While access to extra RAM is the much vaunted and probably best reason for going 64 bit, it is by no means the only reason, With 64 bit processors on a 64 bit bus talking to correctly selected memory, the enhanced speed of processing plus the exponentially wider data path are also compelling reasons. The above notwithstanding, we ourselves will wait some time before moving the MacPros on OS X to 64 bit. We have 32bit systems which work perfectly well and compelling arguments why my staff should become unpaid beta testers for Apple et al have yet to be presented to me. When all the plugins, hardware drivers and (in particular) OS X are stable on the 64bit platform, we will make the move. We do however have 2 project studios with MacPros (BootCamp) running Windows 7 x64 and Cubase 5 64 bit, and the incumbants of these rooms are both delighted with the extra 'breathing space' afforded them by the 64 bit platform. Regards to all. PS At about £2.5k fully loaded, we reckon that at the price, the MacPro is one of the best PCs money can buy! :)_

According to Apple: [i]"...since Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard is highly optimized for 64-bit operation, there may be some performance gains in areas where Logic interacts with it."[/i] This would involve reading/writing to and from disk (amongst several other key subsystems). We have already produced benchmarks which corroboarate the hope that this would be the case. We have found (for example) that opening and saving large projects is some 28% faster on a 64bit system with 4 GB than it is on the same system running the 32 bit kernel and 32 bit Logic. This is the actual read and write speed to and from the disk and can still be reproduced when only 2GB of RAM are present which would suggest that it is better at handling virtual memory. According to the chaps with the pointed heads here, this is the result of a [i]"64bit data path end to end"[/i] Anyone fancy a beer?

Sorry but I thought I would add that despite the above, there is no way we are going 64 on OS X bit until [i]all[/i] our plugins, drivers etc are soak-tested on 64 bit. The above results were on a test machine with just Logic 9.1 and a few plugins which have already dipped the digital toe in the waters of the 64 bit stream. (sorry I need to get a lyric finished and I think I inadvertantly just began!) :))_

Hi there, Re [b]"Logic now uses full 64-bit processing, which means it's now the most powerful DAW in the world!"[/b]....a claim made in the promotional text for the new 64 bit Logic video A colleague in one of our project studios here has been using Cubase 5 64bit on Windows 7 64 bit for several months. He is happy with the enhanced memory access and overall speed improvements - particularly with 64bit plugins In light of which, he asked me how the above claim can be justified. Damned if I know! Any offers? Regards to all