Pueblo Native wrote:
it seems that almost everybody I've talked to has advised me not to go with the 64 bit version of OpenSuse because there really is no speed advantage (if that's not good advice I'd like to hear otherwise). So then, if there is no speed advantage, what's the point in even having a 64 bit processor right now?
If you only have 2 gig of memory, 32bit will be faster. The thing that is great about 64bit, is it can handle memory above 2 GB natively, with out doing anything special. The reason that 32bit is faster is it only has to pass around 32 bit pointers vs 64 bit pointers. On the other hand, the faster memory handling above 2 GB with 64bit OS makes up the difference . Now memory isn't the only factor, but is good enough for this discussion. Things that use a lot of math also benefit with 64bit pointers, as the math is just faster. So unless you are running a mission critical DB or some vector graphics stuff, 64bit won't help either. Also keep in mind that the program needs to be 64bit for it to take advantage of the 64bit math. Hope this helps. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org