x86 vs. x86_64

[Matt Graham]

From: Nathan England <nathan at paysonlinux.org>
> Before I spend any time downloading and trying it myself, has any one taken
> the time to compare performance differences in every day usage between
> ubuntu x86 and the 64 bit version?

There is essentially ZERO performance difference between 64- and 32-bit Linux
for normal user apps AFAICT on a Gentoo box.  Couple that with the fact that
at least one app (epsxe, PSX emulator) doesn't work at all on 64-bit Linux,
and it's a no-brainer:  Use 32-bit.

The only reason that I can see to use 64-bit Linux is if you have more than 4G
RAM in your box AND you've got something that can benefit from malloc()ing
more than 4G of RAM in one process.  So if you're running a big DB or a huge
numerical simulation or something like that, go 64-bit.  Otherwise, go
32-bit.

(Constructive criticism and flying attack porcupines welcomed, since the above
post may be full of bovine feces....)

-- 
Matt G / Dances With Crows
The Crow202 Blog:  http://crow202.org/wordpress/
There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see