in need of advice, 64 vs 32 bit?

[Kain000]

Hey everyone, I just recently thought about switching from 32 bit ubuntu kernal to the 64 bit version. My desktops motherboard supports it, and from what I understand The advantage is the 2^64 bit addressing and thus the availability for more memory.
is this right?

Are their any other advantages of a 64 bit os?

And the real question, are there any programs out there that can take advantage of the possible 8 Gig of RAM?
thanks
-sean

[phidia]

Probably video editing and 3D design programs (like blender) can never have enough RAM so that's my opinion. I have experienced better times with video work comparing 64 to 32.

[porchrat]

You don't actually get to use all 8 gigs...ubuntu takes a chunk and you're left with userspace.

[mamendes]

I tried to use 64 b, had a lot of problems (spec with wireless), switched to 32 b.

[porchrat]

I haven't had a single problem on the 64bit version...everything except the graphics card...(and one of my harddrive controllers) worked right out of the box.

[Kain000]

alright, I'm thinking about switching over, just for my own curiosity, I've been told that for alot of apps using a 64 bit os is a moot point because they cannot use the extra memory. I thought that all the apps are running on the kernel and the kernel puts them into memory, and using a 64 bit kernel would mean that the kernel would decide how to allocate the memory.

[Sef]

moved to recurring discussions.

[igknighted]

Unless you have a need for something that has no 32 bit option (the only thing I can think of is some weird java app, like *cough* cisco clean access, that must have Sun's Java Plugin. Flash, OpenJDK and others have all stepped up to the plate, so there is almost nothing that you give up by using 64bit.

[SunnyRabbiera]

I think possibly by next year most of the issues faced in 64bit kernels will be fixed, already flash and java support got better and hardware is becoming more 64bit aware.
But the 32bit kernel will always be a good option if you want to use certain apps/hardware.