[wellylug] 32 Bit vs. 64 Bit

[Cliff Pratt]

Jo Booth wrote:
> 
> To quote someone on MacSlash "64 bit doesn't mean faster. It means it 
> can access much larger memory pointers." Bigger bites. It all depends on 
> the processors tho:
> <http://www.geekpatrol.ca/2006/09/32-bit-vs-64-bit-performance/>
> 
Well, yes, and if the I/O is written to allow it, it can transfer data 
from peripherals to CPU/memory in 64bit bites. Depending on channel 
speeds, hardware and software buffers and other stuff like timings, that 
*may* mean that mean that sequential reading (and perhaps writing may be 
faster). In particular paging operations *may* be faster, but if you 
have buckets of RAM this probably won't be noticeable, even if it isn';t 
masked by other effects.

Cheers,

Cliff