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Thread: 32 or 64 bit?

  1. #1
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    32 or 64 bit?

    I am swapping back to Vanilla Ubuntu from Mint... Mint needs some cut and polish... but the question in... why do they still in this day and age recommend 32 bit over 64?

    and which should I install?

  2. #2
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    Re: 32 or 64 bit?

    They are both about the same. I've been running 64-bit versions for a long while now.

    I think they recommend 32-bit because it will run on a larger variety of hardware than 64-bit.
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  3. #3
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    Re: 32 or 64 bit?

    If you have more than 4 GB RAM and 64 bit capable processors, then you should use 64 bit Ubuntu. 32 bit pae is quite efficient up to 4 GB RAM, so with less memory it might be better, because is uses less RAM for a particular task than the corresponding task done with 64 bits. And there is a fuzzy border zone, where it is hard to tell, which version is better.

  4. #4
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    Re: 32 or 64 bit?

    A thread with a bit more detail on this is here:
    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2077173

    Anyways, I'd say always go with 64-bit, unless you are running 16-bit programs (I highly doubt you ever will), or if your computer does not have a 64-bit processor.

  5. #5
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    Re: 32 or 64 bit?

    Quote Originally Posted by Synoc View Post
    ... why do they still in this day and age recommend 32 bit over 64?...
    Because 32 bit runs on older and/or low-spec hardware. As none my PCs have more than 4GB of RAM, I just install 32-bit and everything works.

  6. #6
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    Re: 32 or 64 bit?

    mine have 3GB ram I run 64bit no reason why I just felt like it....
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  7. #7
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    Re: 32 or 64 bit?

    Quote Originally Posted by Synoc View Post
    I am swapping back to Vanilla Ubuntu from Mint... Mint needs some cut and polish... but the question in... why do they still in this day and age recommend 32 bit over 64?

    and which should I install?
    hi
    this demands on the software you are running. a 32 bit SW can give you on huge systems ( there should be on personal computers no problem) some performance penalties. that's why when the address is greater than 2 GB (system will do it for you - but i do it !) the address must be special mapped. but that should be no problem for you - you should prefer the future and this 64 bit (at least).
    cheers
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  8. #8
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    Re: 32 or 64 bit?

    I've got a older Shop computer with Ubuntu x64 on it with 1.8Ghz AMD single core and 2 GB of RAM a tad bit slow but still works.
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  9. #9
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    Re: 32 or 64 bit?

    It used to be, just a few years ago, that 32-bit was just a lot less hassle. Stuff like plugins for browsers (Flash), Java, etc., and many applications just weren't as easy to install on 64-bit machines.

    I recently switched back to Ubuntu as my primary OS after upgrading my desktop's hardware to vanilla Intel mobo and i3 processor. I was hesitant to go with 64-bit because of the troubles I used to have before, but things have changed and it makes sense to go the 64-bit route now if your hardware can take advantage of it.

    That said, it makes sense for the download page to recommend 32-bit because if you don't know what the difference is it's possible you'll run into issues such as those I stated above. Better to have a happy Ubuntu user that perhaps is not running optimized than one with issues.

  10. #10
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    Re: 32 or 64 bit?

    I've run 64 bit Kubuntu on my amd x4 machine for a month or so now and before I used to run 32 bit with pae and I noticed a slight computational speed increase in the 64 bit version. It's not that big of a deal, but the system feels a little more responsive and there are a few website tests that claim certain applications compute faster in 64 bit.

    I too tried mint (in KDE form) and found it buggy on my system, but Kubuntu seems solid.

    I'd download both in case the 64 bit version does not work properly on your system for some reason.

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