Pemalite said:
The biggest advantage of x86 is I can pick up a program from the 1980's and run it without much issue.
Provided I am not trying to execute 16-bit code in a 64-bit OS environment... Then Windows chucks a hissy fit as it lacks a 16-bit subsystem.
But the 32bit windows OS does have a 16-bit subsystem and it would work fine with a x86-64 CPU.
I would assume there would be a level of emulation or translation or even abstraction to make it work if AMD and Intel went 64bit only... We aren't in the Win9x days anymore, software has gotten crazy good at retaining compatibility. I.E. X86 running ARM compiled apps thanks to binary translation.
I think the industry is at a point where it can start to shed those legacy design rules, fabrication isn't rapidly improving like it used to, so any area they can claw back would be a boon to performance going forwards... Windows 11 doesn't have a 32bit variant, so outside of industry, there is no longer a need for 32bit compatibility at a hardware level, leave it at the software level.
For lower-end Netbooks/tablets it could be power and cost savings.
I am all for it, provided backwards compatibility can be retained... I would be very upset if I can't run my favorite games from the 90's.
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Yea pretty much. I always love the idea of going back and playing a game from a decade or two ago on my new setup. When Battlefield 3 came out, my PC couldn't run it at max settings but now I bought it since EA was having a big sale and boom, it's fast and still looks great. Honestly if Intel goes x64 only without any compatibility layer and AMD has both 64 and 32 bit support, I'd turn into a die hard AMD fan lol. We will see if anything comes from this.
