Linux Mint Forums

Thread title says it all. Is there a 64 bit version of Linux Mint LXDE? I realize most people on a fast system won't see much of a difference between the normal mint and LXDE version anyway, but I do like PCmanFM and would like to try out PCManFM2 without the hassle. (My cursory check of the liveCD only found the old PCManFM in the normal Mint 9 Repos and not PCmanFM2.)

I don't think so...but you can still run the 32-bit version on a 64-bit computer anyways.

@vincent +1

If there is, I haven't seen it.

Dave

Thanks Zoof. I went ahead and used the standard mint64 for now. Reason being I have 6 Gb of ram on my machine. Good to know it might be available in the future if enough people make the switch to 64 bit.

Of course you could do 64bit a CLI ubuntu install, add the mint repository and then install the necessary packages that would give you Mint LXDE minus some customizations.

oni5115 wrote:Thanks Zoof. I went ahead and used the standard mint64 for now. Reason being I have 6 Gb of ram on my machine. Good to know it might be available in the future if enough people make the switch to 64 bit.

In the meantime, if you have internet enabled before you run the ubiquity installer it should automatically install the latest PAE version of the kernel during installation if it detects over 4gb of ram. That'll enable detection of up to 64gb of ram in an x86 machine. Yes, it is technically a "hack", but it does work (And I personally use it. I actually see very little performance decrease as a result, if any)

Insane1 wrote:

oni5115 wrote:Thanks Zoof. I went ahead and used the standard mint64 for now. Reason being I have 6 Gb of ram on my machine. Good to know it might be available in the future if enough people make the switch to 64 bit.

In the meantime, if you have internet enabled before you run the ubiquity installer it should automatically install the latest PAE version of the kernel during installation if it detects over 4gb of ram. That'll enable detection of up to 64gb of ram in an x86 machine. Yes, it is technically a "hack", but it does work (And I personally use it. I actually see very little performance decrease as a result, if any)

I installed the PAE kernel manually after I installed the 32bit main version. I did this to take advantage of the extra 1GB of ram. I notice no difference speed-wise with the 64bit version. I do however have intentions on installing the 64bit XFCE edition soon though. Great Stuff, I love it!

oni5115 wrote:Thanks Zoof. I went ahead and used the standard mint64 for now. Reason being I have 6 Gb of ram on my machine. Good to know it might be available in the future if enough people make the switch to 64 bit.

But here is my question (i know it doesnt' have to do so much with RAM but still) - why would you need a light desktop enviroment on a high end PC? Would it be better to just use the fully featured and much powerfull DE?

I mean to me LXDE and similar are an excelent find for old(er) maschines, but for new ones i would like to have the best and most compatible OS.

mastablasta wrote:

oni5115 wrote:Thanks Zoof. I went ahead and used the standard mint64 for now. Reason being I have 6 Gb of ram on my machine. Good to know it might be available in the future if enough people make the switch to 64 bit.

But here is my question (i know it doesnt' have to do so much with RAM but still) - why would you need a light desktop enviroment on a high end PC? Would it be better to just use the fully featured and much powerfull DE?

I mean to me LXDE and similar are an excelent find for old(er) maschines, but for new ones i would like to have the best and most compatible OS.

That's like asking why you would want a lightweight car rather than a heavier one for a large and full featured highway ;3 Speeeeeeeeeeeeed. I'd also be using XFCE, but for some reason I'm attracted to LXDE despite having a 4gb 2ghz dual core system with a 290gb hard drive. I don't know if it's the fact it's simpler feeling or what, or if it's because I have to get my hands dirty sometimes....but I like LXDE. Only thing I wish it had was a gtk version of the kdeprint program so that programs that normally only printed to PDF could print to my printer (And that more GTK programs had a "print" option @3@ Surprisingly I found not ONE GTK image viewer that had a print option)

64 bit is not worth installing on any pc yet, and won't be soon, 32 bit is much smoother and run faster

staffie wrote:64 bit is not worth installing on any pc yet, and won't be soon, 32 bit is much smoother and run faster

why?

staffie wrote:64 bit is not worth installing on any pc yet, and won't be soon, 32 bit is much smoother and run faster

Actually you would need it if you had >4 MB RAM.

But if you have some much RAM and latest processor i don't think you really need LXDE edition.

GNOME takes about 120-130MB ram when idle. LDXE (lubuntu) about 80MB). So if oyu have computer with only 128 MB ram or 256 MB ram or even 512 MB ram LXDE will make a difference.

mastablasta wrote:

staffie wrote:64 bit is not worth installing on any pc yet, and won't be soon, 32 bit is much smoother and run faster

Actually you would need it if you had >4 MB RAM.

But if you have some much RAM and latest processor i don't think you really need LXDE edition.

GNOME takes about 120-130MB ram when idle. LDXE (lubuntu) about 80MB). So if oyu have computer with only 128 MB ram or 256 MB ram or even 512 MB ram LXDE will make a difference.

Not necessarily. You could install the PAE kernel and then you'd have access to all of that RAM past 3.0gb.

Hola!
Vengo usando Linux Mint 10 version LXDE desde los primeros dias que fue liberado, y me encanto!.
Tengo una PC humilde: Sempron 2600+ a 1.6GHz con 512 de RAM, hoy por hoy es un hardware algo "obsoleto" y lento.
Creo que teniendo una version de 64 Bits para mi hardware ayudaria en el rendimiento. He leido benchmarks que dan un leve mejora de rendimiento, y esto para mi puede ser muy ventajoso.
Comento mi situacion, porque muchos usuarios que plantean el tema de la version de 64 bits lo hacen por una cuestion de manejar mas de 4 GB de RAM. Mi caso es otro.
Creo que poseer un Software compilado para 64 bits es mucho mas optimo que una para i686: dado que, en teoría, serán incluidos varios conjuntos de Intrucciones del CPU.
Ademas considero que la mayoria de los usuarios que usen un Hardware "nuevo" no vean diferencias entre una versión de 32 bits y una 64 bits, en cuanto al rendimiento.
Capaz esté equivocado, pero creo que sera mejor .
Saludos

---

Hello!
I've been using Linux Mint 10 LXDE version from the early days he was released, and loved it!.
I have a humble PC: Sempron 2600 + at 1.6GHz with 512 RAM, today is a hardware something "obsolete" and slow.
I think that having a 64-bit version for my hardware would help performance. I have read benchmarks giving a slight performance improvement, and this for me may be advantageous.
I mention my situation, because many users raised the issue of 64-bit version do so for a matter to handle more than 4 GB of RAM. My case is different.
I think we have a 64-bit compiled software is much more optimistic that an i686, because, in theory, be included several sets of instructions from the CPU.
I think most users who use a Hardware "new" does not see differences between a 32-bit and 64 bit in performance.
I could be wrong, but I think it will be better;).
Regards

Thus far the decision has come down to Clem regarding the lack of a 64 bit LXDE edition. Essentially, the non-Gnome editions continue to make up a significant minority of overall Linux Mint use and the majority of people opting for 64 bit have no issue with running the heavier desktops. It's also an issue of how to best spend development time. Even though I can spin up a 64 bit edition in just a few days after finalizing the 32 bit edition, that's still a few days that might be better served working on application development, package patches, support, bug tracking, or any number of other projects. I spend an awful lot of time comparing and contrasting Mint LXDE with other LXDE based distributions as there are a lot of significant improvements that are brought in from myriad projects. For example, Lubuntu introduced a control panel (that I've opted against using) and a keymap application (that I am presently using), aptosid introduced a number of admin tools that, though I don't use them, have opened up a lot of internal discussion as to how best to move the environment forward without derailing what the initial concept was at the outset.

Recently I've been working on a patched version of lxsession that eliminates it's ability to control keyboard/pointer settings to make way for the much improved mintInput rewrite that I've been working on this past week. In fact it wouldn't be unreasonable to simply drop lxsession altogether in favor of other options and build the whole thing from a pure Openbox session, but that's more of a last resort than anything at this point.

I've also been thinking about some UI choices in LXDE and I think that there may be ways to add some functional improvements without sacrificing the speed or general feel of the desktop. This is something I want to begin looking into sometime within the next few days.

Essentially until there's enough actual user statistics to justify building a 64 bit release, then it's not something that I am going to spend my time on. Yes, there is a vocal minority that wants a 64 bit release, however until LXDE usage increases it makes it hard to justify spending the time when there are so many other projects that need to be tended to.

Kendall wrote:In fact it wouldn't be unreasonable to simply drop lxsession altogether in favor of other options and build the whole thing from a pure Openbox session, but that's more of a last resort than anything at this point.

Wow! Mint Openbox... that would be impressive.

Now I understand better. I did not take into account the fact the production and what it means to maintain a 64-bit version of a non-principal.

I appreciate the effort to offer the community a huge variety! . That's what I like about Linux Mint

Greetings!

PD: sorry for my English ...

What about the premise of: "Build it and they will come!" ?
If you personally don't have the time to spin a 64-bit version using LXDE, why not entrust that project to someone else?
If you can get another developer to convert the 32-bit LXDE to a 64-bit, and have them focus on running side-by-side with your "production" release, you might garner more support for 64-bit LXDE development.
Just an observation....

I recently installed the Synaptic "LXDE" along with "lxappearance-obconf" and "vlc-plugin-pulse" on a Mint 12 64-bit Gnome3 system. Initially the computer seemed a little mystified by all the possibilities (7 desktops + combinations), mixing up some controls and menus. However, after a few hours and some minor adjusting the LXDE desktop stabilized and appears quite similar to 32-bit versions and the Lubuntu 64-bit version. Everything is working and been very stable. At first I thought I was going to be rewarded with some of the nice Gnome controls (in particular, sound) but I can get gnome-control-center to last for 1 boot and then all the useful parts disappear. I ended up removing it and a lot of the cosmetic bloat from the other desktops and would love some knowledgeable advice on what else can be safely removed. Here is a list of what I removed: http://douwil7.100webspace.net/linux/lubuntu.html. With most of the main applications that I use, including some heavy weights like Wine and Skype, installed, the whole blob weighs in at less than 5 GB - not very different from Mint 11 or Lubuntu 11.10 with the same apps. I can highly recommend this after market install for those who want a 64-bit LXDE.