Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

new mid-2009 MacBookPro NOT 64-bit capable????

just bought brand new 15" MacBookPro5,3 mid-2009 model.
but it won't run in 64bit because it says it's not 64bit capable EFI and kernel??
how can that be??
what am I missing?

MacPro dual 2.8 Quad-Core Xeon, Mac OS X (10.6.1), 10 GB RAM

Posted on Sep 17, 2009 5:45 AM

Reply
2 replies

Sep 17, 2009 9:17 AM in response to schwerd

I know it was something that Apple wanted to push as one of the advantages of Snow Leopard... but the whole 64 bit thing has really just caused lots of confusion. They should have just announced it as a step in becoming a fully 64 bit OS. Lots of people now think they're missing out on something or not getting the best performance when their machines are not running in 64 bit mode... when in effect, no one would really ever notice any difference. It has also caused confusion with respect to RAM capacities. Many people were under the impression that if their machine was limited to 4GB or less of RAM that moving to Snow Leopard would let them access more RAM (which is generally the biggest touted advantage of a 64 bit OS). Even under Leopard, the latest notebooks were able to have up to 8GB installed... and MacPros under Leopard could support up to 32GB.

To be honest, the average user has no real understanding of the differences between 32 and 64 bit. But just like everything else... they see 64 is 2x 32... so it must automatically be better. It will be a while before there are many apps that are specifically developed for 64 bits. Even in the Windows world where 64 bit versions of XP and Vista have been around for years, there are very few 64 bit apps... and considering the giant market share they have, if there was a real need to move in that direction, you would have seen a lot more development for 64 bit apps. It's going to happen eventually... but by that time, it's safe to say that the 64 bit capabilities of Snow Leopard (or what ever version of the OS is out then) will be fully implemented.

new mid-2009 MacBookPro NOT 64-bit capable????

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.