OS 32bit or 64bit

[lelovely7315]

Hi there, I hope this is a simple question to answer. I am running Ubuntu 12.04 (LTS) 32bit. This is the OS I had downloaded before I upgraded my computer. I see that there is also a 64bit version, what is the difference between the 32bit and the 64bit versions. And my question is: should I upgrade to the 64bit? Also what advantages is there between 32bit and 64bit? So far this Ubuntu 12.04 (LTS) 32bit is working great!!!
Thanks Larry

[3rdalbum]

Certain intensive calculations such as video encoding, work somewhat faster on 64-bit. You can also natively handle 4GiB of RAM or more on 64-bit.

Of course, 64-bit operating systems only work on 64-bit CPUs. Look up your CPU on Wikipedia and it will say if it is 64-bit or not. Most in the last six years are.

You would have to reinstall Ubuntu to get 64-bit; not worth it in my opinion, just install 64-bit the next time you do a clean install of Ubuntu.

[omeomi]

should I upgrade to the 64bit?

If you don't have 4GiB RAM or more installed there is no real need to change to 64bit.

[ibjsb4]

I just love this question 32 bit is just fine ..

http://www.googlubuntu.com/results/?...Search&lang=en

[smitty4478]

I don't think the upgrade would be worth having to reinstall, I agree with 3rdalbum...

[Paqman]

If you don't have 4GiB RAM or more installed there is no real need to change to 64bit.

This is not true. As well as being able to handle more memory, 64-bit is significantly faster at any kind of hardcore number crunching (video or audio encoding, encryption, compression, etc).

There's no reason to throttle a 64-bit chip down to 32-bit speeds.

[oldfred]

How much RAM? Most say unless you have 3GB or more the 32bit is fine.

Ubuntu 12.10: 32-bit vs. 64-bit Linux Performance
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...210_3264&num=1
Assuming your hardware is x86_64 capable (basically any modern Intel/AMD CPU) and have at least 2GB of RAM, you really should be running the 64-bit version.
Essentially says if you can use the 64bit kernel you should.April 2011
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...ty_pae64&num=1
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/32bit_and_64bit
Ubuntu 32-bit, 32-bit PAE, 64-bit Kernel Benchmarks Dec 2009
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...u_32_pae&num=1
Linus does not like PAE or 32 bit.
http://cl4ssic4l.wordpress.com/2011/...lds-about-pae/

[NilPointer]

You can also natively handle 4GiB of RAM or more on 64-bit.

I have 8 GiB of RAM and 32-bit PAE kernel, which handles entire RAM. PAE allows up to 64 GiBs of RAM. So, primary advantage of 64-bit OS is ability to allocate more than 2 GiB of RAM to single process. However, some software can be incompatible with 64-bit OS. And that's my primary reason to use 32-bit OS.

[Paqman]

However, some software can be incompatible with 64-bit OS.

Maybe a few years ago, but that's not a real problem any more. I've been using 64-bit exclusively for years and can't remember the last time I found a 32-bit only application. And even if I did, it can still run on 64-bit.

[oldos2er]

some software can be incompatible with 64-bit OS.

What software?