xsabrewulf

I know that Windows based systems need special 64 bit drivers and there are compatibility options.


is Linux like this?

is there any benefit going to the 64 bit?

The Hundred Gunner

I don't think compatibility is such an issue anymore. Try 64-bit, and if you run into problems, go 32-bit.

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The Master Chief

I only use 64bit linux distros never had a problem.

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AIpha

You can utilize more RAM with 64-bit. If your processor supports it, I'd recommend it. I haven't had a single program compatibility problem.

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Tator Tot

64bit. You won't run into driver issues like Windows.

And it has the benefit of 64bit architecture and the ability to use more RAM.

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transhour

you want to go 64 bit with linux, it just runs faster

you shouldn't run into any probs, most drivers are built directly into the kernel, and if not, it is just a matter of getting a drivers source code and recompiling it on your system.

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thiussat

The biggest hurdle to 64 bit used to be Flash, but now Adobe has released a native 64 bit version, so that is no longer a problem.

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version2

Is 64bit Linux capable of handling binaries for 32bit programs? I could see that as an issue for some programs.

TheMikeMiller

You can kinda use 32 bit binaries. You will need to use a wrapper for most of it. Just recompiling from source is probably better. If you use something like Ubuntu you won't have to do too much work. Most (maybe all) of the core software is supported. It's really not hard to recompile and I actually haven't had to do it once since 8.10. Unsupported software (by Ubuntu) won't always have the correct 64 bit versions of the dependencies so you might have to compile those from source too.

Ubuntu is, IMHO, by far the most stable and mature 64 bit operating system. They've done the compiling and dependencies for you.

I don't know about any performance increase moving to 64 bit instruction sets. There is supposed to be some math and encoding gain, but it seems that instruction sets like sse4 and threading are more important. You do get a performance gain for memory but I've had a hard time actually filling up 4gb let along more than that.

SilentPixel

running 32bit apps under 64bit shouldn't be a problem, you install ia32-*

Ubuntu 32bit apps on 64bit

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