32-bit or 64-bit

[Muzer]

Chris Jones wrote:
>> It does; 64-bit is a lot faster, especially for media conversion (don't 
>> know why exactly, but it's the case).
>>     
>
> The reason is when building source code, the compiler has to accommodate 
> all platforms that are available. As 64 bit processors are a lot newer 
> than 32 bit ones, the compiler is able to use features in 64 bit mode it 
> cannot in 32 bit mode.
>
> For instance SSE instructions - The compiler knows that *all* 64 bit 
> machines have these, so it can safely use them to speed up various math 
> routines. It cannot do this in 32 bit mode, as not all 32 bit processors 
> support these. This can make a difference, particularly in heavy number 
> crunching (i.e. media conversion).
>
> cheers Chris
>
>
>   
I knew that, I just didn't realise why it only seemed to be media 
conversion that significantly benefited. Thanks for clarifying it :)

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