Perhaps I’m missing a major point of the x64 platform here, but my perception was that x64 applications were only better performing than x86 versions (on an x64 OS and hardware, obviously) when large amounts of memory, large pointers, or other demanding factors were involved.
However, I’ve started to notice some smaller applications offering x64 versions of their installers in addition to the standard x86 versions. Since x86 runs just fine on Windows x64 using WoW, is there any benefit to me releasing an x64-compiled version of my application? As I see it:
Pros:
- Potentially higher performance (in what conditions, though)
Cons:
- Additional build to create/support
- Potential bugs in x64 target that aren’t present in the x86 target
- Dependence on x64 versions of vendor/OS DLLs, requiring different install checklist and introducing additional troubleshooting complications
What are some compelling reasons that should cause me to reconsider adding an x64-compiled version of my app?
Another potential reason for compiling and debugging an x64 version is that it may expose hidden bugs in the x86 version. For example, this may expose improper conversions between 32-bit integers and (now) 64-bit pointers. This also positions you to support x64 in the future.
However, unless your application would benefit from 64-bit integers, additional cpu registers, a larger memory space (beyond 3.5Gb), or implement a device driver, staying with 32-bit application is fine. All major operating systems support running both x32 and x64 applications at the same time so there will not be a major push towards 64-bit only applications.
BTW. Applications based on .NET automatically benefit from being executed on a 64-bit system without any code changes. No additional testing required.