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On Monday 08 December 2008 17:09:04 Albert Hopkins wrote: |
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> On Mon, 2008-12-08 at 14:59 +0100, pat wrote: |
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> > Hello, |
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> > |
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> > I've bought a new laptop with Core 2 Duo processor which is 64 bit. My |
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> > question is if applications (see below) compiled and running over 64 bits |
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> > are stable enough or if I should compile for 32 bits. |
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> > |
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> > The applications are: |
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> > - Seamoneky/Firefox |
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> > - Java |
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> > - Flash |
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> > - Audacious |
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> > - mplayer |
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> > - VirtualBox/VMware |
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> > - Qemu |
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> > - Kerberos/OpenLDAP/OpenSSH (for these I think they are stable) |
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> > - X.org/fluxbox |
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> > - system suspending |
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> |
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> With very very few exceptions, stability shouldn't be much of an issue |
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> for you. It's pretty much the same source code base. What you should be |
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> more concerned about is application availability, especially WRT: |
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> |
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> * if the application is closed-source is there a 64-bit version |
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> * have the Gentoo maintainers marked it (yet) for amd64 (stable). |
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> Gentoo is (or at least used to be) a bit slower at marking |
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> things amd64 just because there are (were) fewer testers. I |
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> think this is pretty much a non-issue nowadays. |
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> * if it has code optimized in assembler is there optimized |
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> x64/compabile assembler. |
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> |
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> We (well, I) still use the closed-source (well, binary) versions of |
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> java. IBM's Java at least has a 64-bit port. |
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> |
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> Adobe just released a Linux x64 port of Flash (in Alpha). From my |
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> experience it's just as stable (or rather unstable) as the x86 version. |
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> |
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> win32codecs will not work unless it's used by a 32-bit exe (You can run |
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> 32-bit apps on x64). |
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> |
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> System suspending if largely kernel. |
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> |
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> Anyway probably more than you wanted to know, but I don't think |
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> stability is ever really a factor. Linux has supported 64-bit |
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> processors for at least 15 years (I think). Usually the only issue |
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> (just like running Linux on *any* non-x86 architecture) is the |
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> availability of proprietary apps. |
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> |
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> -a |
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I am using amd64/x86 Gentoo for 3 years. Both of them are really really great. |
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Especially amd64 machine which is my desktop/development can run simply |
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everything. All the mainline applications can run perfect on in |
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So if you want my advise, forget about the x86 and go install amd64. You wont |
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regret it :) |
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-- |
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Markos Chandras |
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