8, 16, 32, 64 Bit Stuff

I am not a computer or photoshop wizard (yet). I know that there are different software programs that have 8, 16, 32, and 64 bit stuff.

I am trying to understand what this bit stuff is and what bit I should be using (and why) for Photoshop CS5 and different Plug-in Softwares like Topaz / OnOne Software, etc.

In terms of applications and plug-ins, you are only talking about 32 or 64 bit.

Start by assessing your computer. How new/powerful is it? What operating system?

As an example, I have a fairly powerful PC with a quad core processor, but I still run Windows XP Pro, 32 bit. For compatibility, all my installed applications and plug-ins are 32 bit versions.

I have an iMac with a 3.06 ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, with 6gb 1067 mhz DDR3.. I don't know what all that means.

Does this information shed a clue on what I have in terms of these bits?

Here is a site to check out... http://www.infopackets​.com …_whats_the_diff​erence.htm

What software?

AFAIK, PSCS5 and LR will be able to run in 64 bit mode.
PSCS4 is 32 bit only on OSX.

64 bit OS allows you to use more memory then about 4Gig.

8bpc: the only available bit depth for jpg.
Tiff and psd files can be either 8 or 16bpc.
32 bpc is used for HDR images and uses floating point, so is incomparable to 8 or 16bpc which use integer.

8 bit & 16 bit refer to your pictures and the amount of color information that they hold.
32 bit & 64 bit refer to your computer operating system (Windows/Mac) and the software that they run.

Run 64 bit software if you can, and edit your images in 16 bit color.

Hi...Can someone tell me why this Jpeg file says bit depth 24. this is from windows photo galerie live.
Thanks

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JPEGs are 8-bit. Unless you have a special monitor and video card, your display is 8-bit (and your eyes cannot see all the colors an 8-bit image or print can show!).

Otherwise, the bits matter when addressing memory in your operating system.

MGH wrote in post #11399657
Hi...Can someone tell me why this Jpeg file says bit depth 24. this is from windows photo galerie live.
Thanks

That's total bits not bits per channel.

8+8+8=24

i.e. a standard 8 bit image with no alpha channel.

MGH wrote in post #11399657
Hi...Can someone tell me why this Jpeg file says bit depth 24. this is from windows photo galerie live.
Thanks

rothers wrote in post #11399727
That's total bits not bits per channel.

8+8+8=24

i.e. a standard 8 bit image with no alpha channel.

Let me add some clarity here -- the "channels" being referred to here are the "standard" three color channels of R, G and B. So an "8 bit" image means 8 bits of color/tonal data in each of these channels, a "16 bit" image means 16 bits for each of these channels. Some software can only work with "8 bit" images, although software that is designed to work with Raw files typically give you the ability to convert images to 16 bit files for use in apps like Photoshop that can use the greater range of color/tonal levels in making adjustments.

Thanks...8 bits per channel, I never thought of that.

MGH wrote in post #11400088
Thanks...8 bits per channel, I never thought of that.

Yep! 'Course it gets more complicated at the level of Raw data -- I won't get started in explaining that because, well, for one thing I "know" bits and pieces, enough to be "dangerous" but not enough to be "expert", meaning that if I tried to explain things I'd end up likely sounding silly, not to mention "Long...winded"!

Always go with 64 bit OS. Will let you run alot of Ram in your desktop. 32 bit is crap you will only see like 3.2 Gigs if you have 4 gigs plus. You will need more ram if you start to process larger files.

jay25 wrote in post #11401332
Always go with 64 bit OS.

There's more to a 64-bit system than just the OS. The OP is running a 3 ghz iMac C2D, which makes his entire system 64-bit. His OS is 64-bit as well. The RAM limit on his computer is 6 or 8 gb, depending on which model.

32 vs 64 bits is about memory addressing and the limits it imposes.

As usual, very overplayed by marketing types.