POLL : Is 32-bit Plugins support/availability still required today (for upcoming products) ?

[Dasheesh]

you don't have a choice. 32 is already dead. people who want to hang on to 32 can do so by buying old computers and never updating again. the rest of us are tired of having 2 os's on our computers.

[Winstontaneous]

I'll always keep a Windows machine for running 32 bit stuff like AudioMulch and Vaz Modular, along with Bootsie plugs and a bunch of SynthEdit stuff I got when I first started recording on a computer.
That said, the vast majority of my production is using 64 bit programs/plugins.

Still, I think 32 bits (and limited resources in general) require devs to be thoughtful in program design and resource usage.
Apollo got to the moon and back with 2k memory running on a 1.024 MHz processor...
Now, the 4GB of RAM you would have had allotted between every process on your 32 bit OS computer can be taken up by the JavaScript on your open browser tabs...
...I really don't consider this progress...

[RamblinWreck]

seriously? lol
i love xp and 32bit vsts
i think there was a pol
about what os the forum uses
and xp was like 3% of the votes.
and i'm guessing most of the
reply's here will be, trash
xp and x32.

edit: this will be my only post
in this thread, not even going to
waste any typing to people
calling me a ludite, anti-teknology
or whatever the fk.

As someone who works in cybersecurity this makes me want to cry.

[BONES]

But many of us who are living in the now have long since stopped using 32 bit anything.

Why? Name a single benefit of this strategy. I've been running everything 64 bit for around two years now and I honestly have no idea why. Nothing is any better, faster, more stable or anything else and 90% or more of the plugins I have bought since the switch also come with 32 bit versions. Seriously, it made a shitload of work for me and the closest thing to any benefit I have seen is being able to use the 64 bit only Korg ARP Odyssey plugin, which we ended up only using on one song on our new album.

Why would someone love a 32-bit or 64-bit system? That's just silly. And, it's even more silly to prefer a system which can handle less memory, and can't run faster apps.

I agree with the first part but I don't see how it's applicable here. The second part is irrelevant as I've noticed no discernible difference in performance with 2GB of RAM or my current 8GB. Nothing runs faster or better, it seems to be mostly change for it's own sake.

... but how can anyone love anything about 32bit when it has no advantages and on the contrary it adds limitations (os can alone use max 4gb ram).

Again, why does this matter? You can run 32 bit software on a 64 bit OS so the RAM limitation is neither here nor there and, in my experience, nothing runs any better or faster between the two. But when I moved to 64 bit I had to leave behind so many old plugins that it was a massive shit fight to get up and running again, to the point that from here on out there are only four or five songs from our first four albums that we will ever play live again. It's just far too much hassle to try and move them all across to our 64 bit system, even though it's just the 64 bit version of our 32 bit host.

It's like saying "I love 2 GHz CPU's", when there's 3 GHz CPU's available.

Well, I made the conscious decision to buy a Core i5 laptop when I could have had a Core i7 for just a few hundred more. Surely it's not about what you love, it's about what you need and what works for you?

you don't have a choice. 32 is already dead. people who want to hang on to 32 can do so by buying old computers and never updating again. the rest of us are tired of having 2 os's on our computers.

Bollocks! My 8" tablet still runs 32 bit Windows 8.1 and I can upgrade it any time I want to Windows 10, because Microsoft still make a 32 bit version of that, too. Not that you need a 32 bit OS to run 32 bit software, it all runs perfectly well on any 64 bit version of Windows. That means you can buy the latest, bleeding edge computer and run your old 32 bit software on it without any problems at all.

[AnX]

you don't have a choice. 32 is already dead. people who want to hang on to 32 can do so by buying old computers and never updating again. the rest of us are tired of having 2 os's on our computers.

you can run 32 bit apps on a 64 bit OS, you dont need 2 OS's

[Debutante]

its only a question of what is irreplacable. some 32s have no equivalents.

[Tj Shredder]

Yes, but these are 100% plug-ins which are not further developed. You can run any 32-bit plug-in in a 64-bit host. Either because it supports it directly like Bitwig or because you can wrap it...
If its important you will find a solution. Nothing is lost if a developer skips 32-bit support. Those old loves who really run a 32-bit host had been happy with the old version, they don‘t need an updated more feature rich version as they don‘t need it for their host either...

[AdvancedFollower]

you don't have a choice. 32 is already dead. people who want to hang on to 32 can do so by buying old computers and never updating again. the rest of us are tired of having 2 os's on our computers.

you can run 32 bit apps on a 64 bit OS, you dont need 2 OS's

In fact, many of the applications most people run on a daily basis are 32-bit. For example, Microsoft Office and most web browsers are still installed as 32-bit by default. The 32-bit plugin limitation exists because plugins are hosted inside the DAW, so the architecture needs to match, unless you use bridging (built into the DAW or external).

So the discussion of 32-bit vs 64-bit OS and 32-bit vs 64-bit DAW/plugins are completely different topics. Even if you run a 32-bit DAW, you still get some benefits from running a 64-bit OS, like the ability of the OS to use all your RAM for caching and other applications, even if the DAW itself is limited to 4 GB.

If you use a 32-bit OS in 2019 and your computer is online at all, you're asking for trouble, since ASLR is nerfed, you don't get Kernel Patch Protection etc.

[izonin]

I've always thought that 32 vs 64 is overblown. Yes, one has theoretical advantages over the other, but in reality for a vast number of cases they both do the same job. It's like saying that you have a 256bit GPU and would never go back to 128bit. Well, my old GPU, which died thanks to the Avenger bug, was 256bit. My new one is 128bit, and I see no difference in performance when doing everyday tasks.

As a developer it's up to you to decide if you want to bother with 32bit to reach those remaining 3-5% of customers who need it.

[Saukar30]

The main benefit of going 64 bit is for your sampler VSTs to access more RAM. So if you use mostly synths or barely any samples with a bunch of effects the benefit is more minimal. However, if you have Kontakt or Falcon or any other sampler that use large sampled instruments for your productions, this is where you will see the strength of 64 bit.

Personally, I use Kontakt, Sampletank & UVI Workstation a lot, and I wouldnt be able to complete my songs with a 32 bit host unless I was to use synths or smaller sample libraries like Soundfonts (which I do as well). I only went 64 bit for this reason, otherwise, I wouldve stayed at 32.

[Teksonik]

I no longer use 32 bit software for the same reason I no longer use an Atari 1040 ST. Progress.....

[chk071]

Well, I made the conscious decision to buy a Core i5 laptop when I could have had a Core i7 for just a few hundred more. Surely it's not about what you love, it's about what you need and what works for you?

Exactly, it's not about love. Apart from that, i don't know if that's a really valid example. Buying a cheaper processor is mostly about a decent price/performance ratio. There's no real valid reason to still use 32-bit, apart from compatibility. Or religious belief.

[Dasheesh]

you guys see all that x86 all over your operating system? yeah, that's an entire 32 bit OS buried in your 64 bit operating system. you can't even get rid of it because your 64 bit hides all the sneaky spy on you shit in there. hackers live that.

[Dasheesh]

... and if you are working with any kind of multi media (photography, film, MUSIC) ... you want the ram access and 64 bit rendering.

[Dasheesh]

like i said you don't have a choice. it's already done... it's 64 bit and above from here on out anyway.