very noob - 32bit or 64bit

[patch]

Hi,

very noob to linux, planning to install kubuntu on an 'older' pc with 64 bit athlon processor ...

So I'm wondering whether I should choose the 32-bit or the 64-bit version.

Is one inherently 'better' than the other? will both work just fine on my pc?

cheers.

[Guest]

Re: very noob - 32bit or 64bit

32 vs 64 bits, you can find a lot to read on the net.

You're computer being an older 1 with less ram i would recommand 32bits.
here a nice link to see the difference. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit

while reading you'll see that in 64bits you need more ram while it takes more space.

[patch]

Re: very noob - 32bit or 64bit

Thanks for that. I'll go 32 bit version then!

[cleb]

Re: very noob - 32bit or 64bit

Definitely 32bit. My experience is that it is way more stable than 64bit. This is because for example adobe flash player, skype and other proprietary programs do not have a 64bit version and have to be run through a wrapper, which is rather unstable and may cause the programs to crash.

[brentk]

Re: very noob - 32bit or 64bit

Simple answers are best, but these seem a bit oversimplified. Some questions should have been asked.

How much RAM?
1 GB install 32bit (64bit can indeed use more RAM than 32 for simple things and therefore cause a slowdown)
2GB or 4GB Either is acceptable.
Greater than 4GB install 64bit as 32 cannot use more than 4GB.

What type of applications?
If you use a lot of large files, such as video files 64bit does a better job of storing them in RAM. If you're exclusively on the internet 32bit may be better because as was pointed out some application add-ons are only available 32bit. Since this is linux though and you can compile all your own installs in 64bit the concept of a "32bit program" is sort of ridiculous.

How long do you expect to keep the system? / How adverse are you to reinstalling?
A 32bit program can be run under a 64bit operating system. A 64bit program cannot be run on a 32bit operating system.

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