Apple began transitioning to 64-bit hardware and software technology for Mac over a decade ago, and all modern Macs now include powerful 64-bit processors that can run advanced 64-bit apps. These apps can access dramatically more memory, enable faster system performance, and take advantage of technologies that define today's Mac experience.
64-bit as its faster for the macbook. Although you can use 32-bit its potential is in 64-bit. 64-bit also helps you install more then 4GB of ram, and is faster for computers that support it. Proposed as answer by dreamsburnred Thursday, July 16, 2009 7:52 AM.
Your applications installed on the MacBook Pro are also guaranteed to run faster with a 6 MB shared level 3 cache plus a 5 GT/s frontside bus with 8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM (PC3-12800) for its RAM. All of this is centered around a 64-Bit architecture. Why MacBook Pros don't need 32GB of RAM. Should creative pros worry about the 16GB limit on the new MacBook Pro? No, because you don't need it. The line 64-bit Kernel and Extensions will say Yes if you are running the 64-bit kernel and No if you are running the 32-bit kernel. Note: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is the last release that a 32-bit Intel Mac can run, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and up are, by default, 64-bit. Additionally, System Profiler was renamed to System Information in OS X 10.7. The macbooks can run Windows 7 64 bit. Snow Leopard is 64 bit IIRC. If it's mainly for video editing, and you really want a mac, get yourself a copy of Final Cut or Final Cut express - having used them they are superb and you can keep your entire experience to OSX without having to worry about windows at all.
Apple has been working with developers to transition their apps, and in 2018 Apple informed them that macOS Mojave would be the last version of macOS to run 32-bit apps. Starting with macOS Catalina, 32-bit apps are no longer compatible with macOS.
If you get an alert about a 32-bit app
You will see one of these alerts when attempting to open a 32-bit app:
[app name] needs to be updated.
The developer of this app needs to update it to work with this version of macOS. Contact the developer for more information.
[app name] is not optimized for your Mac and needs to be updated.
This app will not work with future versions of macOS and needs to be updated to improve compatibility. Contact the developer for more information.
When installing macOS, you may see a list of recently used apps that are 32-bit. You can review this list before deciding to continue installation. You may also see a prohibitory symbol over the icon of each 32-bit app in the Finder, letting you know that the app will not open.
For all 32-bit apps, please contact the developer of the app to learn whether an updated version of their software is available or planned.
Are Macbooks 32 Or 64 Bit
You’ve probably noticed that there are a few versions of REAPER on the download page. 32-bit or 64-bit. This is a big source of confusion for new users.
I heard that 64-bits sounds better or something. LOL
OK, the first thing to understand is that this has nothing to do with how REAPER sounds. You see these numbers used a lot with digital audio, for the operating system, file types, program coding, and mixing bit-depth. In this particular case it makes no difference to the sound quality.
Which one should you use?
If you run a 32-bit operating system, such as Windows XP, your choice is simple. 32-bit. [editor’s note – XP is 11 years old and was officially non-supported in 2009. UPGRADE NOW!]
Windows 7 is available in 32 or 64 bit (64 is recommended) versions, and OSX 10.7 Lion is 64-bit. With a 64-bit operating system you can use either REAPER 32-bit or 64-bit.
Is My Operating System 64 Bit
I still don’t get it
The real difference is a matter of two factors.
- How much RAM do you need?
- Are all your plugins 64-bit?
RAM
With the 32-bit version of REAPER running on a 64-bit system, there is a limit to how much RAM can be used at once. You will see a warning when you exceed 1800 MB, stability will be very questionable past that even if your computer has 4GB or more. The 32-bit version doesn’t seem like a good choice now.
The 64-bit version of REAPER running on a 64-bit system has access to every last bit of available RAM in the system. 64-bit is generally the better option, but maybe not, see the next point.
Is My Mac 64 Bit
The Bridge
This part is all down to how your plugins are coded. When you run the 64-bit version and not all your plugins are coded in 64-bits, you have to deal with the bridge. The bridge allows you to run 32-bit plugins in the 64-bit environment.
The issue with the bridge is that those 32-bit plugins are now a separate program and often get hidden by the main REAPER window instead of floating on top. Also your key commands like starting/stopping playback don’t work while these floating windows are active. This takes some getting used to and if you have a lot of 32-bit only plugins it can get annoying very quickly.
2009 Macbook Pro 32 Or 64 Bit
There is also a 64-bit bridge for when you want to run a 64-bit only plugin in 32-bit REAPER, but that’s pretty rare.
Seriously, just tell me which one to download!
To summarize: 64-bit version has access to way more RAM than the 32-bit version but the bridge can get annoying if you have a lot of plugins. The 32-bit version is limited to a relatively low amount of RAM but since there are very few 64-bit only plugins, you don’t deal with the bridge unless you want to.
We here at the REAPER Blog recommend the 32-bit version and run your RAM hungry plugins (usually just samplers or sample-based instruments) as either separate or dedicated processes. The relatively low RAM limit doesn’t matter this way because the RAM hungry stuff is outside of REAPER. We’ve found this to be the best solution.In the years since this article was first written things have changed somewhat. The vast majority of plugins are 64-bit today and unless you have a very old computer that can’t be upgraded past 4GB of RAM, you should be using the 64-bit version of REAPER.
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