 www.centos.org Forum Index CentOS 5 - Miscellaneous Questions  When to use i386 and when to use x86_64
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When to use i386 and when to use x86_64 | #1 |
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Newbie
 
Joined: 2009/4/2
From
Posts: 2
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Hi all.
I am a noob to Linux and have a (I suspect) very basic question. How do I know when I should be using the i386 distro and when should I be using the x86_64 distro? Does the decision lie with the specs of the CPU I will be using? ie. if it is a 32 bit CPU then I use i386 and if it is a 64 bit CPU then I use x86_64? If the above is correct, is there a list of which processors are 32 bit and which are 64 bit, or does it come down to experience and Google? TIA |
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Posted on: 2009/4/2 21:56
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dartec
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Re: When to use i386 and when to use x86_64 | #2 |
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Professional Board Member
Joined: 2007/1/7
From Central IL USA
Posts: 2195
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The choice varies based on task and hardware as you indicate. Most recent CPU (not atom or via) will be 64bit capable. General workstation, I would stick 32bit. Low end server, I would generally say 32bit, mid-range server, just depends. Higher end with lots of disk/ram 64bit. There are lots of fringe cases! Heck with lots of ram, you may just opt to use 32bit with "PAE" kernel to be able to use all of the RAM.
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Posted on: 2009/4/3 16:20
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Re: When to use i386 and when to use x86_64 | #3 |
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Newbie
Joined: 2009/4/2
From
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Thanks for the reply pjwelsh.
What are the actual differences between the 64 bit version and the 32 bit version? What would the reasons be for not using 64 bit on hardware that supports 64 bit, even if it is on a low/mid range server? TIA |
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Posted on: 2009/4/3 20:58
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Re: When to use i386 and when to use x86_64 | #4 |
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Moderator
Joined: 2006/12/13
From Tidewater, Virginia, North America
Posts: 7185
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When using 64 bit installs many 32 bit libraries and packages are loaded by default and can make package management quite a bit more complex. If you don't need the (often small) performance gain the extra complexity may not be worth it. For systems with >3.5 GB memory you need 64 bit or PAE.
The main reason I still use 32 bit installs on 64 bit capable hardware is for desktop systems that need browser plugins and multimedia apps. Although the 64 bit stuff is coming along, some things are either still alpha stage or unavailable. It is much easier to go with 32 bit on such systems, and for a desktop 32/64 bit performance differences are usually not great unless doing serious number crunching. |
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_________________
Phil Required reading: FAQ & Readme first ; Search hint: google "your topic site:centos.org"; Smart Questions |
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Posted on: 2009/4/3 21:25
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Re: When to use i386 and when to use x86_64 | #5 |
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Regular Board Member
Joined: 2008/3/20
From Canada
Posts: 165
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Quote:
Desktop Atoms are 64-bit; mine runs 64-bit Ubuntu with no real problems, though it required a BIOS upgrade before it would even boot 64-bit Linux. |
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Posted on: 2009/4/5 9:18
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Re: When to use i386 and when to use x86_64 | #6 |
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Newbie
Joined: 2009/7/9
From
Posts: 2
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Quote:
What were the symptoms you had trying to boot your Atom system before the BIOS upgrade? I'm getting ATA subsystem errors when CentOS tries to detect the hard drives on my D945GCLF. This is both CentOS 5.0 i386 and CentOS 5.3 x86_64, so it's not a 64bit issue, but I'm grasping at straws here so I thought I'd try. -Mark |
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Posted on: 2009/7/9 19:30
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