64-Bit Merom: worth it to wait?

[Xander562]

hey. looking to buy a new MBP but am wondering if it will be worthit to wait for the new Processors. i plan on doing a little bit of gaming, but mainly video editing. so is there any reason to wait? i'm thinking no. but most of you guys are smarter than my so i'll turn this question over to you. are there any programs that will require 64-bit in the future? so is it worth it to wait?

 

[Eidorian]

Unless you're a programmer or in the scientific field then 64-bit isn't going to have a major impact on what programs you can run. If you need the Mac NOW then get it. I'm holding out for WWDC 2006 for a new Mac.

http://guides.macrumors.com/Merom

 

[SheriffParker]

hey. looking to buy a new MBP but am wondering if it will be worthit to wait for the new Processors. i plan on doing a little bit of gaming, but mainly video editing. so is there any reason to wait? i'm thinking no. but most of you guys are smarter than my so i'll turn this question over to you. are there any programs that will require 64-bit in the future? so is it worth it to wait?

If you need it now, by all means get one. The performance will still be top of the line and it will last you years. I don't think 64 bit will affect your video editing at all.

If you can wait a few months, then it doesn't hurt to wait.

 

[tristan]

The Meron is supposed to have +20% performance even in 32-bit apps. That's huge, man. HUGE.

 

[risc]

The Meron is supposed to have +20% performance even in 32-bit apps. That's huge, man. HUGE.

Yeah and Intel quoted a 80% speed increase on the Woodcrest and when people got there hands on them it was more like 15%. You can't always believe what you read or hear. After listening to the "information" coming from Apple over the years you should know that.

 

[tristan]

Where do you get your numbers from? Everything I've seen says Woodcrest is much much faster. Remember this?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/203399/

 

[risc]

"Intel releases Woodcrest benchmark results, claims series of records" is the heading for the article that is linked to in the thread you point to above. Yeah I remember Apple telling me once that the G4 was faster than the Pentium 4.

Here are some detailed benchmarks for the Woodcrest versus the Opteron. While it is faster there is no way it is 80% faster than the current dual core Xeons at the same speed. http://www.techreport.com/etc/2006q2/woodcrest/index.x?pg=1

I've seen direct benchmarking with the Xeon versus the Woodcrest but I can't find the benchmarks. I'll link them here if I find them again.

This is a thread about Merom though so I wont hijack it with Xeon versus Woodcrest. Just take the speed claims from Intel with a grain of salt.

 

[Demon Hunter]

20% is reasonable... I think it's been confirmed by early adopters and testers. Intel quoted as high as 30%, though.

 

[Collin973]

I'm in the waiting camp. That's why i just purchased a used powerbook and am waiting its arrival. It's just to play with OS X and get use to my new os. So, I'd wait if you could, but your not losing too much by buying one now...

 

[Piarco]

After resisting the urge to get a new MacBook on release, I'm firmly embedded in the waiting camp. Having a 64bit CPU won't hurt, but I'm waiting also for the increased battery life and the possibility of a GMA965 cipset.

You'll have less time to wait for the MBP Merom for sure... its got to be around September for a roll-out... and hopefully November for the MB's but I rather suspect it may well be January....

 

[zap2]

Core Duo is fast, 20% by intel might mean less, but i doubt it would be anymore then that.

 

[dextertangocci]

64 bit computers can handle up to 32GB RAM, and can handle WAY bigger numbers than a 32 bit computer, so it shouldn't really make a difference unless you do heavy mathematical calculations.

Look here for more info:

http://compreviews.about.com/cs/cpus/a/aapr64bit.htm?terms=64+bit+computing

 

[JurgenWigg]

I'm waiting also for the increased battery life

Not going to happen because of Merom. You're misinterpreting data and such. Merom will be more power efficeint, yes, but that's where the 20% faster comes from.

It doesn't do the same work with less power...

...it does more work with the same power.


Personally, the MBP good for what i'm going to be doing, but merom's just overkill.

 

[Demon Hunter]

64 bit computers can handle up to 32GB RAM, and can handle WAY bigger numbers than a 32 bit computer, so it shouldn't really make a difference unless you do heavy mathematical calculations.

Look here for more info:

http://compreviews.about.com/cs/cpus/a/aapr64bit.htm?terms=64+bit+computing

Actually, the limit is 17,179,869,184 gigabytes, not 32.