Mark Allums wrote:
prad wrote:i've recently returned to debian on a amd64 3400+ machine with 1G ram in it. i am running the 32bit version of lenny. would there be benefits to use 64bit lenny instead? in the archives, i found posts suggesting there is no benefit unless you are using 64-bit apps that require extra processing power like number-crunching.64-bit is the future. Everyone will run it eventually. Except older computers and possibly embedded processors, such the ones that power .mp3 players and the like. ARM, Coldfire, SH-1, and so on.Right now, there is no hurry to move from 32- to 64-bit, especially if your machine has 4 GB or less. Or you need the 64-bit architechture itself, for the extra registers, whatnot. Some number-crunching applications can benefit from it.A downside is 64-bits not only allows more memory, it requires it. 64-bit pointers vs. 32-bit pointers. Excuse me, *addresses*.I recommend 64-bits for new installs, but for existing setups, there is no need to update, unless you have specific needs.Mark Allums
Oops, make that *3* GB or less. The PC architecture allows more, but while 4 GB fits into 32-bits, the video card and other hardware is memory-mapped into the upper GB, so the 4th GB of physical memory must be remapped above the 4 GB line. In theory, with PAE segments you can address that memory with a 32-bit OS, but in practice, 64-bit is required.
Mark Allums