Is Snow Leopard 64bit?

All you need is a mac with an intel processor

As SinX has stated, so long as you meet the box requirements/online requirements, you can run Snow Leopard. In this case, Snow Leopard defaults to a 32-bit kernel on all but Apple's server line. As I understand it, you won't be able to run 64-bit applications, but Apple includes 32-bit versions of all their applications, so I'm sure you'll be fine to upgrade, if you so desire.

Snow Leopard (10.6), just like Leopard (10.5) before it, is fully capable of running 64-bit applications regardless of whether or not the kernel was booted 32-bit or 64-bit. Just to clarify, because this is a point of much confusion; You can run 64-bit applications while running 32-bit kernel just fine.

love,
shmoo

This is 100% wrong.

On all but the first generation of Intel Macs (the Core Duo machines), Snow Leopard runs 64 bit applications on all Macs. ONLY on 32-bit processors does it run 32 bit applications.

William,

You are correct. I meant to include the caveat that I was speaking of 64-bit processors (Core 2 Duo, in the MB/MBP/Mini line). I did not mean to give the impression that somehow 64-bit applications could be run on a 32-bit processor with a 32-bit kernel loaded. Only that a 64-bit application could be run on a 64-bit processor with a 32-bit kernel loaded.

love,
shmoo

If it is an intel processor, which yours is, you can run 64-bit applications.
Actually, Macs with a powerPC G5 processor can, and have been, running 64-bit applications for quite some time.

You can tell if your system will run in 64-bit with this command in Terminal:
ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi
If you get the response ' | | "firmware-abi" = <">', then you will be able to run in 64-bit mode.

The first generation MacBook Pros with the Core Duo are 32 bit chips; they cannot run 64 bit applications. That said, pretty much every "64-bit" app that's available on Mac OS X today (i.e. in 10.6) has both 64 and 32 bit binaries embedded (much the same way that "universal" applications had both Intel and PPC code.

And while the G5 was a 64 bit chip, I am unaware of many 64 bit OS X applications that ran on PPC. In theory the option is there, but I don't know that anyone leveraged it, ever 🙂

William Lloyd wrote:
And while the G5 was a 64 bit chip, I am unaware of many 64 bit OS X applications that ran on PPC. In theory the option is there, but I don't know that anyone leveraged it, ever 🙂

Look around more - there were a number of applications rewritten in 64-bit mode for PPC, and they worked well on Panther and Tiger but really took off with the 64-bit frameworks in Leopard as they did on Intel platforms.

Not to mention you could of course roll your own:

http://developer.apple.com/MacOsX/64bit.html

When the Mac Pro came out just three years ago, I remember how drivers that were written "by the book" by ATTO and others broke with JUST having 2GB RAM, didn't even need to have 4GB RAM present to require new drivers.

So being conservative and prudent makes sense.

FirmTek has now gotten 64-bit driver for some of their controllers (the ones that probably matter).

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/#S25935

SoftRAID is included on SL DVD but they are working on a driver that will support both 32 and 64-bit.

Only certain intel Macs can run a 64bit kernel together with 64bit apps. Apple has a list of Macs capable of this. Any intel Mac with at least a Core2Duo will be able to run 64bit apps and a 32bit kernel.

lenn

Hi

Your machine should be a Core 2 Duo, by the look of the specs. The "2" bit is the important one. That means its a 64bit capable machine. Unlike my own MacBook Pro, which is only Core Duo (no number 2) 😟

Paul

Paul,

Just so it is clear, you do know that your MBP will run Snow Leopard just fine, even though yours has a 32 bit CPU, right?