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Re: [LUG] 64 bit

 

> I have no interest in gaming so I just do emails, browsing and playing
> around with digital photos using the Gimp. would there be any advantage in
> going for 64 bit? Would there be any disadvantages or problems?

The big reason to switch to 64-bit is for the larger pointer sizes
that can address larger memory addresses. So, if you have more than
4GB RAM, then there are advantages (though it's not entirely necessary
thanks to the PAE kernels). The big disadvantage is that some
proprietary software doesn't support it, so you end up having a pile
of 32 bit packages just to run Flash or what not.

If you're operating in a completely Free environment, then you may as
well go for 64-bit, otherwise you're probably better off sticking with
32 bit.

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