[fivefeet8]

check out this article at Anandtech.. It details what is goin on with AMd and their next cpu...

http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1546

By the end of next year I will need to get one of em.. AGP 8x? Which video card does agp 8x? Maybe when the Hammer comes out, nvidia and Ati along with other video card manufacturers will have cards that do agp 8x or higher..

 

[Xeven]

"need to get one" fivefeet8? i guess the ultimate advantage of the hammer would be its compatibility with 32bit x86 isa, but that could also be its ultimate downfall, sticking with the good old isa that is.. not to start that age old hammer vs itanium shit again, but differentiating your desktop class vs your server class does give a lot of advantages also.. oh well..

 

[Zephon]

I'd rather wait a bit more for a 64-bit OS and programs to come out, so I won't be wasting my money with a bunch of useless features.

 

[Enigma1982]

Qestion???
If I use 64 bits CPU do I really need 64 bits OS???
Can I use 32 bits OS like win98 ???

 

[Demigod]

Heh, AGP 8X... I think I heard something about that a few months ago. I think it's going to be just another marketing strategy like AGP 4X. I mean how many years is it going to be before a game or application comes along that'll actually require that kind of bandwidth?

 

[fivefeet8]

Originally posted by Enigma1982
Qestion???
If I use 64 bits CPU do I really need 64 bits OS???
Can I use 32 bits OS like win98 ???

I don't think so.. That is why amd is doing what its doing.. They are making an x86-64 bit processor so that it will be compatible with 32 bit applications and 64 bit applications.. The new intel itanium 64 bit processor will require new software programmed specifically for 64 bit.. So 32 bit apps either wont run on the itanium or won't run 32 bit apps as good as 32 bit cpus.. I really wonder if we will have a lot of 64 bit apps by the end of next year when these processors come out.. There are going to still be tons of 32 bit apps around.. So if you buy a 64 bit only processor then it wont run the current 32 bit apps and games as good as a 32 bit processor.. I also heard somewhere that the intel itanium will need to emulate 32 bit instructions to be able to use 32 apps.. Emulating is harder than just running it natively..

Amd's Hammer is suppost to be an extension of the x86-32 to x86-64 thereby having the benefits of running 64 bit and 32 bit effectively.. Of course we still will have to wait and see when these processors are actually tested and benchmarked.. But amd's Hammer seems like it will be good for us who still would like to be able to use 32 bit apps and games..

Anyone know what kind of bandwidth agp 8x would have?

 

[Zephon]

Taken from Anandtech :

"Bandwidth Breakdown-

AGP 1X = 266MB/sec

AGP 2X = 533MB/sec

AGP 4X = 1.066GB/sec

AGP 8X = 2GB/sec

The AGP 1.0 Standard Slot is capable of AGP 1X, 2X transfers, Direct Memory Execution Texturing, and Sidebanding.

AGP 2.0 is capable of 4X, 2X, 1X transfers along with Fastwrites, Direct Memory Execution Texturing and Sidebanding.

AGP 8X will be an AGP 3.0 slot. As of this writing, AGP 2.0 is the latest solution on the market."

 

[Xeven]

I also heard somewhere that the intel itanium will need to emulate 32 bit instructions to be able to use 32 apps..

yes, and it sucks at it too ..