06-09-2009, 03:47 AM

With the announcement of Snow Leopard being 64 bit, I have been trying to work out if my MBP, the first solid body mbp's, is 64 Bit.

As I am away from my MBP I cannot check out its specs and I am worried I am going to need a hardware upgrade to make the most of Snow Leopard

Can anyone help me out?

06-09-2009, 04:39 AM

Hi,

Snow leopard, so far I have understood from the news and views, is 64 bit, means, its kernel runs in 64 bit mode. Leopard kernel runs in 32 bit mode.

So, if you have MBP, of 2007 model (If I am not wrong, since then, MBPs started using Intel Core 2 Duo, which can support 64 bit operations inside the chip.) or later, you don't have to go for a hardware upgrade and peacefully go ahead buying Snow Leopard....

May be the following links might help you clear your doubts in detail,

AppleInsider | Road to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: 64-Bits [Page 2].

Sometimes Apple makes its own lovers to feel very angry on its business moves...

06-09-2009, 04:45 AM

yes it is. The only intel macs that aren't 64bit are the first ones to come out. Any intel mac with a core 2 duo processor is 64bit. It was just the core duo's that are 32bit. And they came out in may of 2006. Everything after november 2006 should be good to go. Except for some mac mini's.

You are with out a doubt good to go if you have a unibody mac.

06-09-2009, 05:06 AM

Thanks guys thats what I had thought (hoped) myself but needed to make sure. Bring on Snow Leopard sounds excellent

06-09-2009, 06:50 AM

Originally Posted by dadsgravy

yes it is. The only intel macs that aren't 64bit are the first ones to come out. Any intel mac with a core 2 duo processor is 64bit. It was just the core duo's that are 32bit. And they came out in may of 2006. Everything after november 2006 should be good to go. Except for some mac mini's.

Oh great. Come the release of Snow Leopard, everyone who bought the 32-bit Intel Macs are going to start crying over how Apple screwed them over.

06-09-2009, 07:54 AM

naw. I've known for a couple of years now. So I'm done crying. The only thing I wont be able to do is run 64bit. But I can still install snow leopard and take advantage of most of its features.
Besides, it's time for a new computer anyway. It's been about three years. Anyone who cries over not being able to run 64bit apps with their first gen mac can stuff it. That's the price you pay for being first.
And there's a whole bunch of power PC users to keep us all company.

06-09-2009, 07:59 AM

Yea it was always going to move to full 64 bit, there isn't much Apple can do. Im just a bit ****** Im missing out on the new battery and sd slots.

The drop in the Price of the Air is interesting, if it had been that price before Christmas I would have made a hard decision between it and a new MBP

06-09-2009, 08:10 AM

Actually, there is nothing in the current requirements for Snow Leopard that require a 64-bit Mac, except for (obviously) 64-bit functions.

According to the current information, which may change before release, any Macintel with 1GB of memory will run SL.
Apple - Mac OS X Snow Leopard - Technical specifications

06-09-2009, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by technologist

Actually, there is nothing in the current requirements for Snow Leopard that require a 64-bit Mac, except for (obviously) 64-bit functions.

According to the current information, which may change before release, any Macintel with 1GB of memory will run SL.
Apple - Mac OS X Snow Leopard - Technical specifications

To add to this, the SL "new technologies" page states the following:

32-bit compatible.
To ensure simplicity and flexibility, Mac OS X still comes in one version that runs both 64-bit and 32-bit applications. So you don’t need to update everything on your system just to run a single 64-bit program. And new 64-bit applications work just fine with your existing printers, storage devices, and PCI cards.

The page technologist linked to also states that to get 64bit support, you will need a 64bit processor which implies to me that you are fine with a 32bit processor but you won't get 64bit support. Take this as you will.

06-09-2009, 09:42 AM

From my understanding, Apple has done nothing new in Snow Leopard, as it clearly states, "Refined, not reinvented". As far as I observed, kernel is now capable of running in 64 bit mode utilizing the full hardware capabilities and applications like iChat, iCal are now running in 64 bit.

From a normal user's perspective, this is not going to make any big difference, as they cannot really appreciate the performance boost visually. But from a geeky users point of view and users who uses their Macs for extensive computing (number crunching programs), is clearly a step ahead.

But, all together Apple has done nothing new in Snow Leopard, except built a kernel and some applications runs in 64 bit mode.

But, at any cost, Mac is always Mac and nothing can compete with its stability

06-09-2009, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by russell23

But, at any cost, Mac is always Mac and nothing can compete with its stability

I'm sure some diehard non-OS X *nix users would find that debatable .

06-09-2009, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by vansmith

I'm sure some diehard non-OS X *nix users would find that debatable .

Ironic though with a BSD avatar