FC2: 64-bit over 32-bit

[zhiyung]

My spec:
Athlon64 2800+
Abit KV8 Pro
1GB DDR400 CL2.5
ATI 9600XT 256MB

I downloaded FC2 32-bit for my old machine a week ago.

I'm wondering if FC2 64-bit is necessary for my A64 machine? Must i use it or FC2 32-bit will run fine on it too.

If both can, so, what is the advatanges of 64-bit? Significant performance boost?

note: I will be using FC2 for a networking and VOIP project only.

[marks_linux]

I would suggest sticking with the 32 bit version, I'm currently having all sorts of problems installing packages etc, failed dependancies and stuff on the 64 bit version. Can't seem to get apt installed. Admittedly I'm no Linux expert but it should be easier than this!!

Maybe others in the forum with more experience are having an easier time of it.

[marks_linux]

correction I've just got apt to install via yum using the following yum.conf

[movery]

Has anyone managed to get any of the following working on 64 bit fc2?

- ndiswrapper
- ati drivers for mobility 9700
- wine
- totem
- synaptic touchpad

Debating whether to go to 32 bit debian until 64 bit becomes a bit more practical...

Thanks!

[lauterm]

A more direct response to your question: yes, you can. I have run both on my x86_64. It was far easier to get all the extras (like mp3 support, java, flash, etc) working in the 32 bit version. I only used the 32 bit version for a few days, but it seemed stable enough. I am running the 64 bit version now just to validate the extra money I spent on the Athlon64 to myself. :)

[lauterm]

Sorry, I forgot to answer the last half of your question. At this point in time performance differences should be quite small as programs are not being written to take advantage of the 64 bit extensions. Of course the compiler can make some use of the extensions and extra registers without any changes to the code. The main advantage at the present time is the ability to make use of more than 4GB of RAM. I'm assuming you don't have that as I haven't seen any motherboards that will support that much for a desktop system. To sum it all up, it is my opinion that for general desktop use that the ease of use of running fc2 i386 outweighs the performance boost of running fc2 for x86_64. Please feel free to disagree with me or correct me on any point that I have made.

[fjleal]

it is my opinion that for general desktop use that the ease of use of running fc2 i386 outweighs the performance boost of running fc2 for x86_64
How 'bout a server system? Would you prefer the 64 bit version in that case?

[lauterm]

I would run 64 bit on the server. The only things I had hassles with are desktop stuff. Plus a server would be a situation where even the smallest performance gain is welcomed.

[crackers]

Keep in mind that it's not necessarily the 64-bit "advantage" for servers - it's the huge memory space. The more stuff you can cache in memory, the better the overall performance (disk access is slow).

[fjleal]

I'm about to buy a new Amd 64 Opteron with 2GB ram for a server, with a Promise SATA disk controller (RAID 0, 1, 5). I read the FC2 x86_64 distro has drivers for it. I hope it's true... ;)

[SmyTTor]

Using the promise SATA on the Asus K8V SE Deluxe I have a nice FC2 install, non-raid, no problems at all. Can't install in raid, but can set up in software later if you want.

[Viro]

Unless you're running a server or doing a lot of work that involves integer opterations, AMD64 doesn't bring much to the table. Initially, I thought that a 64 bit system would be good for my research work, but it turns out that floating point performance in 32 bit and 64-bit apps are practically the same, with a slight advantage going to the 32-bit version.

Unless you're doing a lot of compressing/decompressing, media encoding, image processing and encryption, you'll not see much benefit from the move to AMD64.

[SmyTTor]

I really have to agree with that, from my own experiences. If you aren't really into tackling all the issues that pop up with the athlon 64 and the lack of vendor support (why oh why is it so hard to get drivers) or going to be using it for intensive server functions, then stick with the ol' 32bit in my opinion.

Sad part is 64bit support vendor side prolly won't get going well until Intel releases their chip and MS gets it's 64 garbage OS out the door.