Just came across this wonderful post in codeproject. If you are interested in game programming the python sample code gives you an example on how you can use mathematics and its allied fields for programming.
Category: Misc
One of my friends asked me what x86 and x86_64 meant! That was the inspiration, so i decided to write a blog post explaining what actually happens inside the CPU.
Processors can be broadly classified as 32 bit processors and 64 bit processors, the processors that are in the market come under the 64 bit category.
Examples:
32 bit processors : Pentium 4
64 bit processors: Core 2 Duo
Basically the difference lies in the processing, addressing and the data bus transfer. A 64 bit processor will be able to transport more data than a 32 bit processor. A 32 bit processor can process up to 32 bits in a clock cycle whereas the 64 bit can process up to 64 bits per clock cycle. Processing includes transmission as well. A 32 bit processor can process data and memory addresses that are represented by 32 bits. 64 bit refers to processor with registers that can store 64 bit numbers.
Difference in RAM addressing :
64 bit systems allow systems to address up to 2 ^ 10 GB of data. In a 32 bit system we can address only 4GB of memory, this includes the physical memory as well as the graphic cards in modern systems.
When making the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit PCs, users won’t actually see a change in browsing and word processing programs. Benefits of 64-bit processors would be seen with more demanding applications such as video encoding, scientific research, searching massive databases; tasks where being able to load massive amounts of data into the system’s memory is required.
So what makes 64 bit better :
- Pointers in a 64 bit system take 8 bytes instead of 4 bytes (32 bit). The effect on RAM usage is not much , but in the worst case scenario, a huge part of the CPU cache may be wasted in this process .
- There are many more general-purpose CPU registers in 64-bit mode. Registers are the fastest memory in your entire system. There are only 8 in 32-bit mode and 16 general purpose registers in 64-bit mode. In practice applications run 30 % faster.
- A 32 bit application may run on a 64 bit processor but the vice versa doesn’t hold good. So 64 bit applications are faster.
Problems with a 64 bit OS :
I have come across a lot of driver related issues in 64 bit machines though they have been addressed by recent patches and fixes.
HTH
RHCE soft copies coming soon !! 😀
One of the most inspiring videos that i have ever come across, The Last Lecture by Prof . Randy Pausch
Finally got my chinese visa , excited about the fact that i would be visiting China. My first paper presentation and its double delight for me in this regard. Two of my research papers have been selected at the International Conference on Computer Science and Information Technology (ICCSIT) scheduled to be held in Chengdu from June 10-12.
Ananthakrishnan Ravi 