What I find really amusing in these discussions is a base assumption that by making an application 64-bit it's an improvement. It isn't, there's no reason it will be. A well written 32-bit application is no different than a well written 64-bit application... unless you consider that the physical size of the code doubles on the hard disk.Only thing switching to 64-bit would really offer is more memory access. If you really think that's a good idea... stop and consider how much memory Microsoft loves to hog with their OSes, FSX... etc. I think unleashing a huge memory address isn't necessarily a good thing when we're discussing Microsoft.

What I find really amusing in these discussions is a base assumption that by making an application 64-bit it's an improvement. It isn't, there's no reason it will be. A well written 32-bit application is no different than a well written 64-bit application... unless you consider that the physical size of the code doubles on the hard disk.Only thing switching to 64-bit would really offer is more memory access. If you really think that's a good idea... stop and consider how much memory Microsoft loves to hog with their OSes, FSX... etc. I think unleashing a huge memory address isn't necessarily a good thing when we're discussing Microsoft.

32->64bit isn't an increase of two times, it's an increase of 2^32 times. Clearly 64-bit applications are not this much larger than their 32-bit counterparts. Larger memory addressing can help a program make use of more system resources, allowing for a more life-like and complex virtual world in the case of flight sim. It's unlikely to help performance though, but it won't hurt either.

TechguyMaxC,WarpD was referring to the executable size, not the address space size.64-bit executables are larger than 32-bit, but not twice as large, as not all the bits in the executable contain addresses.Cheers,- jahman.

TechguyMaxC,WarpD was referring to the executable size, not the address space size.64-bit executables are larger than 32-bit, but not twice as large, as not all the bits in the executable contain addresses.Cheers,- jahman.

Right, standard (non-long, double, or otherwise extended) variables typically double in size when moving from 32->64-bit and not all code is comprised of variables. My previous post was intended to demonstrate as much but clearly I was not successful.

Right, standard (non-long, double, or otherwise extended) variables typically double in size when moving from 32->64-bit and not all code is comprised of variables. My previous post was intended to demonstrate as much but clearly I was not successful.

Microsoft uses the LLP64 standard for variables. Only pointers expand from 32 bits to 64 bits; all other basic data types (integer and long) remain 32 bits in length. float and double are still 32 bits and 64 bits.

...instead of posting this in the FSX forum, go to a forum of casual gamers and see what they are using. Or head over to Guru.com and browse through the driver downloads and notice how many 32 bit downloads are still taking place, both for ATI and Nvidia cards. Yes, I just did and the numbers shocked even me as to how many 32 bit drivers, even the most current drivers, are still being downloaded.

For an even more comprehensive survey, check out Valve's hardware and software survey collected through Steam:http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/?platform=pcJust over 50% of users polled are using a 64-bit operating system (based on a sample size of several million), so the results obviously aren't as lopsided as they are here. However, the trend appears to be slowing turning in favor of 64-bit.

For an even more comprehensive survey, check out Valve's hardware and software survey collected through Steam:http://store.steampo...ey/?platform=pcJust over 50% of users polled are using a 64-bit operating system (based on a sample size of several million), so the results obviously aren't as lopsided as they are here.  However, the trend appears to be slowing turning in favor of 64-bit.

Slowing .., wrong word.   The trend is quickly turning in favr of a 64bit OS.  Millions on units within the last year sold with 64bit OS.  Presently, you have to try buy a none 64bit OS.