Ready for 64Bit? Lets Test Here! [56K Warning]

[Sucka]

So 64 Bit processors have been around for quite some time now, but not many have taken advantage of these extra instructions. Well with the release of Windows XP Professional x64 that has changed. Many people have already made the switch to x64 and i decided i would try it out. For these tests i will be using Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2 as well as Trial Version Windows XP Pro x64 Service Pack 1. These tests are only meant to give you a indication of what you can expect using a 64 Bit OS. These tests were not done to get the highest scores possible.

The Goal: What we're trying to determine here is if Windows x64 can compete with Windows XP. These are just simple tests to give show how Windows x64 stacks up to the ageing Windows XP. This will also allow us to finnaly put that A64 to use!

Test Setup:

DFI NF4 SLI-D 6/23-2
AMD X2 4400+ @ 2800MHz 1.55v
2x512 OCZ PC-4000 Gold VX @ 3.3v
Sapphire x850 XT Default Clocks 520/540
OCZ Powerstream 520w
Western Digital 200GB SATA
Zalman Air Cooled

Windows XP Pro: NF4 6.66 Chipset drivers, Catalyst 5.7
Windows XP x64: NF4 6.66 Chipset drivers, Catalysy 5.7

Notes: I was able to find official drivers for all hardware on the x64 platform. The only issue which i've found to be extremly annoying is i can not install x64 to a RAID 0 array. Once i figured out what drivers to install i still have had issues. Upon booting into x64 for the first time using a RAID i get an instant BSOD. I have not found a work around on this so far.

I have only found a handful of programs that do not work with Windows x64. I have installed a number of programs i use daily and most if not all have worked exactly the same as within XP. I needed the latest ATI Tool Beta for fan control, and Aquamark does not function on x64 just to name a few. There are very few 64 bit programs to test with, but if you do find any you would like me to try out let me know please.

Method: I used identical hardware for all tests. I ran every test with the same settings a total of 3 times each to rule out any unusual results. I used Sisoft Sandra, Everest, Super PI, 3DMark 2001, 3DMark03, PCMark04 and Cinebench for testing. These may not be the best tests but they are very common benchmarks and should give an idea of performance. 3D Testing was done with no tweaks and default clocks on the x850 XT of 520/540.

Results:

Sisoft Sandra Arithmetic:

Windows XP x64 - 27,789

Windows XP - 23,680

Sisoft Sandra Multimedia:

Windows XP x64 - 41,937

Windows XP - 53,227

Sisoft Sandra Bandwidth:

Windows XP x64 - 7,349

Windows XP - 7,302

 

[Sucka]

Cinebench:

Windows XP x64

Windows XP

Super PI:

Windows XP x64 - 1m - 29.20

Windows XP - 1m - 29.23

Windows XP x64 - 8m - 5:23.42

Windows XP - 8m - 5:21.07

 

[Sucka]

Everest:

Windows XP x64 - 36.5

Windows XP - 35.7

PCMark04:

Windows XP x64 - 8,493

Windows XP - 8,457

 

[Sucka]

3DMark 2001 SE:

Windows XP x64 - 31,991

Windows XP - 32,519

3DMark03:

Windows XP x64 - 13,449

Windows XP - 13,517

Conclusion: Well there you have it, some simple tests with Microsofts latest OS. The results show us that when 64 Bit can be taken advantage of there are some serious gains that can be had. Native 32 Bit Software runs slightly slower on the x64 OS but results are so close that most would probably not care. Windows x64 looks and feels identical to Windows XP and has shown that given the proper hardware and software performance improvments can be had. With many hardware mfg's releasing 64 Bit drivers this latest OS is becoming much more appealing to end users such as myself. Overall i am very impressed with Windows X64 and AMD's 64 Bit processors in this enviorment. Although the performance gains aren't huge, it's still something positive for the future. As more software and patches are released for 64 Bit we can expect this to all be mainstream very shortly. Obviously 64 Bit is the wave of the future, but it is here now, and worth a try.

Edit: I have added more results.

FarCry

HD Tack and Atto

POV-Ray Non-Multithreaded

POV-Ray-Multithreaded

 

[bazx]

wot did you think of windows 64 bit internet explorer fast then 32 ?

 

[Blackmage]

Nice Little Review you got going on here sucka, Can't wait too see the LN2 Overclocked results sucka

 

[diehrd]

Suka I have to hand it to you .Not only are you a bench mark junky BUT you seam to aways be right on top of all the things people will need information on..

Nice tests and thanks for running them for us all to see...

 

[Sucka]

Thanks guys, didn't think anyone would read this so early in the morning

bazx: I wish i could benchmark how it "feels" but that's just not an option. Pretty much everything "feels" the same in the 64 Bit enviorment, IE included. The only thing that seems to be noticably smoother is installing software. It might be all in my head, but it just snaps through installations in a heartbeat. If i could get this RAID to work, i would probably use it as my main OS and have XP as a backup. Although somewhat slower than XP, the future benefits will outweigh that.

Looking for feedback here, let me know what you all think. If you want to see anything else please let me know, i'm always willing to test stuff

 

[willkill1337]

Nice, Sucka. Are both OSes fresh installs? Or have either been tweaked a little? That would skew the results somewhat.

 

[Sucka]

Nice, Sucka. Are both OSes fresh installs? Or have either been tweaked a little? That would skew the results somewhat.

Both installed same day this past week, both untweaked. Results should about as accurate as they're gonna get. I can't think of any better way to compare

 

[Robert]

In LA, it is 5am here. Great to see some benchmarks between 32bit and 64bit. Can you run some program or game that have both 32bit and 64bit version? Maybe some thing like farcry.

 

[Sucka]

In LA, it is 5am here. Great to see some benchmarks between 32bit and 64bit. Can you run some program or game that have both 32bit and 64bit version? Maybe some thing like farcry.

It's the same time in San Diego too.

Yeah, i can run FarCry. Do they have a built in Benchmark? I'm not to fimiliar with that game, but i do own it.

 

[Robert]

Do you have the 64bit version? If you have it then run it and see what fps you get on both version.

 

[ronaldo]

nice review.

if you can try to test this program : PovRay 3.6
here is 32-bit version:
http://www.povray.org/redirect/www.povray.org/ftp/pub/povray/Official/Windows/povwin36.exe

here is 64-bit version:
http://www.povray.org/redirect/www.povray.org/ftp/pub/povray/Official/Windows/povwin36-amd64.msi


here is how to benchmark:
http://www.povray.org/download/benchmark.php

tnx

 

[Blackmage]

Thanks guys, didn't think anyone would read this so early in the morning

bazx
Looking for feedback here, let me know what you all think. If you want to see anything else please let me know, i'm always willing to test stuff

im itching to see some overclocked results/ where is the zalman you are using cpu/vga which one ? and what temps are you getting?

 

[Robert]

Yah, let try PovRay 3.6 and see what happen.

ronaldo -- thank for the links.

 

[Bhugarov]

Nice

Thanks for sharing this with us, it looks very promising......
Sucka you need to edit out your product key in some of the screen shots.

 

[Fighter2a]

Interesting but not worth it to me.

 

[NiTrO bOiE]

Were you using the 32bit sandra for both tests?

 

[Sucka]

I'll test PovRay 3.6 in a bit as well as FarCry.

Sandra was 32/64 bit. Both from the same installation though.

I didn't edit out the x64 keys because it's a Trial Version, it won't be good past 180 days anyways You all can download it from Microsoft anyways.

Fighter2a: Although not really a must have upgrade, it does show promise and is worth a shot. Not like you have to buy it to test it out.