The RP Photonics Software News > 2016-03-09

64-bit Versions for Any Customer

In the Software News of 2014-09-10, I have explained in detail that our software is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. By default, we always deliver a 32-bit version, which runs under a 32-bit or 64-bit Windows operating system and is sufficient for most purposes. In some cases, however, it is desirable to have a 64-bit version, mostly because it can utilize more of the main memory of your computer - easily more than 4 GB. (Only in special cases you actually need that much memory – for example, if you do numerical beam propagation where you need to have the resulting field amplitude stored at many different locations.) Also, numerical calculations may be somewhat faster then; it cannot be excluded, however, that computations are slower in some cases, and the program code (the .exe file) also gets substantially larger.

Previously, our policy was that only customers having at least two licenses of some product have the free choice between the 32-bit and 64-bit version. We have now changed that: any customer has the free choice. So if you have some software from us already and want to change to a 64-bit version, just tell us. Of course, you can use that only if you have a 64-bit Windows version, and even then it usually makes sense only if Windows has got spare memory to use for your simulations.

This article is a posting of the RP Photonics Software News, authored by Dr. Rüdiger Paschotta. You may link to this page, because its location is permanent.

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