Hi
I'm currently running suse 10.3 but am going to change to mandriva because I have and am having too many problems. I went for 64bit suse 10.3 and also selected the option to be able to run 32 bit code. What I've found is that 64bit 10.3 comes with some kde4 which doesn't work but can be disabled and that the updater always goes for 64bit code some of which is also kde 4 and doesn't work. It will offer and accept 32 bit in the end but can then find that it can't install all of it.
I run some obscure code from time to time and have to install from source and I'm wondering given the above if I would be better off sticking with 32bit. My machine has 2 used pci x 64bit slots, nvidia pci express video, 4gig of ram and a core 2 duo processor. These days it's hard to find what's needed for what and I'm hoping some one on here will be able to enlighten me. I noticed for instance that debian 386 installs as i686 on virtualbox. Confusion rules. Just what do I need to install to make full use of my machine and if it's 64bit what are the downsides?
John