Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Switching to Kubuntu 64-bit as main OS, some past issues

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Switching to Kubuntu 64-bit as main OS, some past issues

    I am looking to switch over from Windows 8 x64 (legacy boot, not UEFI or secure boot) to Kubuntu x64. I love Ubuntu, but not Gnome or Unity. I want KDE. Before doing so, how well could I expect it to run on my laptop?
    Laptop hardware:

    8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 (4 GB module x 2)
    Intel Core i7 740 QM
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 1 GB video card
    500 GB 7200 RPM SATA-II HDD
    1920x1080 15.6-inch touch screen.

    One of the main issues I have encountered in past attempts to switch to a Linux OS has been video card drivers not working properly (happened with my desktop using a Radeon HD 4870X2 card). I want to be able to play java-based games such as Minecraft, and RuneScape so this is a serious issue for me. Another major issue I have had was a fullscreen gaming freezing, and forcing me to do a forced reboot.

    #2
    There are no issues with 64bit over 32bit on Linux anymore. I have been running it for years without issue I don't even think about it anymore.

    Java works on it, and I know for sure Minecraft will run on it.

    If a fullscreen game freezes you just need to restart the X server on Linux (alt+printscreen+k) which takes a few seconds, you will have to log in again though. I tend to just run my games in windowed mode without a border and at my screens native resolution (can even set them to be always on top) but this is mostly because games do not like my dual screen set up or let me use my second monitor for web browsing while I play. And this way if they crash they don't take out my desktop (or mess up my resolution).

    Comment


      #3
      Ditto what James says. AKAIK, the only reason to stay with 32bit other than having a 32bit CPU is if you have limited RAM. 64bit linux is known to use more RAM than 32bit. I'm unsure what the exact recommended cut-off is RAM wise because it doesn't apply to me. I came to Kubuntu precisely because I needed 64bit power for some of my projects and the distro I was using at the time did not yet have a 64bit version. That was back at Kubuntu 9.04.

      Please Read Me

      Comment


        #4
        http://askubuntu.com/questions/34529...n-hd-5650-work

        Graphics driver

        Comment


          #5
          When I bought my laptop I had Linux in mind. I purchased a laptop with Intel hardware. There are no proprietary drivers in use on my system. Works great but I am also not a gamer so...

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by oshunluvr View Post
            Ditto what James says. AKAIK, the only reason to stay with 32bit other than having a 32bit CPU is if you have limited RAM. 64bit linux is known to use more RAM than 32bit. I'm unsure what the exact recommended cut-off is RAM wise because it doesn't apply to me. I came to Kubuntu precisely because I needed 64bit power for some of my projects and the distro I was using at the time did not yet have a 64bit version. That was back at Kubuntu 9.04.
            There is no hard cutoff limit...

            You really should be on 64bit if you have more then 3GB of ram, or might have in the future. If you cannot get more then this (ie netbooks are normally limited to 2GB max) then you could consider 32bit, but even then it doesn't make much difference (and there are other benefits to 64bit you might want). Unless you are really restrained for ram then I would just use 64bit if you system supports it, but if you are then your system probably does not support 64bit anyway so you have no choice,.

            Basically, if your system supports 64bit, then you are likely to have more then 1GB of ram and so it wont really matter which version you use so you might as well use 64bit.

            Comment


              #7
              Just install latest amd drivers and your card should work well. Here you can find step by step guide: http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu . Follow "Installing Catalyst Manually (from AMD/ATI's site)" part.
              Plasma 5 look&feel for KDE4: http://kde-look.org/content/show.php...content=166438

              Comment


                #8
                I was referring to the fact that 64bit applications generally use more RAM than 32bit applications - on the order of 40-50%.

                The 3gb kernel limitation can be easily overcome by using a PAE kernel. It might be the case that PAE is enabled by default in Ubuntu kernels, but one would have to verify that.

                Point being: If you have 4GB of RAM and are constantly overloading your memory space to the point of swapping, you might be be better off with a 32bit kernel or changing your work habits so as to not overload free RAM. If you have more than 4GB, I think 64bit is the obvious choice. I you have less than 4gb, 64bit still might be the best choice if you're using only a couple apps at a time and need 64bit CPU power - like for transcoding video. If you have less than 4GB RAM and like to have lots of apps open at once, you might be better off with 32bit kernel.

                Please Read Me

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by oshunluvr View Post
                  I was referring to the fact that 64bit applications generally use more RAM than 32bit applications - on the order of 40-50%.

                  The 3gb kernel limitation can be easily overcome by using a PAE kernel. It might be the case that PAE is enabled by default in Ubuntu kernels, but one would have to verify that.
                  I think this is so as my new 12.10 install is i386 and dose use all of my 4Gig's of RAM
                  vinny@vinny-HP-G62:~$ uname -a
                  Linux vinny-HP-G62 3.5.0-19-generic #30-Ubuntu SMP Tue Nov 13 17:49:53 UTC 2012 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux
                  vinny@vinny-HP-G62:~$ free
                  total used free shared buffers cached
                  Mem: 3926148 3146348 779800 0 219864 2182400
                  -/+ buffers/cache: 744084 3182064
                  Swap: 4096536 0 4096536
                  VINNY
                  i7 4core HT 8MB L3 2.9GHz
                  16GB RAM
                  Nvidia GTX 860M 4GB RAM 1152 cuda cores

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I decided to use WUBI on my laptop this morning. It reminds me of my mactops and the dual boot. Keeping Windows is a plus.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      ckrescho:

                      I decided to use WUBI on my laptop this morning. It reminds me of my mactops and the dual boot. Keeping Windows is a plus.
                      For someone just interested in learning more about Linux, WUBI is a useful tool. So, by all means, have fun experimenting, and welcome to the world of Linux!

                      If, like many of us here, you decide that Linux could serve your needs as well or better than that 'other' OS, then remember that it can be done the other way around as well, by running Windows as a virtual machine on Linux. IIUC, the performance of both OS's is better with the second option.

                      When I was making the transition, I found the best way was to just install Linux on the bare metal of another machine I had lying around, and then share data over a home LAN. As time goes on, you may wish to give that a try as well.

                      Frank.
                      Linux: Powerful, open, elegant. Its all I use.

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X