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Windows 7 64-bit will soon take over desktop computers.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

Consumers have had the option of 64-bit Windows computing since the release of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition in May 2005, four years after the release of Windows XP 32-bit. At the end of 2006, Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit versions were released simultaneously. Yet chances are you're currently using a machine that runs the 32-bit version of Windows.

This is about to change. Windows 64-bit has started to gain a significant foothold in the past two years as more systems ship with 3GB or more of memory. However, with Windows 7, 64-bit computing is likely to become even more common.

What's the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit computing? In a nutshell, the numbers refer to the amount of bits a computer can process in one computation. They also translate into the amount of random access memory (RAM) a computer can address. A 32-bit Windows computer can address a maximum of 4GB of RAM, while a 64-bit Windows machine can address up to 128GB and even more (64-bit applications can address theoretically up to 16 billion gigabytes of memory). So the higher number of bit means better computing, both in terms of precision and capability.

Despite the potential, the transition to the new platform has been slow. This is because of the high price of RAM and the lack of device drivers and 64-bit software applications. (Drivers are a special type of software that make hardware components work with the operating system. Without the sound driver, for example, your computer wouldn't be able to play music.)

Back when Windows Vista was released, 2GB of RAM, which is the recommended amount to make Vista run properly, could easily cost a couple hundred dollars. (This is one of the reasons Vista failed so badly as a new OS release.) There was virtually no 64-bit application then, either, other than a few game demos, and most hardware vendors didn't provide the 64-bit version of the drivers. Apart from this, 32-bit computers have been able to satisfy most of our daily computing needs.

The Gateway notebook roll-out is official. Sony's is not. Gateway Computer announced three lines of notebook PCs on Monday with 64-bit Windows, while Circuit City prematurely posted images of upcoming Sony notebooks.

Gateway 14-inch T6836

(Credit: Gateway )

Gateway rolled out three notebooks targeted at students. The P series desktop replacement comes with a 17-inch widescreen, the M series with a 15.4-inch screen, and the T series uses a 14.1-inch screen.

All systems come with 64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium and pack 4GB of memory--the minimum for acceptable performance in 64-bit Windows.

(See Gateway goes all 64-bit in back-to-school desktops.)

The 15-inch "Garnet Red" Gateway M-6848 is spec'd with an Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processor, 4GB of memory, a 250GB hard disk drive, 802.11a/b/g,a wireless, DVD-R/RW drive, and Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1. It retails for $799.99.

The 14-inch "Pacific Blue" Gateway T-6836 notebook has virtually the same specifications. It also retails for $799.99.

Other features include a multimedia panel integrated into the keyboard, DVD burner with LabelFlash technology, and an integrated Webcam.

Upcoming Sony retail notebook

Meanwhile, details about upcoming Sony notebooks continue to seep out.

Circuit City prematurely posted photos of the upcoming Sony portables. (Though Circuit City has pulled the links, cached images are still accessible.)

Last week, less colorful user-manual images appeared at Notebookreview.com as well as tidbits about various models. Apparently, models will use Intel's next-generation Centrino 2 "Montevina" processor, graphics chips from Advance Micro Devices' ATI unit, and sport 13- and 16-inch screens.

Fast silicon is hitting a wall in game PCs, according to Alienware, which is looking for ways to boost game PC performance.

Parent company Dell vowed on Tuesday to pour more resources into the game PC unit and invest in "product development, design, and engineering."

Alienware Area-51 m9750 notebook

(Credit: Alienware)

Alienware's Marc Diana believes optimizing systems for the 64-bit world would allow game PCs to make big strides in performance. In effect, today's 32-bit environments are putting a crimp on PC-based gaming.

"So many people are caught up in this hardware race. Dual-core, quad-core this and that," said Diana, who is Alienware's product marketing manager for desktops. "If these companies--Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia, ATI, and AMD--if they'd just sit down and realize the performance benefit of optimizing their drivers and software for 64-bit."

"I think that would make sense now," Diana said emphatically.

Much of the software in the PC world is still 32-bit, including most copies of Windows XP and Vista. In fact, Diana said Alienware doesn't offer 64-bit operating systems because "we don't feel comfortable shipping a system to a customer with the 64-bit driver support that's out there in the industry."

The most obvious limitation of 32-bit operating systems and applications is a cap--4GB--on how much memory an operating system can use. And some applications can't even use the entire 4GB. "Who cares about DDR3 memory? What about giving me 4GB?" Diana asked.

"They're building (software) for something that is inherently very old technology," he said. "We (need) drivers that are very healthy in the 64-bit space. I'm not saying that 64-bit drivers don't exist. I'm just saying there's not enough software development and support on that end to warrant companies like us to move to 64-bit operating systems."

He also talked about other factors--beyond faster processors and graphics chips--that affect system performance, particularly for consumers who have limited budgets. "If I was looking to invest in one component over another," Diana said, "I would probably invest in a really good motherboard," and after that, a dual-core processor and a midrange graphics card such as Nvidia's 8800GT or ATI's X2 card.

New DDR3 memory is also becoming more of a factor. DDR3 memory is offered in two Alienware platforms. "It is the highest-performing memory now on the market. But I'm not so sure it's quite there yet. The cost is very high," he said. "Six months from now it will start making a lot more sense (economically) than it does right now." Because of this, DDR2 memory is still widely used.

DDR3 memory modules use less power and double the data prefetch buffer to 8 bits from 4 bits per cycle. DDR3 also operates at higher clock rates (1600 MHz), among other improvements.

Adobe Systems has shared the first scrap of information about its next version of Photoshop, CS4, and it's a doozy: there will be a 64-bit version of the photo-editing software, but only for Windows and not for Mac OS X.

Adobe generally keeps features in the Windows and Mac versions at a level of parity, but that wasn't possible this time around because of a change Apple made last year to the Mac's programming underpinnings, John Nack, Adobe's product manager for Photoshop, said in an interview.

"We're not going to ship 64-bit native for Mac with CS4," Nack said. "We respect Apple's need to balance their resources and make decisions right for that platform. But it does have an impact on developers."

(Read the "What derailed the 64-bit train?" section below if you want more details on why Adobe concluded it had to change plans.)

What does 64 bits get you, anyway? Chiefly, an easier way for a processor and software to use more than 4GB of memory. In addition, the 64-bit versions of Intel and AMD x86 chips incorporate more data storage slots called registers that can improve performance.

But Nack took pains to say that moving to 64 bits, while useful, isn't like flipping a switch that doubles performance.

Modest performance improvements
Based on Adobe's preliminary testing, the 64-bit version of Photoshop CS4 will give a performance kick of about 8 percent to 12 percent compared with the 32-bit version, Nack said. For one particular task--opening up a huge 3.2-gigapixel file on a system with a lot of memory--the 64-bit version is 10 times faster because it doesn't have to write the data that won't fit in memory onto a relatively slow hard drive.

In practice, a huge swath of Photoshop users won't be affected by the difference, at least initially. The transition from 32-bit to 64-bit computing has been creeping sluggishly across the personal-computing industry for years already, and it's going to be some more years before the transition is complete.

Advanced Micro Devices unveiled the first 64-bit x86 chip in 2003. Although AMD and Intel have moved their x86 processors to 64-bit designs, the new Mac OS X 10.5, Leopard, is Apple's first full-fledged 64-bit operating system, and Microsoft's 64-bit versions of Windows are almost unheard of in real-world use.

But it's not unreasonable to assume CS4 will have to hold down the fort until 2010 or so, when a PC with 8GB of memory will be ordinary, and by then, the difference between Photoshop on the Mac and Windows likely will be more glaring--especially for those users who already had a 64-bit Photoshop CS3 on their wish lists.

Fortunately for Mac users, Intel-based machines can run Windows either with a dual-boot configuration or through virtualization software, so perhaps that could tide them over if Adobe obliges with permissive licensing.

Open the 64-bit floodgates?
Today, most folks with PCs don't bump too hard against 4GB memory limits--indeed, it's not easy to find mainstream computing hardware with memory slots for more than 4GB even when there's a 64-bit chip and operating system. But Photoshop can be a taxing application.

Images are getting bigger and bigger, and Photoshop often is used to composite many together on multiple layers or stitch them together into large panoramas. At the same time, people are starting to store more detail in each pixel, moving from 24 bits of color information to 48 bits and, in the case of the high dynamic range photography (HDR), often even more. Having more memory also improves Photoshop's ability to track the history of changes to a file.

I suspect the Adobe shift will be a harbinger that the rest of the software industry is finally getting ready to make the 64-bit shift. The Photoshop user base is a coveted one, and making sure consumers have the hardware drivers and other technology they need will be a useful incentive for moving 64-bit coding up the priority list.

One group of programmers that will doubtless be quick to move to 64 bit are those who sell plug-ins for Photoshop. The 64-bit version will require 64-bit plug-ins, Nack said. "We can't mix 32-bit and 64-bit processes," he said, adding that Adobe has a prerelease development program that helps programmers make the move.

That Mac OS X will miss out on initial 64-bit Photoshop support is somewhat perverse. Apple has chosen a straightforward transition to 64 bits for its operating system and its new, widely adopted product has arrived. Apple's smoother change is possible in part because Mac OS X can still use older 32-bit driver software to support hardware, whereas with corresponding drivers.

Microsoft began its 64-bit operating system transition with Windows XP, but it's putting more effort into the 64-bit version of Vista. Adobe expects 64-bit Photoshop to run on 64-bit XP, but only Vista will be supported, Nack said.

There are other Adobe Creative Suite applications, of course--the Premiere video-editing program springs to mind as another that could benefit from large-memory support--but Adobe isn't yet sharing details on those plans. It did announce Tuesday that Photoshop Lightroom version 2, which just entered beta testing, will be available in a 64-bit version. (Lightroom, for editing and cataloging raw photos from higher-end digital cameras, will work fine in 64-bit mode on Mac OS 10.5, Nack said.)

Other performance work
Nack and his boss, Kevin Connor, reiterated that 64-bit support doesn't mean a night-and-day performance improvement that Macs will miss out on.

"We fully expect that when we ship CS4, Mac users are going to be seeing performance improvements," Connor said.

And there are other hardware improvements besides 64-bit processors in the works. One big one is the increasing utility of graphics chips to process information as well as pump pixels to a screen.

"Graphics processors have become more powerful. We are very eager to take advantage of that power," Nack said.

What derailed the 64-bit train?
Until last June, Adobe had planned to move to 64 bit on Macs with CS4. But in June, Apple announced its technology plans at its Worldwide Developer Conference and that changed the situation for Adobe, Nack said.

Apple provides two technologies, Carbon and Cocoa, to help programmers take advantage of operating system services such as managing memory, fonts, or windows. Initially, Apple had planned to make both Carbon and Cocoa available in 64-bit incarnations, but Apple announced at the conference that only Cocoa would be.

Photoshop is written using Carbon, which dates from the earlier Mac OS 9 era and is better suited to cross-platform programming; Cocoa, like the newer Mac OS X, dates back to Jobs' previous company, Nextstep.

"When they chose not to do Carbon 64, we had to reevaluate our road map for getting there," Nack said. Adobe immediately assigned new programmers to the Cocoa switch "so we could make this transition as fast as possible, but as the saying goes, nine women can't make a baby in a month. You can only proceed at a certain pace," he said.

The amount of code that employs or interacts with Carbon features is substantial: about a million lines, and all of it must at least be reviewed, Nack said. Even today, "we don't yet know how much code needs to be rewritten or touched."

The Carbon-to-Cocoa switch was simply too massive to push back CS4 for just a couple months, he added.

"No one--Apple, Adobe, Microsoft--has attempted to move an application the size of Photoshop from Carbon to Cocoa," Nack said.