new ubuntu out... which version to install? 64-bit vs 32-bit

[Alex]

this might seem kinda obvious... i have an A64 system and am running WXP 32-bit at the moment... i wanna get a dual boot going with the new ubuntu release but i'm not sure which version to download and install...

i guess i'd want the 64-bit version but do i really? is it necessary? is there any risk it will fudge up my 32-bit windows? (long shot question i know i'm just kinda paranoid)
i mean if i could get away with using the 32-bit "normal" version then why not eh? i mean i don't think the 64-bit will bring enough benefits to warrant installing it?

thanks and sorry for any n00b questions!

-frang

 

[drag]

No risk to windows any more then any regular Linux install. For Windows you just have to be carefull when resizing partitions and/or make sure not to accidently format those partitions during a install. If you ever want to uninstall Linux you'll have to use your Windows XP boot disk to get to the recovery console and reinstall the Windows ntldr bootloader since to dual boot Linux distros install their own bootloader. Look up stuff about 'fixmbr' to learn howto do this.

Almost all open source software supports native 64bit-ness in AMD64. A 64bit Free software setup is just the same as 32bit setup except that maybe it's a fraction of a bit faster and can support massive amounts of ram and massive file sizes easier.

The downside is closed source software support. Things like Macromedia flash and propriatory media formats like some wmv and quicktime formats (those formats often rely on using Windows 32bit codecs inside linux for supporting them) won't work in 64bit distros well. Some closed source games work only in 32bit mode, which can run inside a 64bit Linux setup, but require you have 32bit versions of many libraries and some programs installed also.

Luckly the closed source drivers, media support, and application support is very minimal. Almost everything is free and open source software.

You shouldn't have troubles with drivers, unless you rely on closed source versions. Nvidia's closed source drivers work just as fine in 64bit as 32bit. ATI's support probably sucks like usual, I don't know much about that. Most hardware is well supported by Free software drivers and most of those have been ported to AMD64 years ago.

Sometimes finding 3rd party pre-packaged programs can be difficult since AMD64 users are in the minority, but Ubuntu has excellent software support thru it's relationship with Debian.

Probably for the first time in Linux 32bit will provide anything and everything you'd want to check out.

 

[Seeruk]

Life will generally be more trouble free with the 32 bit version (in terms of drivers and apps as mentioned above) but you will feel a little cooler using 64bit

 

[DidlySquat]

64 bit = not worth it

 

[Alex]

thanks for the replies i'll install 32-bit!

 

[DidlySquat]

You will only feel "cooler" until you realize you can't play DVDs, as well as many video and audio file formats, and that many 64-bit binary packages are missing (even when the source is available so you could compile, but that's not recommended for new users).

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: DidlySquat
You will only feel "cooler" until you realize you can't play DVDs, as well as many video and audio file formats, and that many 64-bit binary packages are missing (even when the source is available so you could compile, but that's not recommended for new users).

64bit Linux is great as long as you stick to free software.

Driver support, stability, maturity. It's all there. It works and it's easy. DVDs will play just fine too, the libdvdcss2 software (which is seperate from most distros) is open source.

It's great if you need it. For instance doing stuff like 'video editing' with Cinelerra or other packages work much better if they are 64bit native. If you need a database server with large datasets it works much better in 64bit. 64bit-native games like UT2004 work slightly better in 64bit Linux. on and on and on.

The only thing that sucks is playing crap like Flash (realy, who gives a crap?) and some closed source and restricted formats like wmv and such.

But that can be taken care of perfectly fine by doing something like installing a 32bit version of VLC and using that.

Linux support for 64bit is stable and complete. Some distros aren't all the way their yet, but you just have to choose the right ones. I just wouldn't recommend it for a brand new user, there is a lot of other adjustments they have to make first.

 

[DidlySquat]

see, the hierarchy of convience in linux software installation is this -

1. Download source and follow instructions to compile and install it.
2. Download binaries and follow instructions on how to install (usually need to run an install script or two).
3. Download deb (or rpm) package and install it, taking care to also install all prerequisite packages.
4. Find some repository that has your package and use apt-get to install the package and its prerequisites using that repository.
5. Use a central consistent well maintained repository (or a few of them) to find and install most of your software.

Once you get used to the convenience of the last (best) option, other options seem very cumbersome and error prone.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: DidlySquat
see, the hierarchy of convience in linux software installation is this -

1. Download source and follow instructions to compile and install it.
2. Download binaries and follow instructions on how to install (usually need to run an install script or two).
3. Download deb (or rpm) package and install it, taking care to also install all prerequisite packages.
4. Find some repository that has your package and use apt-get to install the package and its prerequisites using that repository.
5. Use a central consistent well maintained repository (or a few of them) to find and install most of your software.

Once you get used to the convenience of the last (best) option, other options seem very cumbersome and error prone.

Well if a consistent and well maintained repository is what you'd like to see, then go knock yourself out