Whats the advantage of 64bit over 32bit with multicore cpus?

Hi guys, just wondering.....somehow I can't figure out what the real big advantage is when you compare 32 bit and 64 bit mode in multicore cpu's that are allready very very powerfull in 32 bit mode. Is the performance difference really that big with for example Intel's quad core? Could somebody explain if it's really worth to install the 64 bit version of windows? I'm asking this because for example my studio soundcard is not supporting 64 bit drivers for Windows Vista and I've read that a there is still lag of software that's written for 64 bit mode. thx for your help.

For now, there is no real use of 64 bits unless your doing scientific calculations and the such. However, in the future the need will be much greater. Technology drives progress, if we don't have 64 bit processors, then there would be no use for 64 bit programs. Once more mainstream processors become 64 bit then more programs can be written that take advantage of it... but as of now, its like the quad-core argument... it'll be useful in the future, but not now.

There are several advantages in 64bit over 32bit. The first is the data path is now 64bit, which could mean twice as much data can be loaded per cycle. I say could because it depends on the data being used. If the data is 32bit then, the theory holds. If the data is 64bit, then there is no real advantage.

Another advantage of going over to 64bit is the memory addressing. We are close to approaching the physical limit of 4GB using 32bit addressing. Going to 64bit will resolve that.

I imagine the impact of moving to 64bit will be close to the impact of going from 8bit to 16bit back in the early days. Where as going from 16bit to 32bit was less so.