Intel Core Duo - 64 bit?

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Abe Author

Level 3

910 points

Intel Core Duo - 64 bit?

Are the new Intel Core Duos 64 bit like the G5's?

iBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.4), 1.33Ghz - 60GB - 512MB - Combo Drive & 80G Lacie Ext. Firewire HD

Posted on Feb 16, 2006 1:53 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 16, 2006 2:33 PM in response to Abe

No. They're 32 bit. I suspect we have to wait for the towers before they'll be using 64bit Intel processors.

Francine
Schwieder

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Answer 2

Abe Author

Level 3

910 points

Feb 16, 2006 5:49 PM in response to Francine Schwieder

Thanks you solved it, but I'll wait a little while to mark it as such. I want to see if anyone has any other comments about this.

Thanks again.

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Answer 3

psachyah

Level 1

0 points

Mar 2, 2006 1:19 PM in response to Abe

mac mini-->
Graphics and Video Support
Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory1

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Answer 4

Mar 2, 2006 3:45 PM in response to psachyah

Not sure what you are trying to say, but the new Mac mini also has the 32 bit processor. This means the processor can address up to 4GBs of RAM. 64 bit processors can use...well, I forget how much, but it is lots and lots. This is a completely different issue than the amount of RAM that is on the minis. And most of the geeks at sites like ars technica are not realy thrilled with the integration solution used for the video RAM on the new minis. But that is a completely different thing than whether there is a 32 bit or 64 bit processor. Intel does have a 64 bit processor:

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/xeon/

But that is not the processor that is in the new minis.

Francine
Schwieder

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Answer 5

Mar 2, 2006 6:39 PM in response to Francine Schwieder

Personally, for something like the Mini, shared memory is not that big of a deal. I'll be surprised to see them carry it over to the iBook line though... that's something Apple has been touting for a long time is that they have dedicated video memory.

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Answer 6

Abe Author

Level 3

910 points

Mar 9, 2006 4:51 PM in response to JohnBradshaw

The iBook does not have shared video memory, it has its own dedicated graphics card. Don't know what you're thinking of.

Apple:

" Using an ATI Radeon 9550 graphics processor with 32 megabytes of dedicated DDR SDRAM and AGP 4X, the iBook G4 delivers blistering 2D, 3D and multimedia graphics performance for today’s most demanding games and applications."

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5) 1.33Ghz - 60GB - 512MB - Combo Drive & 80G Lacie Ext. Firewire HD

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Answer 7

neonsox

Level 2

214 points

Mar 9, 2006 8:26 PM in response to Francine Schwieder

Intel isn't much into the 64-bit thing yet like AMD is. They do have 64-bit emulation and might have actually started using real 64-bit instructions, but I'm not sure. I'm also not sure whether the G5 used emulation or the real thing (as AMD does). One thing I am sure of though, is that these new Yonah chips are strictly 32-bit for now.

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Answer 8

R C-R

Level 6

17,794 points

Mar 9, 2006 9:29 PM in response to Abe

I think he is speculating on new, Intel-based iBooks. Historically, shared RAM has been a low end approach, offering lower performance at lower cost. With today's fast busses & interconnection schemes, the performance hit doesn't have to be that great, so while it wouldn't be ideal for a gamer looking for a zillion frames per second experience, it probably would be fine for other non-pro needs.

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