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Thread: Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

  1. #1
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    Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

    Hi,

    I'm thinking of moving back to the 32-bit version of Ubuntu when 9.10 is released, but for those who have worked with both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions what are the caveats? Do the drivers provided by System76 work the same on both? Will the 32-bit version run noticeably slower?

    I've ran into several applications that are not available for 64-bit Linux, but generally I get buy with finding something else or just moving on... but Flash is one of the straws breaking this horse's back because the wrapper is just not cutting it very well.

    Several folks have suggested dualbooting, but I'd rather not do that. I want an all or none system.

    Thanks for any insight in this. Either way I won't be making the move until December when my online course is complete because it took some time to get Firefox tweaked just right, so maybe some of the problems I'm running into will be squashed by then, namely Flash.

    Thanks and take care --

    Sam

  2. #2
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    Re: Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

    Quote Originally Posted by samalex View Post
    Hi,

    I'm thinking of moving back to the 32-bit version of Ubuntu when 9.10 is released, but for those who have worked with both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions what are the caveats? Do the drivers provided by System76 work the same on both? Will the 32-bit version run noticeably slower?

    I've ran into several applications that are not available for 64-bit Linux, but generally I get buy with finding something else or just moving on... but Flash is one of the straws breaking this horse's back because the wrapper is just not cutting it very well.

    Several folks have suggested dualbooting, but I'd rather not do that. I want an all or none system.

    Thanks for any insight in this. Either way I won't be making the move until December when my online course is complete because it took some time to get Firefox tweaked just right, so maybe some of the problems I'm running into will be squashed by then, namely Flash.

    Thanks and take care --

    Sam
    If you don't have over 3 gig of memory 64 bit might not be doing much for you anyway.
    Here is a good article:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit

    You can just skip down to the "Pros and cons" section.

    jdb

  3. #3
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    Re: Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

    It is true that some app do not exist in 64 bit, but you can always:

    - compile from source (where available): best option for results, worst for speed
    - Install ia32 (32 bit environement) and use "dpkg -i --force-architecture". To install a 32 bit deb on a 64 bit system

    The second solution seems to work great for some that have flash issues (flash 64bit works fine for me, but I don't use it much anyway):
    you remove firefox 64 bit and install firefox 32bit .deb. All the plugins for it will be 32 bit ones.
    AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition 2,8 GHz - GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P - 6 GB RAM Mushkin DDR3 1333 - ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GT 1 GB DDR3

  4. #4
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    Re: Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

    There is a native 64bit version of Flash for Linux, no need for the wrapper...which is a HUGE CPU cycle hog!

    Also Adobe is releasing a new flash player with OpenGL support, meaning it will now move some, even most of the computing to your GPU.

    Ive attached a script to install it correctly. (the native 64bit version)

    This is not in the Ubuntu repos as it's still in Alpha development, has been for months. Although I have very little problems with it, even less than the wrapper..."Yay it caused Firefox to crash again!"


    The big things that used to hurt me with 64bit was Flash, and Java web plug-in. Now there is Native 64bit for both. Iceweasle doesn't work for sites I use Java for. i.e ninjavideo.

    One big Program for me is Boxee, which oddly does not have 64bit yet. So I just use 32bit on my Media PC.

    Other issues would be not being able to use more that 3GB of memory...on the standard Kernel. You can install a server kernel and use up to 6 I think. (Not a recommended way, just a workaround for servers that need full 32bit support)

    I would personally stick with 64bit. The support gets better every day, and I see starting next year 64 bit will be the recommended industry standard for everyone. Window, Linux, and Mac (already is)

    I'm not sure about the drivers, there's no needs really anymore on my PanP4n. Using Ubuntu 9.10 Beta to post this.


    My conclusion would be, if you need to have full 32bit support for some program than do it, but look for alternatives first. Some programs have an "unofficial" 64bit version.
    Attached Files Attached Files

  5. #5
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    Re: Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

    Oh and here is the article/blog about the script, and plug-in.

    http://reformedmusings.wordpress.com...u-jaunty-9-04/

  6. #6
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    No Difference

    I don't see any difference between the two at all, after trying both I tossed a coin and went for 32-bit. If you have 4GBs of memory, then 32-bit will only allow you to use 3.2GBs of it, but I don't find this a problem.

  7. #7
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    Re: Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

    Other than memory detection...

    Make sure you test suspend/resume in 32-bit. That's half the reason we moved to 64-bit in the first place.
    To err is human, to forgive is very ... dog-like.

    Thomas Aaron
    FetchMasters, LLC

  8. #8
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    Re: Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

    Quote Originally Posted by thomasaaron View Post
    Other than memory detection...

    Make sure you test suspend/resume in 32-bit. That's half the reason we moved to 64-bit in the first place.
    Suspend/Resume is blazingly fast in 9.10 64bit. You open that laptop lid, and its ready to go. ( or unlock)

  9. #9
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    Re: Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

    An option that you may want to consider is installing a 32 bit VirtualBox virtual machine to handle any of your 32 bits apps that wont run under a 64 bit OS. VirtualBox is a great easy to use solution. 64bit is the way all software is trending so you probably don't want to go back to 32 bit. However a 32bit vm will buy you the time you need to run your apps until a 64 bit version of the app get released. This will also accommodate older sw that will never have a 64bit release. Just my .02.

  10. #10
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    Re: Pro's and Con's with going to 32-Bit Ubuntu on PanP5

    jsteiner,

    *Excellent* point.
    To err is human, to forgive is very ... dog-like.

    Thomas Aaron
    FetchMasters, LLC

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