[mdlug] [Fwd: Re: [opensuse] 64 bit vrs 32 bit advantages speed etc.]

[Peter Bart]

On Wed, 2007-10-31 at 09:58 -0400, Adam Tauno Williams wrote: 
> >>> Has anyone run benchmarks on an identical system with 32 bit vrs 64 bit?
> 
> I haven't run "benchmarks", but I've run tests.  The plain and simple is
> that for the *vast* majority of workloads 64-bit offers no noticeable
> advantage, and usually a barely measurable difference.  I've even seen
> 64-bit run slower than 32-bit, especially if your application deals
> mostly with parsing and dealing with strings.
> 
> The real advantage of 64-bit is a larger address space,  which most apps
> just don't need.   It *might* be faster at some other things, like
> context switching, but not necessarily so, and it is going to depend on
> a myriad of other factors.
> 
> A good rule is to run 64-bit if you have an app that can effectively use
> a BIG address space, like PostgreSQL,  otherwise it probably isn't worth
> the bother until everything is 64-bit (since doing the
> this-is-32bit-that-is-64bit dance on a host is a pain).

Okay then, I need to ask a stupid question. I finally received the new
laptop and it has a 64 bit processor.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T55004
o 1.66GHz, 2MB L2, 667MHz FSB with 64-bit
• Mobile Intel® 945PM Express Chipset
• Integrated Wi-Fi® compliant wireless LAN

Since it has that capability I was going to load the 64 bit version of
opensuse, if for nothing more than to know that it's there. Will this be
a hindrance to me, running openoffice, web browsers, VMWare? How about
running a 32 bit copy of Vista in a 62 bit opensuse? Or will I simply
not notice it? I'm not sure what you mean by the "dance on a host"
statement.

Best Regards,


-- 
Peter Bart <peter at petertheplumber.net>
http://petertheplumber.net