Question

Should I use 64-bit or 32-bit FME on a Windows 64 Machine?

Answer

There are various things to consider when running FME in a 64 Bit environment:

Format Support

A key consideration when thinking about 64-bit FME, whether it be desktop or server, is that the formats you want to read or write are supported. There are several formats that do not provide native 64-bit access - the most popular one being Esri Geodatabase via the ArcObjects API. You can look up formats supported by platform on this page:
http://www.safe.com/products/desktop/formats/index.php?compare=platform

A related note is that for formats that are supported by 64-bit FME but are indicated with the footnote “** requires installation of application software **”, you will need to obtain the native 64-bit version of the application software, e.g. to use 64-bit FME’s Oracle reader or writer,  the 64-bit Oracle Client must be installed.

Application Support

Another important consideration when thinking about 64 Bit FME, is that 64-bit FME cannot extend 32-bit 3rd-party applications. For example 64-bit FME will not be able to extend 32-bit MapInfo Professional. Similarly, 32-bit FME cannot extend 64-bit 3rd-party applications - e.g. 32-bit FME cannot extend 64-bit Autocad Map 3D.

If you currently use FME with any third-party applications, we recommend you check that 64-bit versions are available for these before migrating to 64-bit FME.

Memory Management

Memory is the other consideration, and while 64-bit FME can utilize more memory, please be aware that even a 32-bit FME on a 64-bit machine can utilize up to 4 GB of RAM. We have also done a lot of work on memory management leading up FME 2010 so that many of our processes handle memory much better than they used to.

Summary

In most cases 32-bit FME even on Windows 64 may give you the performance you need and the full range of formats.  If you know for certain that you will be running processes that need huge amounts of memory and are working with formats that are supported you may want to consider using 64-bit FME.

There is also some more background information on this topic here:
http://fmepedia.safe.com/articles/FAQ/64-bit-Computing-and-FME

Installation

The 64-bit version of FME is available as an installation option in the software. Navigate to this location on the installation DVD - <DVDRoot>\FMEDesktop\Windows\ and select fme-desktop-2012-win-x64.msi.

The latest build including the latest Service Pack is also available from our website. Visit the 64-bit Download page or  retrieve the latest beta build on our Beta page.