[GRLUG] 64 bit Linux and CPUs

[Adam Tauno Williams]

Yes, you can dual-boot 64bit and 32bit OSs.  No problem.


> If the hardware is x86_64 then I would stick with a matching OS.
> x86 has jumped the shark. 

What does this statement even mean?  x86 is the computing platform for
the vast majority of users on the planet.  Every package is available in
x86 (and may nor may not be available for others, very frequently no).
x86_64 is not a guaranteed performance improvement and can even be
slower for many applications; while it provides a larger address space,
more registers and some improved op-codes it also increased memory
requirements and basically doubles the required throughput to perform a
given operation.   It is a complete waste of time on the desktop unless
you are using some specialize application that works with a huge data
set (certainly not spreadsheets, e-mail, browsing, or word processing). 

> Most distros are releasing x86 versions to keep the
> older hardware viable. 

And will for a very long time into the future.

> Right now every software package has to be built for both arch. 

Or they just build for x86 since that serves 98% of the user base.

> You can build x86 and x86_64 packages with a 64bit system, but using
> just x86 would limit that ability.
> I use http://www.foresightlinux.org/