How is going the 64 bit?

Anybody knows when is it planned to release the 64bits processors? Intel or AMD? Who will be the starter? Any news about the speed of the new chips?

I\'m interested in changing my old pc \'s processor and I\'d like to insert a new-generation one.

Is there planned a special windows version adapted to the power of the new chipsets? I\'m a bit loose in this topic...

I\'m a bit confused by this all too but I\'ll try to help.  AMD will be the first out with consumer 64-bit chips, the Athlon 64 this winter.  The chip will also be able to run 32-bit software very well, something Intel is still working on.  

Expect the speed of the chip to be about 2.0ghz but remember that higher clock speeds don\'t always mean higher performance.

I believe Microsoft is working on a Windows 64 to take advantage of the new chips.

Consumer 64 bit chips probably remain a niche thing until atleast the end of the decade.

Check http://www.anandtech.com and http://www.tomshardware.com for more information.

What\'s the difference between a 32- and 64-bit processor? What will it mean for performance?

it\'s the bandwidth that\'s being measured

the data path into the CPU is measured in bits

think of it like a highway into a city

the more lanes you have, the more cars (data) that can flow into and out of the city (CPU)

Hmmm... I was reading about this and there was a company that was trying to get out these new proccessors before intel etc. to try and dwarf them and get a rolling start in the proccessing industry. I need to look for the paper it was in cause i dont remember the name but one of their goals was to kinda shatter Intel\'s iron reign over the industry. Shrugs*

Originally posted by mm
it\'s the bandwidth that\'s being measured

the data path into the CPU is measured in bits

think of it like a highway into a city

the more lanes you have, the more cars (data) that can flow into and out of the city (CPU)

Actually it\'s more than that. 64-Bit CPU allows for additional registers in the CPU. Registers are the fastest kind of RAM possible in the CPU where it store and execute the instructions.

U can have a 64-bit CPU but ur databus to the m/b and other component can be different. Example, you can have a 64-bit CPU with a 128/256 bit bus to the m/b. Similarly, a 32-bit CPU can have such structure.

additionally, the other advantage is the ability to address > 4GB RAM. A lot of die-hard AMD fans has been advocating this as a significant feature, but I don\'t think this is as significant. Some  32-bit P4 servers have additional memory controllers > 32 bit which maps and allows RAM > 4GB to be allocate to the CPU already.

also, bear in mind, 64-bit CPU will consume much more memory than a 32-bit CPU does.