I recall you did a podcast on this a while back, but now can’t find it . . . 64 bit kernal versus 64 bit processing, and whether it’s worth it to set Mac to 64 bit kernal.
I didn’t do it besides I heard it might conflict with some software programs and drivers, but mainly I didn’t want to hold the “6” and the “4” key together everytime to I restarted my Mac. But I learned there’s a way to set it for good . . . http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3773
I got an ’09 Mac Pro with a ’09 Canon printer and ’10 i7 MBP all with recent software, am I safe to boot in 64 bit kernal? Would I see more of a speed benefit with the Mac Pro or with the i7 MBP?
Thanks.
— Royce
Episode 286: http://macmost.com/snow-leopard-and-64-bit-mode.html
It is hard to say whether you would have any problems with a 64-bit kernel. Probably not. You can simply try it to see if there are any problems and then switch back if you do.
But you almost certainly won't notice any speed difference. Remember, your Macs are already running in 64-bit mode. The OS, and 64-bit software, etc, are already in 64-bit. It is only the kernel that would switch from 32 to 64-bit.