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i586 vs. x86_64


Scythe
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I've been having some problems lately.

 

I installed Mandriva last weekend and got it all configured nicely. Only thing is that for some reason it didn't recognize that I had GCC installed and because of that I couldn't install a couple other programs that I wanted. But that's old news.

 

I reinstalled yesterday. Three times. Why? you ask. First time something didn't go right when I installed the NVIDIA drivers. I know I did it right because it was at least my 3rd time doing it. Second time installing I tried to update KDE to 3.5.6 and totally screwed that up. The dependencies got all screwy and I don't even know what went wrong. Considering that I upgraded to 3.5.6 with no problems on that initial install mentioned in the paragraph above, I have no idea why that happened. Third time all I did was install the NVIDIA drivers and left it to ask my questions.

 

Now, I have been using the x86_64 version of Mandriva to install all these times since I've got an Athlon 64. For some reason I remember reading that the 64 bit version isn't as stable/bugfree/whatever as the 32 bit version. I just wanted to know if it would be better for me to stick with the 64 bit version or switch over to the 32 bits and hope for the best.

 

As of now I'm deadlocked, since I really want to keep using Mandriva but until I can get a system that works consistently I'll have to wait.

Edited by Scythe
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My honest opinion: Using the 64 bit version is a waste of time, if you don't make full use of the 64 bit technology with the work you do. And 99% of the users don't need a x86_64 version, although they might have 64 bit capable computers (Most people don't even need anything faster than a P166 if you ask me). x86_64 needs more space, is more buggy and offers only little in return. Stick to the i586 version. JMHO.

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What's in KDE 3.5.6 which you can't live without? 2007.1 will be out in a few weeks. But if you can't wait and choose to install 32 bit OS then you can use the KDE 3.5.6 packages from www.seerofsouls.com

What's in KDE 3.5.6 that I want? Well, it fixes my K Menu for one thing - other than that nothing really. But since I didn't know 2007.1 was out in a few weeks, I guess I can wait ;) Oh, I used the package from MDE. It worked fine the first time I used it and subsequent times it didn't go so well.

 

My honest opinion: Using the 64 bit version is a waste of time, if you don't make full use of the 64 bit technology with the work you do. And 99% of the users don't need a x86_64 version, although they might have 64 bit capable computers (Most people don't even need anything faster than a P166 if you ask me). x86_64 needs more space, is more buggy and offers only little in return. Stick to the i586 version. JMHO.

Yeah, that's kinda what I thought too. What I use this PC for is homework, internet, music, and games. The games are covered in XP, otherwise I can use Linux for the rest. I was just looking to get more snap out of my system and figured the 64 bit version would help with that.

 

Try playing Oblivion on a P166. I still only get ~10FPS with my rig with moderately decent settings :P Heck, doing anything on a P233 was painful enough (of course, that was with Windows 95 installed back in the day...but we'll not bring that up :mellow: )

 

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.

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What's in KDE 3.5.6 that I want? Well, it fixes my K Menu for one thing - other than that nothing really. But since I didn't know 2007.1 was out in a few weeks, I guess I can wait :wink.gif Oh, I used the package from MDE. It worked fine the first time I used it and subsequent times it didn't go so well.
What's wrong with your K menu?

Anyway if you still try to use 64 bit KDE you don't have any other choice than to use MDE repos cause Hawkwind doesn't seem to make 64 bit packages.

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I did use the MDE 64 bit packages but they didn't work the second and third times I tried installing them for reasons unbeknownst to me. My K Menu is missing the "Shut Down" and "Reboot" buttons in the End Session screen and the MDE packages fixed that the first time. No biggy, but I like having them there.

 

I'll be using the 32 bit version once 2007.1 comes out.

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Mandriva is funny that you have to use KDM with KDE, else it doesn't give you the shutdown options. The same if you use Gnome, you have to use GDM, else you don't get the shutdown options in Gnome. Only logout.

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My honest opinion: Using the 64 bit version is a waste of time, if you don't make full use of the 64 bit technology with the work you do. And 99% of the users don't need a x86_64 version, although they might have 64 bit capable computers (Most people don't even need anything faster than a P166 if you ask me). x86_64 needs more space, is more buggy and offers only little in return. Stick to the i586 version. JMHO.
I second that. Use the i586 version, wait on the x86_64 version for now - it's still not 100% stable, and not all applications are properly written/compiled for 64-bit anyways.
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Mandriva is funny that you have to use KDM with KDE, else it doesn't give you the shutdown options. The same if you use Gnome, you have to use GDM, else you don't get the shutdown options in Gnome. Only logout.

Do you think it's a Mandriva thing?

 

I've not seen it on some other distros when using KDE with GDM.

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