I've been building a new system and my OS is 64bit but I've been planning on continuing to work in the 32 bit versions of X1/X2 for at least another year or so. If I'm doing 99% acoustic recording is there really any great advantage to 64 bit that makes tolerating bridging software and all the problems that I see posted in here. I know someone is going to say they never have any problems and I'm glad it's working out for them but does a 64 bit version of a plugin eq have any reason that it could sound better? Reverbs? If UAD offers 64 bit versions of all their plugins I doubt they actually sound better than the 32 bit versions, right? They don't write a different algorithm, they just do some technical stuff to make it play nicely with the 64 bit computing environment.

In short, if I'm not using samplers and softsynths do I need to worry about 64 bit for the time being? I figure another year or two will get everything playing much better together and the hassles will be fewer. I do have an install of 64 bit X1 for doing huge Audiosnap projects because I find it more stable when I've split 12 tracks of drums into a zillion little clips. 32 bit would get pretty bogged down with that much stuff to manage. I just open the 64 bit version, do my audiosnap work, bounce to clips and re-import them back into the project.

32 bit Sonar can only access 4gb of memory.  Reliability and performance will be improved provided you have the hardware to match. Unless you are restricted by memory I would go 64 bit. Or do both and see what works for you. We would have to go through your hardware and software setup one by one to give you a definitive answer which would take some research.

The computer is plenty 64 bit ready. My last system was 32 bit XP with 4 gigs of ram and I was not RAM challenged with Sonar as much as I was CPU challenged in that system.

Win7 64, i7 3770k, 16 gigs of ram, SSD system drive, RAID 5 Audio drive and standard HDD for regular data. I also do video work which is where the 64 bit pays off. I guess I'll just dabble with 64 bit as time goes by but I see no need to leap into it. I just don't see any workflow payoff that requires me to head off that way. Seems like it's the samplers and synths that get ram hungry.

Are you recording this acoustic music at a bit depth of 24 or 16 ?
24 bit gives much better headroom for the recordings, and more flexibility in final mastering, but can require more RAM.
Even if you use no plugins or softsynths, the 64 bit OS with Sonar 64 bit makes your system able to do more.

Note the sample rate of the recording bares no relation to 64 bit or 32 bit. See post #2. There are plenty of resource hogs of course that can have an improvement. Cheers.

I always work at 24 bit mostly at 88k but sometimes 48k or 96k depending on the client. I have been doing the high sample rate most of last year with a 5 year old, 32 bit machine and ran out of CPU long before anything else was getting pushed to the max. 

By acoustic I mean music produced with sounds captured with microphones on instruments and amps. I don't do much in the way of music where the sounds are produced from software synths and samplers.

My question relates to the necessity of using the 64 bit version of the application (which necessitates bridging some plugins) when there isn't necessarily any benefit (that I can see) in my situation.

noynekker


Are you recording this acoustic music at a bit depth of 24 or 16 ?
24 bit gives much better headroom for the recordings, and more flexibility in final mastering, but can require more RAM.
Even if you use no plugins or softsynths, the 64 bit OS with Sonar 64 bit makes your system able to do more.

I am aware of the differences between sample rates, audio bit depth and a 64 bit OS. I guess I'll just see how it goes at 32 bits and If things begin to bog down then I guess it will be time to consider the 64 bit version and the hoops that go along with it.

CakeAlexS


Note the sample rate of the recording bares no relation to 64 bit or 32 bit. See post #2. There are plenty of resource hogs of course that can have an improvement. Cheers.

wmb


The computer is plenty 64 bit ready. My last system was 32 bit XP with 4 gigs of ram and I was not RAM challenged with Sonar as much as I was CPU challenged in that system.

Win7 64, i7 3770k, 16 gigs of ram, SSD system drive, RAID 5 Audio drive and standard HDD for regular data. I also do video work which is where the 64 bit pays off. I guess I'll just dabble with 64 bit as time goes by but I see no need to leap into it. I just don't see any workflow payoff that requires me to head off that way. Seems like it's the samplers and synths that get ram hungry.

I will not go into why x64bit is much better. Its just 1000000 times better on everything. I can tell you there are more benefits then just memory aspect! That you consider only use x32bit software then there are fully functional, "up to date" x64bit versions out there working 100x times better doesn't make any sense. Actually its just ridiculous!
 
Let me ask you; when you drive a car do you only use the first two gears, not all the five too?

By running a 64 bit OS you loose nothing and gain the ability to use more memory plus  64 bits offers better security and a smoother, faster over all system. The only reason not to go 64 bits is if you have hardware that does have 64 bit drivers. 

You can run 32 bit programs in a 64 bit environment but with the OS being 64 bits you can also run 64 bit programs. If you run X2 64 bit most plugins should be 64 bits now. Those that are not can be bitbridged. Or a newer substitute can be used. It just a small problem now. Its no longer the problem it once was. 

I went 64 bit with Sonar 8. I wouldn't go back to 32 bits.  

The thing to think about is that few people that moved to 64 bits have gone back to 32 bits. 

I second John's comment. When I bought Sonar 8, I installed both the 64 bit version, and also the 32 bit "just in case". I started working on both old and new songs in the 64 bit version, and never looked back. I don't know that I've ever fired up the 32 bit version. (Then again, I don't use tons of non-Sonar plugs, and I don't own any aftermarket soft synths, so I don't have the need to "bridge" like some have - in that way, I am very much like the OP. My stuff is "band instruments mic'ed up", so Sonar is a glorified tape recorder & mixing board to me.)