) and it had the benefit of having a single vendor dictate the cutoff date for it to occur. Something like this just can't happen in the Windows/PC world with all of the legacy apps running out there. Microsoft just can't dicate that everyone needs to convert over to 64-bit applications now and that developers stop developing with 32-bit code (though they will probably try to some extent).

I'm not sure how much of Windows Microsoft will actuallly code up into 64-bit code. More than likely it will need quite a bit of 'legacy' 32-bit code to run a majority of applications out there. Programs that will convert over to native 64-bit will most likely be those that are memory hogs (such as databases, some high-end graphics editing and rendering programs, etc.). Most of your applications will benefit little from a 64-bit processor until they become much more common on the desktop and subsequently developers start releasing 64-bit versions of their programs.

Oh... and CM will most likely work with the 64-bit version of Windows that Microsoft releases. However, there can be enough changes in the code (DirectX, drivers and their libraries, etc.) to cause possible problems; and the possibilities can't be ruled out until Microsoft ships the retail product.

[ October 29, 2003, 12:13 PM: Message edited by: Schrullenhaft ]

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Thanks for the feedback. Always appreciate your opinion and experience. I would love to drop the money on a high end P4 right now but with games like CMx2 and Battlefield Command coming out within the next year or two I'm very tempted to go 64 bit. Perhaps I'll wait a while and check some of the other game forums to see what "early adopters" are experiencing before I make a purchase. Thanks again.

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