History of 64 bit

	Revision 4 . . November 24, 2001 1:19 am by Damian Yerrick [requires backward compatible arch]
	Revision 3 . . October 16, 2001 9:29 pm by Taw [Often mixed architectures are used: with [[32 bit]] integer/addresses and 64bit floats.]

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Difference (from prior major revision) (no other diffs)

Changed: 3c3

64-bit processors are quite common, e.g. [Digital Alpha]?, versions of [Sun SPARC]?, and the [IBM AS/4000]?. The PowerPC and Intel are expected to move to 64 bits at their next generation - [PPC 620]? and [Intel P7]?.

64-bit processors are quite common, e.g. [Digital Alpha]?, versions of [Sun SPARC]?, and the [IBM AS/4000]?. The PowerPC and Intel are expected to move to 64 bits at their next generation - [PPC 620]? and Intel's IA64?.

Changed: 9c9,11

A 64-bit operating system is needed to take full advantage of a 64-bit CPU, but a 32-bit OS can run on it.

Taking full advantage of a 64-bit CPU requires a A 64-bit operating system, but backward-compatible architectures can also run a 32-bit OS. For example, processors based on the AMD Hammer architecture can run Intel x86 compatible software, whereas processors based on IA64 architecture need to use software emulation?.