Poll: Primary D version

[Nick Sabalausky]

"retard" <re at tard.com.invalid> wrote in message 
news:ht9atu$rop$1 at digitalmars.com...
> Sat, 22 May 2010 13:59:34 -0400, Nick Sabalausky wrote:
>>
>> Most apps don't need native x86_64. Only things that really push the
>> limits of CPU/memory utilization need it, which, aside from bloatware
>> (which admittedly is at epidemic levels lately), is really only a
>> minority of apps. For the rest, if it already runs fine on 32-bit, then
>> the same exec on a 64-bit machine is only going to run better anyway,
>> and if is already ran fine before, then there's no problem.
>
> You're suffering Stockholm syndrome there. Not having a functional 64-bit
> compiler isn't a positive feature.
>

I never said it was. All I said was that most apps don't need native 64-bit 
versions. Don't go pulling out strawmen.

> On a 4 GB system you lose 600+ MB of memory when using a 32-bit operating
> system without PAE support. In addition, x86 programs might be tuned for
> i586 or i386, forcing them to not utilize only 50% of the registers
> available. In the worst case they don't even use SSE at all! Some
> assembly experts here probably know how much slower x87 is when compared
> to SSE2+.
>

Take a 32-bit executable optimized for i386 or i586, that runs acceptably 
well on a 32-bit system (say, a P4, or even a P4-era Celeron). Take that 
same binary, put it on a 64-bit system (say, your Core i7). It will run *at 
least* at fast, most likely faster.

Could it be made even faster than that with a 64-bit-native recompile? Sure. 
But if the 32-bit binary already ran acceptably well on the 32-bit system, 
and even faster on the 64-bit system, then who gives a shit?

> Guess how much a 64-bit system with 4 GB of RAM costs these days - a
> quick search gave me the number $379 at
>

Guess how much more that costs me than using my 32-bit system that already 
does everything I need it to do? $379. Keep in mind, I live in a normal 
place, not some fantasy land like California where a million dollars is 
pocket change. If I had hundreds of dollars to toss around, I'd get my bad 
tooth pulled. At least then I'd be getting a non-trivial benefit.