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1 Reply Latest reply: May 9, 2011 7:03 PM by Richard Leeke RSS

32 v 64-bit

Sean Oliver Data Cowboy
Sean Oliver May 9, 2011 2:30 PM
Currently Being Moderated
Our shop currently runs Tableau 6.0 desktop on Windows XP with 32-bit hardware. We use TDEs as our primary data sources. The largest of these TDEs is 5 million rows by 120 columns. It is created bi-weekly by importing an Access 2007 query that links a variety of external data sources. That process usually takes 2.5 to three hours to complete (we have a data warehouse project in the works, but phase one is six months from completion). Once this extract is created, some of the more complex calculations and visualizations can take one to three minutes to complete. We try to work with truncated datasets when possible to develop the framework. Would having a 64-bit machine allow us to:
  • Decrease the time it takes to perform a data import
  • Decrease the time it takes to execute queries
  • Decrease the time it takes to update layouts and visualizations
We have been told that if doing an early upgrade to a 64-bit machine would alleviate any of these issues, then we can have the resources to do so. Any thoughts or suggestions?
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  • Topics: Data Sources and Performance
  • 1. Re: 32 v 64-bit
    Richard Leeke Data Guru
    Richard Leeke May 9, 2011 7:03 PM (in response to Sean Oliver)
    Currently Being Moderated

    I'll just explain my observations when I went from XP 32 bit to Windows 7 64 bit.  Your mileage will vary.

     

    I upgraded from a 3 year old core 2 duo with 4 GB running XP 32 bit to a new 8 core i7 with 8 GB a few months ago - during the v 6.0 beta.  As I'd been on the pre-release testing for the data engine I was paying a lot of attention to speed of extract creation, view display, etc, and also size limits.

     

    In broad brush terms I would say that there wasn't a huge gain at that point - though it was definitely a bit quicker.  Tableau isn't really exploiting the capabilities of a multi-core architecture, so speed was more determined by relative speeds of one core of a core 2 duo vs 1 core of an i7 - which weren't that different, plus any differences in disk and memory speed.

     

    The big difference that I found in going to 64 bit was that it allowed me to work with bigger result sets (i.e. return more rows to Tableau).  Although Tableau is still a 32 bit application, running it on a 64 bit O/S actually means that it has a lot more memory available to it.  On a 32 bit O/S the application itself can really only get access to about 1.2 GB (that's just how Windows works).  Running it on 64 bit allows the application to address nearly 3.5 GB.  (These are my measurements with process explorer.)

     

    There is also a 32 bit and a 64 bit version of the data engine - so running on 64 bit allows data engine operations to use more memory.  I noticed the data engine peaking at around 4 GB on my laptop when I was refreshing an enormous extract the other day.  I'm sure that would either have failed or gone more slowly on a 32 bit O/S.

     

    But having said that - unless you are actually getting close to the addressing limits in your current set-up, you may not notice much difference.  Tableau is designed to run on a pretty basic configuration.

     

    The best way to be sure is to try it with your data.  Can you borrow a 64 bit machine?

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