New PC and Linux

Posted by: StigOE

New PC and Linux - 10/11/2006 21:46

Hi, all.

I've just bought a shiny new Acer laptop with an AMD Turion 64 X2 processor and I plan to dual-boot with Ubuntu. Since this is a 64-bit processor, should I install a 64-bit version of Ubuntu or should I just stick with the normal 32-bit version for best compatibility with existing programs?

Stig
Posted by: mlord

Re: New PC and Linux - 11/11/2006 02:19

Quote:
Hi, all.

I've just bought a shiny new Acer laptop with an AMD Turion 64 X2 processor and I plan to dual-boot with Ubuntu. Since this is a 64-bit processor, should I install a 64-bit version of Ubuntu or should I just stick with the normal 32-bit version for best compatibility with existing programs?

Stig


64-bit Linux (x86_64) is supposed to be able to seamlessly mix 32-bit and 64-bit applications without fuss.

But.. I do recall hearing that the Flash player was fussier than normal about this.. so on 64-bit Linux you *might* have to do without the usual number of annoying web advertisements, if that rumour is true.

Simpler answer: The ubuntu install discs are also "live demo" discs: pull down the 64-bit version, boot and run from it and see what works.

Cheers
Posted by: Roger

Re: New PC and Linux - 11/11/2006 06:43

Quote:
But.. I do recall hearing that the Flash player was fussier than normal about this..


Ubuntu x86_64 works fine on my AMD X2 box. To be honest, I don't run anything that I didn't compile myself, or that's not available in the Ubuntu package repository, so I don't even know if I've got 32-bit apps on here.

Flash, on the other hand, you can't compile yourself, and it's not available in the Ubuntu repositories. I can't get that to work. Can't be that bothered to be honest.

Oh, I did have a problem with clock drift -- it ran faster than real time -- but I fixed that with a kernel command line switch. If you try Ubuntu, and you have the same problem (it doesn't happen on all 64-bit boxes -- depends on the chipset, apparently), post back and I'll tell you how I fixed it. Assuming that a later kernel doesn't fix it transparently.
Posted by: StigOE

Re: New PC and Linux - 11/11/2006 07:16

Great, thanks both of you. I'll download the 64-bit Ubuntu and try that.

Stig
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: New PC and Linux - 13/11/2006 08:18

I would go with 32 bit. You're not going to gain anything with 64 bit, except for a headache.
Posted by: StigOE

Re: New PC and Linux - 13/11/2006 09:28

So I found out, so I installed 32-bit this morning...

Stig