Stefan Viljoen <spamnot@ <removethis>polard.com> wrote:
> Given all everybody has said - why the heck use 64bit processors with Pov
> -at all- then?

  Because it removes the limitations of 32-bit systems. For instance
you can use more than 4 gigabytes of memory (which isn't unusual with
POV-Ray) and you can create files larger than 4 gigabytes (a pretty big
image indeed, but conceivable).

> - They're slower, using bigger pointers that take longer to manage

  They are slower only in certain processors where there are no enhancements
in 64-bit mode. And even there you might want the unlimited use of memory
(if you have more than 4 gigabytes of it) even at the very small cost of
slightly slower rendering (we are talking about something like 5% or
less here).
  In the AMD64 a 64-bit binary is actually faster because of the
enhancements that processor provides in 64-bit mode.

> - They don't give much benefit to PovRay - 32 bit processors already have
> enough accuracy

  It's not a question of accuracy. The 64-bit binary will not give you
any more accuracy at all. It's a question of removing the 4GB limit.

> - They don't have the capability (yet) of doubling the amount of memory you
> can actually use, due to hardware limitations in memory management, so the
> ability of adressing more memory is moot?

  I don't understand this one. What do you mean?

  Current 64-bit motherboards certainly allow you to address a huge
amount of memory. Even if they can't address the whole 2^64 bytes
theoretically possible, IIRC it's still in the hundreds of terabytes.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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