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D3mon_Spawn
March 22nd, 2010, 02:42 PM
This is probably a dumb question but is 64-bit OS required to be installed on some machines? I bought my laptop with 64-bit Vista on it but then later switched to 64 bit ubuntu. I was just wondering if a specific OS type (32 0r 64) needs to be installed or can either one of he two work. I'm only asking this because I'm considering installing 32-bit Ubuntu 10.04 when it comes out.

mcooke1
March 22nd, 2010, 03:15 PM
If you have 4 GB or more of ram I would use 64 bit but both would work.

_h_
March 22nd, 2010, 03:16 PM
If you have 4 GB or more of ram I would use 64 bit but both would work.

You don't need to have 4GB RAM to use 64bit. I only have 3GB and I use 64bit.

D3mon_Spawn
March 22nd, 2010, 03:22 PM
yea i have 4gig ram, so I guess it would just be more beneficial to run 64 bit

Gatemaze
March 22nd, 2010, 03:22 PM
You can run 32bit without any issues... That your processor is 64bit allows you to run a 64bit operating system. The pros are that you will see all your memory and you should have an unnoticable and untraceable speed improvement. The cons are none really nowadays unless you really use some exotic software. By this I mean that all software have 32bit binaries but the most popular ones also provide 64bit. For more info and the ram issue, pros and cons between 32bit to 64bit wiki is your friend
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_GB_barrier

howefield
March 22nd, 2010, 03:24 PM
This is probably a dumb question but is 64-bit OS required to be installed on some machines?

You can install 32 bit or 64 bit on a 64 bit capable machine, but not the other way round. Some machines would only be capable of running 32 bit.

As it seems your computer is 64 bit capable, then it is completely your choice, however there few reasons these days not to run 64 bit.

Are you having problems with 64 bit Ubuntu ?

D3mon_Spawn
March 22nd, 2010, 03:38 PM
You can install 32 bit or 64 bit on a 64 bit capable machine, but not the other way round. Some machines would only be capable of running 32 bit.

As it seems your computer is 64 bit capable, then it is completely your choice, however there few reasons these days not to run 64 bit.

Are you having problems with 64 bit Ubuntu ?

So far the only real problem Ive ever had with ubuntu is flash support. I'm not sure if adobe supports 32bit for ubuntu. I use a third party script provided by the community on this forum.

Slim Odds
March 22nd, 2010, 03:44 PM
So far the only real problem Ive ever had with ubuntu is flash support. I'm not sure if adobe supports 32bit for ubuntu. I use a third party script provided by the community on this forum.

I've been using the alpha 10 64 bit flash from Adobe on my 64 bit Ubuntu 9.10 system from quite some time. It work just fine.

There is no reason to use 32 bit on a 64 bit machine these days. None.

mortrca
March 22nd, 2010, 03:45 PM
So far the only real problem Ive ever had with ubuntu is flash support. I'm not sure if adobe supports 32bit for ubuntu. I use a third party script provided by the community on this forum.

I've run into some problems with program incompatibility on 64bit, which is why I switched to 32bit (I must be one of those people trying to run "exotic software") Regarding Adobe Flash support, yes, Flash does run on Ubuntu 32bit.

wojox
March 22nd, 2010, 03:48 PM
You don't need to have 4GB RAM to use 64bit. I only have 3GB and I use 64bit.

He meant to take full advantage of it. ;)

@ OP I run 32 bit 9.10 on an AMD 64 and found it runs smoother than the 64 bit version. :D