It´s sooner or later time to make the change to 64bits.
But please consider that this must be well done and is not "just change the kernel".
64bit does NOT assure "gain the most out of the processor" from scratch.
A 64bit application, not total good coded, requires usually more CPU-power...so if this would be made just "let´s switch to 64bit due to change some kernel parts and drivers" it could give us the opposit of what we would trust in.
"more stability" is as well a topic that has no direct connection to 64bit...32bit is not less stable if good coded and 64bit is not by default more stable.
"up to 4GB" is as well wrong. A 32bit application can usually utlilize 2GB dedicated, a 64bit application is, by existing hardware today, nearly without a limit. (16 EXABYTE theoretical)
BUT....here as well: see the complete picture. It depends strongly on the OS.
Win7 Home Premium 64bit for example, most OEM on laptops, can just handle 16GB of RAM in total.
msdn.microsoft.com
I see right now, even if, as mentioned, sooner or later a change is a must, by today no real use for this.
- SDJ requires on my system roundabout 1GB of RAM in peak...so far away from the 2GB limit
- a 64bit SDJ is pointless if the drivers of the hardware (Pioneer, Numark...) is still 32bit.
The opposit is the case! A 64bit SDJ in combination with an underlaying 32bit driver should be less stable.
As example: I´ve tested the Traktor beta as I still own a license. On a Windows machine with 8GB of RAM I see no difference at all between the beta and the 2.6.8 (32bit) version in regards to memory use at all. (no more RAM allocated or used)
Sometimes I have the feeling that the 32 vs. 64bit discussion is pretty similar to the mega pixel hunting on digi cams. "more must be better". (we all now that this is as default assumption terrible wrong)
There are valid reasons to change to 64bit. Latest Win10, what will not be released as 32bit anymore as far I know, will change the game. Why? Pretty simple: If Windows is by default 64bit it makes for the hardware guys no more sense to have 32bit driver architecture.
That would get us in a complete 64bit enviroment and this will open the advantages.
Thinking load:
- cache the complete wave form in RAM
- cache the complete preparation list (music files) in RAM
- cache complete videos for SDJ video in RAM
- cache the mix recording of SDJ in RAM
- allow more complicated real time effects due to more available RAM
And here as well: to make a real step forward....a future 64bit application should as well use the multi core architecture of CPUs in total. (so far Photoshop is more or less one of the only applications that real uses a lot of RAM or a lot of cores in best possible way)
In my point of view it would make, for now, much more sense to allow SDJ to use the physical grafic cards inside of laptops in full power.
Will
a) make the wave forms smoother
b) will release CPU power to the audio engine
On a MAC I can´t comment that, here I have no experience at all.
