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Pentium D w/ win7 64-bit or 32?

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overbound   10-29-2009 at 09:06:30 AM

I have a PentiumD CPU 2 core 2.80GHz. I've read somewhere that while the PentiumD can run as a 64 bit processor it runs better with a 32bit OS such as Win7 32bit. Reason was something about the PentiumD not being a true 64 bit processor and running emulation to support it or something like that. Anyway can anyone confirm or deny this? Should I use 32bit OS or 64bit?

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505090   10-29-2009 at 09:20:54 AM
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depends on how much ram you intend to use the processor is fine

if you don't need the extra ran stick with 32, especially with an older system you are going to have a hard time finding 64bit drivers

------------------------------ E8400 : GA-EP35-DS3L : mushkin 4GB DDR2 800 : HD 2600PRO : 450W ATX12V : Windows 7
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overbound   10-29-2009 at 09:36:03 AM
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Will the 64bit OS help with gaming at all? I do like to play some rather high end computer games and I need all the help I can get my system is rather old as you said E510 same as the Ram post you helped me with. I'm also concerned with what I read about it being a 32bit processor that emulates 64bit w/e that means....

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shubham1401   10-29-2009 at 10:18:20 AM
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It won't help with gaming...
Performance will be the same.

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rodney_ws   10-29-2009 at 01:44:28 PM
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If you REALLY like to play "some rather high end computer games" then you will give up on your Pentium D and step up to a more modern processor.

Message quoted 1 times
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overbound   10-29-2009 at 05:09:16 PM
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rodney_ws wrote :

If you REALLY like to play "some rather high end computer games" then you will give up on your Pentium D and step up to a more modern processor.



Well that's stating the obvious.

Anyway so I should stick with the 32bit OS version even if I find the drivers for the 64 bit? Will I gain anything by going to 64 bit? Even a slight performance increase?

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Scotteq   10-29-2009 at 05:23:29 PM
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Don't bother with a 64 bit OS for that comp. You'll go through a lot of trouble for Equal performance, at best.

Just make the change with your next build.


Message edited by Scotteq on 10-29-2009 at 05:23:55 PM
------------------------------ Which Chip? Well, it depends on which set of thieving b@stardz you choose to support: The ones who use insider trading to enrich themselves while running their company into the ground, or the ones who illegally pay vendors to not support the first group.
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505090   10-29-2009 at 06:29:44 PM
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there will be a very slight performance drop with 64 do to increased overhead (nothing to do with the processor), but your not going to see any significant performance difference between 32 and 64 bit

you will see more headaches and difficulties with 64 than than 32; on an older system drivers, software,....

------------------------------ E8400 : GA-EP35-DS3L : mushkin 4GB DDR2 800 : HD 2600PRO : 450W ATX12V : Windows 7
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rodney_ws   10-29-2009 at 06:55:10 PM
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The limitations of a 32 bit OS won't really apply to you since you'll be CPU/GPU bottlenecked as well. Some people with high end gaming rigs would scream bloody murder if they only had access to 3.25 GB of RAM... but for someone just wanting to play something like Oblivion or TF2, they won't really have a reason to complain.

Recently I built a new i5-750 system with an ATI 5850 and I just had a 32 bit Windows 7 evaluation copy lying around. Being too lazy (and bandwidth starved) to download a proper 64 bit version, I installed Win 7 Enterprise 32 bit. My system was limited to 3.25 GB of RAM, but the performance was still fast as hell. Obviously as newer games come out that start to utilize four or more gigabytes of RAM this will be a problem, but for now it really isn't a tighter bottleneck than your current CPU.

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overbound   10-30-2009 at 12:04:46 AM
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Now this leaves me wondering why they would even made the pentiumD 64bit. I mean what kind of "upgrade" slows you don't heh. Anyway thanks for all the answers I'll stick to 32bit for now rodney_ws I'd pick yours as the best answer had I only made this a question XD.

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505090   10-30-2009 at 12:11:42 AM
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processors have been 64 bit compatible for a long time now as far it's usefulness well that depends on what you use it for

------------------------------ E8400 : GA-EP35-DS3L : mushkin 4GB DDR2 800 : HD 2600PRO : 450W ATX12V : Windows 7
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PsyKhiqZero   10-30-2009 at 06:54:38 AM
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From what I understand 64bit works the same between all the desktop class amd and pentium chips. However intel was a bit more accurate in describing it with EMT where AMD used 64bit.

EMT stand for extended memory translation, this give the CPU the abiltiy to address more then 4gigs of memory. Intel's Itanium series (now deceased) used a real 64 bit cpu.

This is from what I remeber and mostly what I speculate. Here is a thread on the subject.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] -pure-pure

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megamanx00   10-30-2009 at 06:55:39 AM
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Some of the P4 based CPUs are only 32-bit. One of the ways Intel differentiated the Pentium Ds was that some models lacked 64-bit support. If your CPU supports a 64-bit OS, then there shouldn't be a problem.

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overbound   10-30-2009 at 07:02:21 AM
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I thought 64-bit support was a rather new thing like around 2004 or 2005 and if it was new then you'd expect it to be faster wouldn't you? My PentiumD does support 64bit is there a difference between supporting 64bit and actually being a 64bit processor?

Completely off topic but PsyKhiqZero if you like Sonic the Hedgehog you might like this: http://www.timetwisted.sonicstrike.net/ its a demo of an old school Sonic game I've been working on for years.

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505090   10-30-2009 at 08:15:52 PM
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as i recall EMT was a work around for 32 bit OS's to address more memory, that is a separate issue than being a 64bit OS

64 is faster for it's applications it's like the difference between a car and a truck, one goes fast the other can tow, it all depends on what you want to do

and yes supporting 64 bit is 64 bit, no difference

------------------------------ E8400 : GA-EP35-DS3L : mushkin 4GB DDR2 800 : HD 2600PRO : 450W ATX12V : Windows 7
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