32bit vs. 64bit

[spotslayer]

Good morning, This is a question I have about these two versions. I have a core duo 2 laptop which is a 64bit setup. I have had it for a while now. I first installed dapper on it and have just done the update > upgrade since then. When I installed dapper the 64bit support was a little weak so I opted for the 32bit version. It seems that 64bit support has gotten much better and I have given thought to making a run at it. My pondering is about current 64 bit support. What is there still no support for?

I would really like some input from you guys running 64b version. What if anything would you like to have and don't? What might I miss? I know this is pretty broad and hard to answer. I am just looking for some input, I have a great system running with no problems at all and it is just a little worrysome that if I upgrade I will find some things won't work.

David

[dibl]

Re: 32bit vs. 64bit

What if anything would you like to have and don't? What might I miss? I know this is pretty broad and hard to answer. I am just looking for some input, I have a great system running with no problems at all and it is just a little worrysome that if I upgrade I will find some things won't work.

It's hard to know how representative my use of the system is to yours, David, so that has to be considered. Having pointed that out, there's nothing that I would want to do, that I can't do just because mine is 64-bit and not 32-bit.

I believe there is a problem in the "Java Runtime Environment" domain. The last time I said "JRE doesn't work" I got corrected on some technicality, so let's just say there is some issue there. Also some proprietary media players, such as the ones at rhapsody.com and turner broadcasting seem to have problems. But I'm not sure how well they work on 32-bit Linux either.

For Adobe Flash, Adobe doesn't have a 64-bit version, so you have to use one of at least 3 different methods to have flash in your browser, but you can have it.

All other issues that I know about or have are attributable to other things -- not to the 64-bit architecture.

Here's what works just fine on my system:

- Nvidia 8800GTS using either nvidia-glx-new or the downloaded Nvidia driver
- VMWare Player 2.02
- Compiz Fusion
- All audio functions
- Logitech webcam, NTFS memory stick, Skype (I only used it once)
- All USB devices (I'm not smart enough to make Moto4Lin work, I guess)

I hope that is useful information for you.

BTW, I'm running Hardy Heron Alpha 5, 64-bit, with KDE4 -- just installed it last night and it really looks nice. You might want to consider it. Beta is due out March 20, IIRC.

[spotslayer]

Re: 32bit vs. 64bit

What if anything would you like to have and don't? What might I miss? I know this is pretty broad and hard to answer. I am just looking for some input, I have a great system running with no problems at all and it is just a little worrysome that if I upgrade I will find some things won't work.

All USB devices (I'm not smart enough to make Moto4Lin work, I guess)

I have never gotten it to work either, even compiled from source.

Thank's for ur input dibl. This is exactly the kind of input I am looking for. It does seem things have gotten better.

I admire your willingness to try the alpha stuff. I only have this laptop and just don't have the nerve to blaze trails. I usually wait until the forums have some input on the new versions before I even upgrade. Usually at least a week. I do have KDE4 installed along side KDE3, but don't use it much. It still seems to limited for my purposes. Sure is pretty though.

Thank you for ur input and being the trailblazer u are.

David

[KeithZG]

Re: 32bit vs. 64bit

I started on 64-bit when I built my most recent computer awhile back; I think it was on Dapper Drake, might have been 6.10 Edgy Eft (uh oh, is my 1337 system getting outdated?). At the time I was indeed often annoyed that I couldn't find many packages (mostly games, some codecs, a few of the more interesting and newer programs) for 64-bit, although in all fairness my hardware and peripherals entirely worked (which was a minor miracle IIRC because apparently my new-at-the-time motherboard had been unsupported in Linux a mere few months prior; sudden achievements like that might actually be the main reason I love Linux and (K)Ubuntu).

Thing is, I've done lots of beta-ing myself (I'd be trying out Hardy Heron as we speak, but my older 32-bit test computer that started out with the beta of 5.10 has been having gigantic problems in Gutsy with the NVIDIA drivers and it can't get a non-eye-destroying refresh rate on the nice-but-CRT monitor I have hooked up to it, although of course the open source "nv" drivers work...actually you know what, that's all the more reason, I'm going to upgrade it right now!) and the result of that is that often with the releases I've been updating as the upcoming releases have been updating. What do I mean to imply by this? Well, it's been like being a lobster in reverse; I didn't notice it at the time, but slowly the water has been cooling down to a nice room temperature. The wealth of apps that run on 64-bit has grown incredibly, and the nags and bugs have winked out one by one. I've been using it as my primary gaming platform for awhile now too (not all games run on Linux, but all the good ones do ). One random example: Warzone 2100 Resurrection just recently got things working on 64-bit, whoo!

All-in-all I'd say the experience has been quite positive; some things like Flash still take a tad bit more work, but I actually like how I have a separate 32-bit version of Firefox for browsing when I need Flash and a 64-bit version of Konqueror for when I want to browse the majority of the worthwhile internet! Keeps annoying things like Flash locked away until I actually want/need them, and I can definitely live with that. My only regret is that (because of the parts I could pilfer for cheap at the time) my machine is a Socket 939 (ie. DDR instead of DDR2) rig, so I've never been able to justify shelling out the money to get enough RAM to really justify running 64-bit; right now I'm looking at those DDR2 prices with envy.