1.) Why is a 64 bit cpu faster? I had assumed the main benefit was the
memory that could be addressed, obviously a bad assumption.
being able to address more memory is indeed critical for some codes.
certainly not all; in fact, the larger pointers hurt some codes.
64b mode also enables a lot more registers, of which the compiler can
make very good use. and some codes like the extra register width.
2.) If you install the 32 bit version of an os, say linux, instead of
the 64 bit version and then run 32 bit apps, do you get the speedup?
no. in any case, I doubt there's any reason to install 32b linux,
since a 64b kernel _can_ support 32b processes (which actually see a
somewhat bigger practical address space...)
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