Switching to a 64 bit kernel

aragonx at dcsnow.com aragonx at dcsnow.com
Mon Mar 19 11:23:49 UTC 2007


> On Mon, Mar 19, 2007 at 08:10:06AM +0100, Mogens Kjaer wrote:
>> aragonx at dcsnow.com wrote:
>> >Hello all,
>> >
>> >I am currently running an i686 kernel and just upgraded my machine to a
>> >shiny new dual core 64 bit CPU.  My question is, how do I get a 64 bit
>> >kernel installed?
>>
>> You'll need to reinstall with an x86_64 fedora.
>>
> ... and while there are *some* advantages to running a 64-bit system
> there are also downsides still.
>
> Advantages (that I can remember):-
>     You can use huge amounts of memory efficiently (i.e. if you have
>     more than 4Gb or memory)
>
>     Some other things may run more efficiently
>
>
> Disadvantages
>     There may not be all the drivers you need available in 64-bit
>     (maybe less of an issue nowadays).
>
>     There are likely to be more little niggles in the installation
>     process to overcome as 64-bit simply hasn't been around so long.
>
>
> If you *need* to use lots of memory then go for 64-bit, otherwise I'd
> stay with 32-bit.

I currently only have 2GB of RAM so that is not a factor.

My whole reason for wanting to switch to a 64-bit kernel was performance. 
I do a lot of video encoding, which is a CPU intensive application.

What you are telling me though is there are no real advantages to a 64-bit
kernel other than the memory?



-- 
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.




More information about the fedora-list mailing list