Hey people, sorry for the delay but I was out basking in the summertime goodness.
So last time I laid out the hardware and software requirements and a little about what they meant to you. So a quick recap goes like this, to run a 64 bit system you need a fairly new computer and you need to get a 64bit operating system. This mean at a newer Mac with a Intel processor or on the PC side at least an Amd64 x2 or an Intel core duo processor or higher for hardware. For an operating system its the latest OSX or Snow Leopard for Mac or Vista 64 or Win7 64 for PC.. Finally for memory, get as much as you afford because this kind of system can easily do 16GB and upwards.
So questions to be answered are
Is the Adobe suite ready for 64 bit OSes?
Do you really need to get a 64 bit Computer system?
Does it make adobe software faster, stronger, better?
Now in part 1 I revealed that the Adobe Creative CS4 Suites are certified to run on a 64 bit OS and some programs like Premiere pro and Photoshop will be 64 bit versions. While the CS3 packages are still 32 bit I had no problem running the suite on my test system. The test server used was an Amd64 X2 2,2ghz processor with 2GB of ram and running the beta version of Win 7 the 64bit version. The next question is Do you need a 64 bit system? Before we answer that lets answer the Does it make the creative suite a faster, stronger, better package? This should tell you if you need a 64 bit system.
Lets look at what it really means to have a 64 bit operating system. This means that the operating system reads information (data) in 64 bits blocks at a time. The non geek answer to this is that theoretically this makes the system twice as fast as the current 32 bit OS. There are going to be a number of outside factors that will test that theory but the one thing that is true is that a 64 bit system can read much more then the 4GB that the 32 bit OSes are now maxed out at today. There is some VERY serious math involved in why this is fact, lets leave it at that level. The fact that a 64 bit OS can read up to 128GB maximum opens a new world to the Creative Suites. Most of the Adobe programs have been know to be memory pigs. Photoshop, After Effects, and yep Illustrator are on the Most Wanted List. All of these programs make due with what they have on a system.but certainly the more ram (memory) you give the programs the better it behaves and the more it can do at a faster pace. So question answered and we’re walking… not so fast slick. Here is where it gets bummpy. What if you have a 64 bit system but the program is 32 bit? Well life is sweetness and light if you’re Photoshop, Premiere Pro, or After Effects and you’re a 64 bit program running on a 64 bit OS but if you’re a program (as of 8-28-09) like Illustrator, Dreamweaver, or Flash that will still remain 32 bit for the time being. If you are one of these programs, while you will run fine, you will not see a performance bump. In fact you could take a performance hit, when trying to crunch some big image numbers or render animation. The reason for the performance hit is just because as the poorer relations of the 64 bit OS its has to get by on what it is a 32 bit app and can’t use any of the shiny new 64 bit code. Still with access to more ram it might be slightly faster then if it where on a straight 32 bit system.
So the answer to Does it make adobe software faster, stronger, better? The answer is a technically a yes. Its a yes with a few qualifiers. Which leads into the questions Do you ready need to get a 64 bit Computer system? The answer seems to be; it depends on which Creative Suite you’re going to use, and what you’re going to do with it. It would seem like if you were going to get the Production Suite, to make video and film then you would want to go with a 64 bit system because at least 3 of the programs will be native 64 programs. So you will be getting the best bang for a bunk. If you’re planning on the Design or Web Suite then you might stick with the 32 bit system even thought you should have little to no trouble on the 64 bit version. There doesn’t seem to be much benefit to step up to the 64 bit aside from the access to additional ram. So in the end it comes back to the end user, You. What are you doing with any one of the Creatives Suites and how do you plan to get the job done.
Here are some sites that I referred to while writing this 2 part blog.
Microsoft 32 bit & 64 bit FAQ
Compare different editions of 64 bit Windows
John Nack’s Adobe Blog
