AutoCADderTuesday, November 27, 2007
Max. RAM available for 64-bit applications?
Not only AutoCAD 2008 or 2009, but still more CAD applications are released in the native 64-bit versions. This brings - first of all - much bigger directly addressable memory (RAM). So you can process much larger datasets without being slowed down by OS memory limits.
As you probably know, applications running in the 32-bit Windows versions can address only 2GB (3GB in special modes) of mmory. Native 64-bit applications running in the 64-bit versions of Windows can access much more physical memory (of course if you have enough RAM installed). How much more? This is an important question if you are planning new workstations which should last for the next few years.
It seems to be enough for many years to the future. If you pick the right version of your operating system, you'll probably never hit this limit:
So for your next workstation, plan 4 or 8 GB of RAM by default.
As you probably know, applications running in the 32-bit Windows versions can address only 2GB (3GB in special modes) of mmory. Native 64-bit applications running in the 64-bit versions of Windows can access much more physical memory (of course if you have enough RAM installed). How much more? This is an important question if you are planning new workstations which should last for the next few years.
It seems to be enough for many years to the future. If you pick the right version of your operating system, you'll probably never hit this limit:
- Windows XP x64: 128 GB
- Vista Home Basic 64-bit: 8 GB
- Vista Home Premium 64-bit: 16 GB
- Vista Business/Ultimate/Enterprise 64-bit: 128GB
So for your next workstation, plan 4 or 8 GB of RAM by default.
