-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 08/04/07 03:25, Alan Chandler wrote: > I have a Core2 Duo on which I am running a 686 kernel (from Debian > unstable). It has 1GB of memory > > I am wondering two things > > a) What are the pros and cons in switching to 64 bit mode? > - Is it faster?
Yes. There are more CPU registers, which means that programs need do less fetching and storing of temp variables to and from memory. Applications (like modern Python interpreters) which use lots of "long long" 64 bit integers will also be significantly faster. > - Are the packages less stable? Why should they be? > - Does it need significantly more memory? Not that you'd notice, unless you are already memory constrained. However, having 2 banks of 512MB will give it better RAM bandwidth. > - Can I use 32 bit apps from the repository if I have problems with an > identically named one in the 64 bit repository (with pinning maybe) Yes, within chroots. > b) Is there a simple transition path? Reinstall from scratch, and pray that your /home is on a seperate partition. > - Is there any howto? > - My current unstable repository seems to have a 64 bit kernel - do I > just install that and then change where my sources.list points> - -- Ron Johnson, Jr. Jefferson LA USA Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Hit him with a fish, and he goes away for good! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFGtEhjS9HxQb37XmcRApO4AJ9hytQIdFiWFNQ5PUSRyzV67ebpQQCg07Is Z9swOfa+than2CjyQoimHJY= =aHfx -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
