AMD64 Desktop Support

[RW]

On Wednesday 21 June 2006 01:42, Michael Collette wrote:
> Andy Reitz wrote:
> > In 64-bit mode, that does appear to be the case. However, it sounds like
> > you could purchase an AMD64-based processor, and have everythign work
> > fine in 32-bit mode. Then later down the road, as the software evolves,
> > you could upgrade FreeBSD to be 64-bit and be set.
> >
> > Just a thought,
>
> I was thinking along those lines as well, but then the money starts to
> kick in.  The dual core Pentium is a much lower price than the dual
> AMD64.  By the time the software is truly ready to go 64-bit, I think
> I'd be better off buying a system at that point.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that 64-bit is going to be superfast, 
most people report very little difference in speed, except in a limited 
number of applications, some people say that it's actually slower. The real 
reason for 64-bit is support for address spaces that span more than 4GB.