x32 vs x64?

[Dargon]

Hey, I'm sorry, stupid question, but can anyone tell me what the numbers mean, and what the difference between them is?

[Cyanotical]

http://www.techsupportalert.com/cont...-explained.htm

[Fuzzykins]

It's x86 and x64, but anyway.
x64 is 64 bit, and boils down to more RAM use for the average user. (It's more than that, but it's irrelevant.)
x86 is 32 bit, and has limited RAM, but most programs were designed for x32 bit use in the past.

If you're buying a new OS, go for 64bit/x64.

[Deleted]

Importance for the user lies in addressable Memory limitations.

64-bit systems such as x86-64 (also known as AMD64) can address 2^64 bytes of memory. 32-bit systems (x86) can access only 2^32 bytes of memory, which is approximately 4 gigabytes.

The upside obviously of a 64-bit system is that it can use way more RAM, and access complex data faster. The downside is that RAM requirements also slightly increase.

[Dargon]

So if I only have 4gb of RAM, then this WoW client change won't affect me at all, and I should continue running the 32-bit client? Or am I still an idiot?

[Deleted]

So if I only have 4gb of RAM, then this WoW client change won't affect me at all, and I should continue running the 32-bit client?

Not necessarily. As I said, RAM access speeds for some data is typically better. Some benefits could be possible to reap from that. Theres also a few other changes on the processor side that might be utilized, as the game will run natively and not in a legacy mode. Making a 32-bit program means making it compatible also with very old processors. With 64-bit, you eliminate a lot of older processors - and thus you can make the program utilize more modern capabilities as they can be safely assumed to be present.

I can't remember if WoW has become Large-Address-Aware yet, but if not, it still has to obey the 2^31 byte of RAM per process limit. (2gb)
A 64-bit program does not have that limit, which allows further preloading and caching, which in turn should improve performance.

[Dargon]

Oh, okay, thanks a lot.