64 bit...what does it mean?

[jjas7]

Hello,

Can someone tell me what the benefits of 64 bit are? Does it mean that performer will be able to access a lot more of it's ram within performer?

I'm curious because I have 2 slave computers running samples and am thinking about getting a third. If technology is moving in a direction that will allow me to consolidate and use fewer computers for samples, I'd like to know (i.e. I'd be able to run a lot more samples off of my main DAW - my macpro).

Any education would be appreciated...

Thanks,

jjas7

[HarmonicMotion]

Hello,

Does it mean that performer will be able to access a lot more of it's ram within performer?

No. If anything, recording at a higher bit depth will use more ram.

Here is the wikipedia article explaining bit-depth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_bit_depth

If this doesn't make sense feel free to ask questions after that.

HM

[stephentayler]

?

[James Steele]

Hello,

Does it mean that performer will be able to access a lot more of it's ram within performer?

No. If anything, recording at a higher bit depth will use more ram.

Here is the wikipedia article explaining bit-depth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_bit_depth

If this doesn't make sense feel free to ask questions after that.

HM

I think you've completely misunderstood. It has nothing to do with 64-bit audio in terms of storing files at that bit depth.

[daveyboy]

64 bit apps are able to access all of the computer's available ram. 32 bit apps have a 4 gb limit. So, if you have your machine loaded with 10 gbs of ram, DP 8 will be ale to access the available ram that's not being used by the system or other apps. This is great if you're running ram hungry VIs within DP. If you don't push DP now then it's unlikely you'll see a big performance increase. Also, if your machine only has 4 gigs or less total then you won't see a difference.


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[FMiguelez]

Hello,

Can someone tell me what the benefits of 64 bit are? Does it mean that performer will be able to access a lot more of it's ram within performer?

I'm curious because I have 2 slave computers running samples and am thinking about getting a third. If technology is moving in a direction that will allow me to consolidate and use fewer computers for samples, I'd like to know (i.e. I'd be able to run a lot more samples off of my main DAW - my macpro).

It means that you'll be able to access as much RAM as you have installed in your computer.
Currently, you can access no more than 4 GB of RAM per application, so if you have 100 GB of RAM you can (as of today) only access 4 GB of it within DP (but you'd have 96 GB free for other apps).

It's a bit more complicated than that (you can run 64-bit apps under a 32-bit kernel, etc.).
The way I understand it is that, with 32 bits, the largest number that can be represented is around 4 GB. With 64 bits that number is stupid large (for our purposes).

But don't be fooled! This 64-bit thing is nice and everything, but it also means that your computer must be powerful enough to handle everything you will throw at it. You can have lots of RAM, but if the CPU is not very fast, then the computer will be slow and give you a different bottle-neck. So the RAM is only half the story, I think.

Actually, I'm quite happy using slave computers. Not only because the work is distributed between them all, but also because I don't like having "all my eggs in the same basket". With my current setup I could not care less about this 64-bit thing, to be honest...

Also, for some reason, I love the feeling of having multiple computers/screens. It gives the studio a nice edge in terms of complexity and coolness, not to mention ease of workflow