32 v 64 bit

[gavinjb]

Hi,

I am currently trying to move from Windows to Linux, but currently I am running Windows 7 64 bit, mainly due to MS only supporting upto 3.5 gb on 32 bit (why 3.5 and not 3 or 4 I don't know...) and I have 4 gb, but I was wondering if there are any benefits for me going for a Linux Distro running 64 bit compared to using PCLinux on 32 bit.

Thanks,



Gavin,

[Old-Polack]

Hi,

I am currently trying to move from Windows to Linux, but currently I am running Windows 7 64 bit, mainly due to MS only supporting upto 3.5 gb on 32 bit (why 3.5 and not 3 or 4 I don't know...) and I have 4 gb, but I was wondering if there are any benefits for me going for a Linux Distro running 64 bit compared to using PCLinux on 32 bit.

Thanks,



Gavin,

Not really. Some people think there is, but for a home desktop there aren't really that many applications written and tuned for 64 bit. Most are just the same code as the 32 bit version, compiled for 64 bit. There is a PAE kernel available for the 32 bit installation that will see up to 64 GB RAM.

[muungwana]

any 32 bit operating system will have accessible memory somewhere btw 3.1GB to 3.5GB depending on your hardware and their configurations. This is a limitation of the architecture and not a microsoft artificial limitation. Having more than 3.5GB in a 32 bit os is mostly a waste of resources unless the kernel is configured to specifically access more memory

pclinuxos with have the save memory limits you see in 32 bit windows with the default kernel. If you want to use pclinuxos and want to use all 4GB, install a kernel with a ".pae" extension. This kernel will give you access to up to 64GB if your hardware supports it.

pclinuxos currently does not offer a 64 bit version. The .pae kernel will suffice if all you want is all your memory to be accessible.

[gavinjb]

Thanks for the help.