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Re: [LUG] 64bit Debian

 

On 15/06/11 20:50, Grant Sewell wrote:
>
> I will (hopefully... if I get a good opportunity to do so) soon be
> wiping my laptop clean and installing a fresh Debian on there.  Last
> time I looked at 64bit vs 32bit with any seriousness it seemed that
> although 64bit could (in theory) provide an edge over 32bit systems if
> your hardware spec was sufficient (ie it really wasn't worth it if you
> had 4GB of RAM or less), and certainly if you ran a "desktop" system
> you were in for a fair bit of hassle getting everything "just right".
> 
> That was, however, quite a while ago.

I think there may be a marginal edge with 64bit OS with less RAM for
some tasks, but it depends on the precise details of the task. Basically
things that are CPU intensive, but not hugely dependent on CPU cache. Be
interesting to see how the chess programs benchmark...

> So, my question to you all is this: For a laptop that will not be
> running as a server of any kind but as a "desktop", with 2GB of RAM, is
> it (yet) worth going for a 64bit Debian Testing install, or would I
> (still) be better going for a 32bit?

I think most of the rough edges (like getting Flash installed) have been
dealt with now on the 64bit version, so I don't think there is any
particular downside to using AMD64.

Can you try both?

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