LM10 KDE - should I choose 32-bit or 64-bit?

[fraxinus_63]

After being away from KDE for some time, I am considering the current Mint KDE edition for a new PC with Athlon x4 240 processor (2.8GHz) and 3Gb DDR3 memory. Thanks to the ability of Linux to run on legacy equipment, this is the first new PC I have bought for over six years, and the first with a 64-bit processor! So -- I have never before had to consider whether or not to choose a 64-bit OS.

For the spec I have indicated here, is the 64-bit version an automatic choice? Or am I unlikely to notice much difference in performance between 32-bit and 64-bit versions? I don't do very much that is that unusual or memory-intensive, but I do use VirtualBox a great deal to run different Linux distros and also Windows XP.

I would be grateful for any suggestions. Thanks in anticipation.

[tomp01]

I don't know about now but I used a 64 bit version of Kubuntu about 2 years ago and there weren't always 64 bit versions of apps available. Sometimes when installing it would complain that I was trying to install the wrong version. Also unless you are going to be using more than 4 Gb of memory I can't really see the point as there isn't any real performance increase.

[deadcats]

I've been using 64-bit distros for the past year. Prior to that, only 32-bit for the same reasons as above. But things have changed and 64-bit is no longer the challenge it was a couple of years ago. As with any good distro, you should now be able to install and run 64-bit with no problems.

Will it benefit you? That's another question. If you do a lot of video editing, for instance, you may notice some decrease in compile time. Anything else--who knows? Certainly, RAM takes a hit as the previous poster noted. (Funny, I remember the same arguments pro/con when everyone switched from 16-bit to 32-bit.)

As for me, I'll continue to use 64-bit distros whenever possible. My current exception to that is PCLinuxOS (which is scheduled for a 64-bit version sometime relatively soon).

Regards,
-dc

[fraxinus_63]

Thanks very much for your advice. With 'only' 3Gb RAM at present, I think I'll start off with 32-bit and see how I go.

[olligod]

One more thing:

The very maintainer of Mint-KDE (boo) states in the last mint podcast interview that through all his testing and building and stuff he has gotten the impression that 64 bit is more stable and 32 bit somewhat becoming the "poorer cousin"... much of it, of course, comes from upstream.

The link is http://mintcast.org/wp-content/uploads/mintcast_published/mintcast054.ogg Note: The first 10 minutes are about stuff other than Mint-KDE specifically. The whole thing is about 1 hour.

Maybe the conclusion is: "RAM-UP your machine If you can" - and use 64 bit.
That's what I have done anyway. 10 GB will do for the time being

[rec9140]

Maybe the conclusion is: "RAM-UP your machine If you can" - and use 64 bit.
That's what I have done anyway. 10 GB will do for the time being

Hey hey hey hey now.... I was the resident RAM King with 8GB on my quad core AMD.... And people told me I am nuts.... now you've gone to 10GB.... OK... newegg here I come... 16GB it is!

I think they should just have an auto replenish on 1.5TB WD drives from there any way....

[olligod]

Maybe the conclusion is: "RAM-UP your machine If you can" - and use 64 bit.
That's what I have done anyway. 10 GB will do for the time being

Hey hey hey hey now.... I was the resident RAM King with 8GB on my quad core AMD.... And people told me I am nuts.... now you've gone to 10GB.... OK... newegg here I come... 16GB it is!

I think they should just have an auto replenish on 1.5TB WD drives from there any way....

My motherboard stopped cooperating beyond 10GB, i.e.; no booting any more (I tried). So I will not win this race but have to stick with my little machine...