Member Avatar for moderate_rock48

Ok, I was reading in PC gamer magazine's "pc bulding bible" and they say that amd 64 processor are incredibly fast, but there are no windows compatible versions coded to take advantage of amd's 64 bit technology. So everything is running at 32 bits and then I see an advertisement that shows the amd symbols and says "the ONLY windows compatible 64-bit pc processor" its for alienware computers. Is it only alienware computers come with windows coded for 64 bits? Or if you were building your own computer, could you find that windows version anywhere? Also, could someone tell me the Hierarchy of amd processor, I understand the "amd athlon 64 3200+, 3400+, 3600+, 4000+" but where do the amd semprons and FX stack up against those? thanks.

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A short, practical update that complements the replies already here.

The Alienware ad was marketing — not a literal exclusivity claim. Windows for x86‑64 systems exists as a distinct SKU (Windows XP Professional x64 Edition) and Microsoft made x64 desktop/server editions generally available on April 25, 2005. That release is what pushed x86‑64 (AMD64/Intel 64) into mainstream client support. (news.microsoft.com)

About the product lines: Sempron was AMD’s budget family and its early desktop parts were largely 32‑bit designs or lower‑feature A64 derivatives; AMD added AMD64 support to specific Sempron steppings later in 2005, so whether a Sempron is 64‑bit depends on the exact model/stepping. The Athlon 64 FX line was positioned as the enthusiast/high‑end SKU (larger cache, different binning/feature sets and enthusiast‑focused behaviour), so pick the FX or full Athlon 64 if you want the highest single‑thread throughput. Check part numbers/stepping if you need guaranteed AMD64 support. (en.wikipedia.org)

What to expect in real use: routine desktop apps usually show little or no speedup just by switching the OS to 64‑bit. The clear benefits are: addressing well over 4 GB of RAM and faster throughput for apps rewritten or compiled for 64‑bit (video/photo encoding, large databases, scientific work, heavy server/workstation tasks). Crucially, 64‑bit Windows requires 64‑bit drivers — early adopters ran into missing driver support for chipsets, printers and some peripherals, so always confirm driver availability before switching. (en.wikipedia.org)

If you’re building: decide by workload and budget. For budget builds a Sempron can be fine — verify the stepping if you need AMD64. For mainstream or enthusiast builds choose an Athlon 64/FX (or Intel EM64T‑capable Pentium 4 6xx if you prefer Intel) and then verify motherboard BIOS, chipset and GPU vendors publish x64 drivers for your hardware before installing XP x64. If the system will stay under ~4 GB RAM and you rely on many legacy peripherals, remaining on 32‑bit Windows will be less hassle until software and drivers mature. (intel.com)

Notes tied to forum replies: ’s read of that ad was correct (marketing); and gave useful direction on where to look next; and ’s warning about early/preview builds of XP x64 remains sensible — verify release status and driver support before making it your primary OS.

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Member Avatar for Member #11424

Semprons are A64's without 64-bit capability and a smaller L2 cache.
FX are the top of the line processors with unlocked cpu multipliers (other A64's are unlocked downwards only).
FX's are mainly for overclocker's since they cost a lot more than the regular 64's, but their advantage is their speed potential.
There is a 64-bit Windows version available for download:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/evaluation/upgrade.mspx
Driver support for 64-bit Windows is the main concern to be noted since 64-bit Windows is still very much in it's infancy.

Member Avatar for Coconut Monkey

So everything is running at 32 bits and then I see an advertisement that shows the amd symbols and says "the ONLY windows compatible 64-bit pc processor" its for alienware computers. Is it only alienware computers come with windows coded for 64 bits?

You didn't read that correctly mod_rock. "The only Windows compatible 64-bit processor", meaning it's a 64-bit CPU which is happy to run on the only type of Windows currently available - 32-bit.

Also, only the 3100+ Sempron is A64 based (I believe there's also a 3300+ coming). All the slower versions you see are based on the Thoroughbred AthlonXP core.

Member Avatar for techfreak

Its all about marketing. How long ago was that artical published? Was it before the Itanium processors were released by Intel? With Windows 64 about to be released, 64 bit processors will start to flood the market even moreso then they already have.

Member Avatar for moderate_rock48

Oh, ok I see now, what kind of performance can we expect to see when microsoft picks up on the 64 bit windows? Will there be that much of a difference? and what will the differences be?

Member Avatar for techfreak

Well if you upgrade to Windows 64, you will deffinatly see a performcance increace.... Provided that the software your using was writen to be used on a 64 bit processor. If not, you'll still be running it in 32 bit mode. Unless the OS is 64 bit, and the programs your running are 64 bit, the processor itself is only 32 bit. If the software was programmed for 64 bit processors, the performance increace should be significant. I havent seen any benchmarks yet, mainly due to the face Windows 64 is still in Beta testing, but I dont think anyone will be disapointed.... unless Microsoft pooched this version as well.

Member Avatar for Member #11424

I don't think you'll see a change between XP64 and XP32 for everyday home use.
The main increases are with things like video/audio compilation/editing, databases, anything with a lot of calculations.

Member Avatar for Coconut Monkey

You didn't read that correctly mod_rock. "The only Windows compatible 64-bit processor", meaning it's a 64-bit CPU which is happy to run on the only type of Windows currently available - 32-bit.

Also, only the 3100+ Sempron is A64 based (I believe there's also a 3300+ coming). All the slower versions you see are based on the Thoroughbred AthlonXP core.

Whup, I beg to differ with myself. Seems there's some more A64 core (minus the 64) models in the works - 2600+, 2800+ and 3000+.

Member Avatar for NuGG

64XP makes my AMD Athalon 64 3500+ run loads faster than on 32XP. shame its 555Mb, it took ages to download even on a 1.1Mb internet connection!

Try it out if you havnt yet. i recomend it.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

NuGG, you should really be a little more careful with what you recommend. Windows XP 64-bit version is available for download in beta version. Reports indicate that it is reasonably stable and full-featured, but it MUST be mentioned that it is not yet a final release product! It has been made available for final testing in preparation to a full product release.

It should not be used as your main OS, and it will expire after it has been installed for 360 days. After that, you would probbaly need to format the system to adequately remove it.

Member Avatar for NuGG

After that, you would probbaly need to format the system to adequately remove it.

Dont worry about it... i format my harddrive every 6 months any way. becides it works fine, so i dont see what the problem is...

Member Avatar for rcrevolution

Well AMD 64 is no longer the only Windows 64-bit cpu, Intels Pentium 4 620,640,660 all have 64-bit.


and how are you getting X64 to run!, none of my drivers work for it! ahh!

Member Avatar for NuGG


and how are you getting X64 to run!, none of my drivers work for it! ahh!

The Windows x64 file is in .ISO format, which means you have to copy it to CD, and then run it from the CD...

Member Avatar for rcrevolution

lol, not that.

i installed it, then I had to install all my drivers, and none of them supported x64 so I had to reinstall XP.

my nforce3, audio,chipset, my printer, nothing was supported

Member Avatar for moderate_rock48

Well AMD 64 is no longer the only Windows 64-bit cpu, Intels Pentium 4 620,640,660 all have 64-bit.

ahh!

Yea, but im sure you could probably get the amd's for alot cheaper than the intels, right?

Intels are such a rip off...well for what I want to do anyways.

Member Avatar for rcrevolution

yeah the 660 is like $1200, but i was just adding that amd can no longer say the only 64-bit windows cpu, but they can certainly say the first

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